morning papers olympiakos away

Grant gamble pays off as dour Chelsea gain upper hand
David Hytner at the Karaiskaki StadiumWednesday February 20, 2008The Guardian
Roman Abramovich has the scene mapped out - May 21, Moscow. Chelsea's Russian owner has his invited friends and peers looking down from behind executive glass on to the Champions League final. His team are there, his chest swells with pride. The dream remains alive, after a tense stalemate in the Greek capital gave Chelsea the upper hand in this last-16 meeting. The eye-opening selection gamble of the manager, Avram Grant, in leaving out John Terry, the captain, and Frank Lampard did not return in any haunting manner and he could be pleased with the application that his charges showed, as the business end of the season got under way.
Chelsea's best players were defenders - Ricardo Carvalho was ably supported by Alex and although they created nothing more meaningful further forward than a clutch of half-chances and failed to quicken the pulses, the scoreline was one which they would have taken. Olympiakos shaded the first half and showed themselves to be an attractive team yet Chelsea will fancy their chances in the return in two weeks' time. "This was a game that we played less well than previous games," said Grant, who made 11 changes to the team he fielded in the FA Cup against Huddersfield Town on Saturday. "We only created a couple of chances so it's a little disappointing. The performance could have been better but the result was good."
Grant's decision to rest, rotate or, in old-fashioned parlance, drop Terry and Lampard dominated the build-up to the occasion. The coach had stressed that with virtually all of his squad available, he had no first-choice XI; the modern game was one for squad strength. His selection had been made with one eye on Sunday's Carling Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur.
It was also a show of faith in Alex and Claude Makelele, the backbone of the team in recent weeks, players in rich veins of form, yet it remained difficult to ignore the notion that Grant was taking a calculated risk. Would he have omitted Terry and Lampard against frontline opposition from Italy or Spain?
"In football, I never gamble and we put a strong team out," said Grant. "Anything I do is questioned, I'm OK with this. They are not easy decisions but it is my job."
Flares lit the scene at kick-off and the smoke from them dissipated slowly as a cagey tone was set from the outset. Chelsea were determined to take the sting out of proceedings but the fervour in these parts cannot easily be diluted. The Olympiakos diehards had arrived some hours beforehand and they bounced and swayed to create a boisterous atmosphere, the like of which modern English stadiums can only dream of. Welcome to Hellas. The men in red and white before them mirrored their commitment; the passing and movement was assured. Chelsea faced a test of their nerve and ingenuity.
The tie was absorbing, not for the action inside either goalmouth, of which there was little, but for the tactical battle. Space was at a premium and hearts raced each time it was chiselled out. The chance of the match fell to Olympiakos when Ieroklis Stoltidis flicked on a 31st-minute corner from the captain, Predrag Djordjevic. Vassilis Torosidis, unmarked inside the six-yard box, stretched every sinew but could not make decisive contact.
The hosts pressed on to the front foot, showcasing their slick teamwork with one move on the half-hour, that started with an audacious chipped clearance by Antonios Nikopolidis, the goalkeeper, and finished at the other end, a dozen passes later, with Luciano Galletti's cross being charged down for a corner.
Chelsea mustered but one snapshot in the first half, from Florent Malouda, and it was their defence that felt the greater pressure. In Terry's absence, though, Carvalho was outstanding. Time and again, he made decisive interventions and, as is so often the case in the big matches, he engendered confidence in those around him.
There was a perception in Athens that Chelsea felt themselves to be consummately superior. They had stood accused earlier in the day of using unacceptable means to lure the 15-year-old Reggina defender Vincenzo Camilleri to London. Reggina intend to complain to the authorities. There was little swagger, though, about Chelsea last night; it was an evening for reputations to be gilded by graft.
Four Chelsea players were booked, though not Michael Essien, who stood one away from a suspension. "The referee was a little bit hard with us," said Grant. "It was not a violent, aggressive game so the players who got cards were not so happy with this."
Didier Drogba was restored to the starting line-up but he cut an isolated and often frustrated figure. It was not until Grant introduced Salomon Kalou and Nicolas Anelka to provide fresh width that Chelsea enjoyed the territorial advantage and had the former controlled a precision centre from the latter in injury time, Chelsea could even have stolen the advantage. It certainly would have flattered them. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Olympiakos 0 Chelsea 0: Rejigged Chelsea stutter to stalemateBy Jason Burtat Karaiskakis StadiumWednesday, 20 February 2008
After the white-out, a white-hot atmosphere – but a match devoid of real drama except for the intriguing omission of John Terry and Frank Lampard from the starting line-up. Maybe a drab affair is the way Chelsea will have liked it after the confusion of getting here. The goalless draw gives them a clear advantage for the return leg as they attempt to reach the last eight of the European Cup and their ultimate destination: Moscow in May and the final.
They had arrived in Athens in a fierce snowstorm which prevented many of their fans from making it to the game and, although the snows melted, the football stayed frozen. Some of those supporters had taken up offers from airlines which had cancelled flights to head somewhere else. It proved a wise choice. There were flares in the stands but not much flair on the pitch.
There may be more storms brewing. The biggest moment came pre-match when Avram Grant confirmed the omission of his captain and vice-captain. With the business end of the season just beginning it was some executive decision from the Chelsea manager. They will not be happy about not playing and, now, the selection for Sunday's League Cup final becomes all the more fascinating. If either does not play then, it could signal a seismic shift at the club.
Certainly, Grant's predecessor, Jose Mourinho, would not have countenanced such a thing for his two "untouchables". When they were fit, they played. Admittedly, only Terry's remarkable powers of recovery, after breaking three bones in his foot, got him this far so soon while Lampard has played twice since overcoming a thigh injury.
Not that the manager wanted to discuss it afterwards. "I prefer to talk about the players who did play," he said before adding: "The result was OK. We didn't create a lot of chances which was disappointing but it's not easy to play here and it's not easy to play against them. We are a team who always likes to win so we are not 100 per cent happy and this was a game in which we played less well than in the others."
It was only when Lampard and Nicolas Anelka – another left out, although less surprisingly – came on towards the end that Chelsea pushed. Even then it was a third substitute, Salomon Kalou, who had the opportunity but allowed the ball to run away from him after he stole in behind the defence.
Neither were Chelsea happy with the Austrian referee, Konrad Plautz, who, Grant said, "was hard with us", dishing out four yellow cards.
Not that Olympiakos cared. The red and whites have been Greek champions for 10 of the past 11 seasons but have not made much of an impression in this competition for some years. Qualification to face Chelsea, however, was impressively earned and was not going to be easily surrendered, although when Leroklis Stoltidis was given an early sight of goal he elected to pass instead of shoot and the opportunity was gone.
The home crowd's passionate support for their team was relentless. It was some sight and sound when, from a corner, Stoltidis headed across goal, and Vassilis Torosidis somehow failed to nod home.
Chelsea lacked cohesion. Generally, they were pre-occupied with striking the ball long to Didier Drogba, who appeared lethargic. Olympiakos, meanwhile, engineered chances through their playmaker and captain Predrag Djordjevic and Chelsea were indebted to the defensive resilience of Ricardo Carvalho – and the wastefulness of Luciano Galletti. The Argentine failed to reach a cross, when offered the chance of a header, and then volleyed another deep cross, fizzing the ball over, when he had time.
Olympiakos were cuter when Galletti teed up Djordjevic but Petr Cech blocked his shot. The introduction of Anelka did not bring a change of formation. Instead he occupied the left. He ran in for one side-foot shot but it was weak, just like a cross from Kalou, with team-mates queuing, moments later. And just like the rest of the match. The main action was going on off the pitch.
Olympiakos (4-3-2-1): Nikopolidis; Zewlakow, Julio Cesar, Antzas, Pantos; Ledesma, Torosidis, Stoltidis; Galletti (Leonardo, 83), Djordjevic (Bellushi, 76); Kovacevic (Nunez, 87). Substitutes not used: Sifakis (gk), Patsatzoglou, Leonardo, Mitroglou, Sisic.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Belletti, Alex, Carvalho, A Cole; Essien, Makelele, Ballack (Lampard, 86); J Cole (Anelka, 75), Drogba, Malouda (Kalou, 75). Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Mikel, Wright-Phillips, Terry.
Referee: K Plautz (Austria).
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Grant gamble reaps rewards as Chelsea earn valuable drawOlympiacos 0 Chelsea 0
By MATT BARLOW
The first leg of Avram Grant's route map to Moscow was negotiated successfully if unspectacularly by Chelsea despite the manager's decision to drop Frank Lampard and John Terry from the team.
The snow was gone but Lampard and Terry wrapped themselves up for a chilly Athens night and looked on from the bench as their team-mates survived a spirited effort from Olympiacos.
Their chance may come at Wembley in the Carling Cup final on Sunday by which time the success of Grant's rotation policy will be clearer to see.
There is little doubt that this is the trophy Chelsea's Russian owner Roman Abramovich wants to win more than any other this season with the final to be staged in Moscow in May.
UEFA unfurled their Moscow 08 insignia as the Champions League knockout stages started last night and Grant had spoken on the eve of the game about the need for the club to appear in the showpiece to confirm their status among Europe's elite.
He also explained how, with all his players fit, his team selection would take into account forthcoming fixtures and not just the game in question, a policy which has done nothing to h e l p R a f a Benitez at Liverpool recently but understandable for a club chasing a possible four trophies.
This was his reasoning behind the decision to make 11 changes to the team who eased past League One Huddersfield in the FA Cup fifth round last Saturday.
As expected, this meant that Terry and Lampard started among the substitutes in the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in a statement of intent from Grant.
The pair may be just back from injuries but they have been the immovable English pillars at the heart of Chelsea's success in the last four years — the safest of all Jose Mourinho's famed Untouchables — but Grant proved, when his squad is full, they are very droppable indeed.
Terry and Lampard passed a loose ball back and forth on the edge of the pitch as the chosen 11 warmed up as a group before the game. Then the England pair stayed out to launch shots at an empty goal when their team-mates returned to the dressing room ahead of kick-off.
They both love to play game after game. They have carried injuries through games for the club. Lampard once started 164 consecutive Barclays Premier League games. But they may have to adjust to a new regime.
Grant kept the faith in those players who survived unbeaten through difficult weeks when the squad was stretched to its limits, notably Michael Ballack, who played some of his most effective football since moving to Stamford Bridge in Lampard's absence, and Alex.
Olympiacos, Greek league leaders and champions for 10 of the last 11 years, are in the knockout rounds for the first time in nine years and determined to prove they belong there. Urged forward by their noisy supporters, they pressed Chelsea back in the early stages, proving their ability to pass the ball and attack in numbers.
Experienced centre forward Darko Kovacevic, once of Sheffield Wednesday, played the lone role up front, holding up the ball and winning free-kicks but the Greeks also showed signs of brittleness in defence. It was a formula which made for an exciting first 45 minutes.
Michael Essien flashed a 20-yarder wide from the edge of the box and Florent Malouda pounced on a mistake by Julio Cesar, who failed to deal cleanly with a cross from Didier Drogba, but could not beat goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis.
Malouda started impressively, drifting in from the left flank to combine with Drogba, playing his first Chelsea game since December 1. But the Greeks ought to have stolen the lead from a corner, forced after a wonderful sweeping move which started with a neat passing sequence inside their own penalty area. They advanced smoothly down the left before skipper Claude Makelele knocked the ball out as he scampered back to help his defence.
Luciano Galletti's outswinger was flicked on at the near post to Vassilis Torosidis, who rose with purpose only to slide a glancing header wide of the far post from six yards.
Chelsea had to dig in and be patient but, at the heart of their defence, Ricardo Carvalho and Alex, who was booked for a clumsy foul, stood firm as the home team finished the first half on top.
Grant's team kept better possession after the break, with greater control and a quicker tempo to their passing and it was enough to stifle the game as a spectacle. Whistles greeted the long spells of Chelsea possession.
The goalless first half meant it was more than eight hours of Champions League football since Chelsea last conceded a goal. That was in Valencia, early in Grant's reign.
Petr Cech was not forced into a save in the first half here but made his first save of the night, diving low to his right to smother Predrag Djordevic's low effort from the edge of the box, 10 minutes into the second half.
Galletti then wasted a great opportunity when he sliced a volley wide at the back post when he had time to control the deep cross from Iero Stoltidis.
Substitute Salomon Kalou could have won it for Chelsea right at the death when put clear with only the keeper to beat, but he failed to keep the ball down and so Grant had to settle for an uneventful draw. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Chelsea hold initiative over OlympiakosBy John Ley in Athens
Olympiakos (0) 0 Chelsea (0) 0
Avram Grant, the Chelsea manager, will have to wait to discover, both in the Carling Cup at Wembley on Sunday and at Stamford Bridge a fortnight today, whether his gamble to rest key players here last night was a prudent one. But, having kept their fifth successive clean sheet in Europe and with an unbeaten home record in the Champions League going back two years, they will face Olympiakos in London in confident mood.
As anticipated, Grant rested John Terry, Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka ahead of the Carling Cup final, meaning that he changed the whole team from the one that beat Huddersfield 3-1 in the FA Cup last Saturday. The 11 changes allowed the likes of Petr Cech, Ashley Cole, Joe Cole and Michael Ballack to return, along with Didier Drogba, who was making his first start since undergoing knee surgery in early December.
The watching Roman Abramovich has not made a secret of his demand for success in the Champions League and, by leaving such an array of talent on the side, he was placing huge faith in those who carried Chelsea's trophy aspirations forward during periods of injuries.
Claude Makelele wore the captain's armband as Chelsea went into the game boasting the best defensive record in the competition. They had conceded only two goals, while they began having gone seven hours and 21 minutes since they last conceded a goal in the event.
The atmosphere that greeted the teams in the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium was electric, the arena an array of red and white, with flares lighting up the wintery evening.
As smoke drifted across the pitch, making visibility difficult, Chelsea, in their highly visible luminous yellow shirts, attacked and within 29 seconds Michael Essien forced the first attempt, his shot drifting wide of the right post.
Olympiakos responded when Predrag Djordjevic fed Ieroklis Stoltidis, but he treated the ball with caution and Ricardo Carvalho cleared the threat.
Soon afterwards the Greeks broke forward and Anastasios Pantos saw a shot deflected wide off a team-mate, but it was all one way, with Florent Malouda testing Antonios Nikopolidis, the Olympiakos goalkeeper, with a searching 16th-minute shot.
A tight but entertaining game developed with Chelsea initially having the edge but Olympiakos finishing the first half the stronger. And when Drogba lost possession by the Olympiakos by-line, the Greeks broke delicately and carefully, before forcing a corner, from which Stoltidis set-up Vassilis Torosidis and he almost opened the scoring.
Alex, the replacement for Terry, was booked for a 35th-minute foul on Cristian Ledesma but the Brazilian redeemed himself by cutting out a dangerous cross from Djordjevic.
The goalless first half saw Chelsea extend their record in Europe to more than eight hours without conceding and they began the second period with Ballack forcing a corner, from which Malouda sent a drive over the target.
Olympiakos, though, remained a threat through their sensible, neat passing game, and when Stoltidis crossed in the 51st minute, Luciano Galletti had a chance but failed to make contact.
Chelsea boasted the best disciplinary record in the competition before the game with only three previous cautions but Juliano Belletti was the second yellow shirt to see a yellow card, and from the resultant free-kick, Djordjevic claimed Olympiakos's first shot on target, in the 57th minute, with Cech gathering easily in front of his right post.
Whether it was a sign of frustration or one of encouragement, the flares were re-ignited midway through the second half. Chelsea began to enjoy greater possession, but they received a third card when Makelele was punished for dissent.
And, in the 65th minute, Stoltidis's high cross set up Galletti and his volley flew only narrowly over Cech's goal.
The introduction of Anelka saw the Frenchman partner Drogba for the first time, and the substitute, who prompted a strong finish by the visitors, squandered the chance of a goal with 10 minutes remaining, his weak shot rolling wide of the left post.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The TimesFebruary 20, 2008
Chelsea look out of shape as Avram Grant’s bold statement falls on deaf earsOlympiacos 0 Chelsea 0
Matt Hughes in Athens
After hiring an image consultant to make him look more suave, Avram Grant has taken to wearing a black trench coat that gives him the appearance of an old-fashioned American mobster such as Al Capone and, after this lucky escape, he may finally realise why José Mourinho regarded some players as untouchable.
The Chelsea first-team coach got away with his gamble of resting John Terry and Frank Lampard, with his side securing a result that leaves them in a good position to reach the quarterfinals, but it could easily have been different. Olympiacos dominated possession, played some enterprising football orchestrated by Predrag Djordjevic and, with more composed finishing, might have won.
After this dour display, Trinny and Susannah may have to return to Stamford Bridge to work on Chelsea’s footballing aesthetic. Grant was employed to echo Ruud Gullit by introducing sexy football, but this performance was about as attractive as one of his ill-fitting tracksuits.
Chelsea were as poor as they have been all season, lacking shape, width and attacking threat. Didier Drogba looked isolated and unfit up front and Ashley Cole could have been forgiven for giving up as he was repeatedly ignored when he overlapped down the left, with only the hard-working Michael Ballack of their attacking players emerging with any credit as Michael Essien also laboured. The private thoughts of Terry and Lampard as they sat on the substitutes’ bench would have been worth far more than the proverbial penny.
Grant defended his decision to leave them out in picking a side that showed 11 changes from the weekend, but offered no guarantee that the captain and vice-captain will return for Sunday’s Carling Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur.
“In football, I never gamble and we put a strong team out,” he said. “We played with a strong team and also a strong bench, and we will do it again and again in the future.”
Grant shares a common managerial trait of looking at matches through rose-tinted glasses, but at least he had the good sense to concede that this was the worst performance of his reign. Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, will not be losing faith in his good friend just yet, but, as he contemplates the prospect of a dream final in Moscow in May, a worrying trend is emerging. After winning nine successive matches, Chelsea have drawn three of their past four matches, with Huddersfield Town the only side to be beaten in that time.
“This is the game we play less well than in previous games, but the result is OK,” Grant said. “We didn’t create a lot of chances, maybe just a couple, so it’s a little bit disappointing.”
The one redeeming feature was that Chelsea have gone almost nine hours without conceding a goal in this competition and they defended well enough to leave Petr Cech largely unoccupied. The Czech Republic goalkeeper made only one save of note, low to his right from Djordjevic just before the hour, but he was sufficiently worried to charge out of his penalty area to reprimand Essien for giving the ball away after Luciano Galletti had volleyed wide from Ieroklis Stoltidis’s cross shortly afterwards.
Not many teams can compete with Chelsea physically, but Olympiacos are built for a battle and, in a stadium named after the hero of Greece’s War of Independence, Georgios Karaiskakis, took the fight to the visiting side. Darko Kovacevic cut an imposing figure up front, but it was the movement of his fellow Serb, Djordjevic, that was most menacing and could have given them an early lead.
Djordjevic released Galletti with a wonderful through-ball in the eighth minute, but his shot was blocked, while Anastasios Pantos later cut in from the left and shot just wide. Djordjevic’s 30th-minute corner from the right was headed across goal by Stoltidis, but Vassilis Torosidis missed making contact by inches at the back post with Cech beaten.
Grant resisted the temptation to make changes at half-time, reasoning that his players could not play any worse. However, without impressive performances from Alex and Ricardo Carvalho at the back, he might have been proved wrong.
Still, Grant remained unmoved until the 75th minute, when Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou replaced Florent Malouda and Joe Cole on the flanks. Anelka did bring some improvement, going close with a snap shot at the far post before creating a chance for a last-minute winner that was missed by Kalou. It was enough to suggest that Chelsea should eventually prevail, although a goalless draw away from home remains a dangerous scoreline. If Olympiacos grab an early goal at Stamford Bridge in a fortnight, Grant will have more than his coat to worry about.
Olympiacos (4-3-2-1): A Nikopolidis — M Zewlakow, P Antzas, Julio César, A Pantos — V Torosidis, C Ledesma, I Stoltidis — L Galletti (sub: Leonardo, 83min), P Djordjevic (sub: F Belluschi, 76) — D Kovacevic (sub: L Nuñez, 87). Substitutes not used: M Sifakis, C Patsatzoglou, K Mitroglou, M Sisic. Booked: Belluschi.
Chelsea (4-3-3): P Cech — J Belletti, Alex, R Carvalho, A Cole — C Makelele, M Essien, M Ballack (sub: F Lampard, 86) — J Cole (sub: S Kalou, 75), D Drogba, F Malouda (sub: N Anelka, 75). Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, J O Mikel, S Wright-Phillips, J Terry. Booked: Makelele, Alex, Belletti, A Cole.
Referee: K Plautz (Austria).
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Sun:
AVRAM GRANT admitted this bore draw in Athens was Chelsea’s worst display since he took over.
The Blues boss saw his players grind out a 0-0 draw with Olympiakos after leaving Frank Lampard and John Terry on the bench.
But Grant was unrepentant about resting the England players and declared he will make similar decisions in the weeks to come.
Grant, who replaced Jose Mourinho in September, said: “The result is OK. We always want to win but a draw away is not a bad result.
“We didn’t create a lot of chances, maybe just a couple, so it’s a bit disappointing.This is the game we play less well than in previous games.”
Terry spent the whole match on the bench while Lamps was brought on with four minutes to go.
With the Carling Cup final against Spurs on Sunday, Grant insisted he will keep his team selection a secret.
He added: “I was very happy with the selection in this match.I never gamble. We put a strong team out.
“In the next two months you will always ask me about the players who are not playing. Anything I do is questioned. I’m OK with this. We played with a strong team and we will do it again and again in the future.”
Grant may have been happy with his team selection but Chelsea almost came acropolis in Athens.
It needed a rock-solid performance in defence and a lot of luck to ensure they did not crumble among the ruins of this ancient city.
This draw makes them favourites to reach the quarter-finals after the second leg against the Greeks at Stamford Bridge in a fortnight.
But to win the Champions League they will need much more than a robust back four and the occasional shot at goal.
Grant said he will not rest until Chelsea have won Europe’s premier pot.
He will lose a lot of sleep over a performance as poor as this.Despite having Didier Drogba back in the team and a full squad to choose from, Chelsea looked short of ideas and low on inspiration.
Dropping your captain and his deputy is a brave call but it now must be viewed in the context of a poor performance.
It was the first time in four years Lamps and Terry have not started a Champions League match when fit.

Claude Makelele filled in as skipper and while he did well in his job there was real lack of leadership on the pitch throughout.
The Greek fans who filled the Karaiskakis Stadium made a hell of a racket as they constantly jumped up and down.
And they almost raised the roof after eight minutes when Olympiakos split open the visitors’ defence.
Serbian Predrag Djordjevic, who ran midfield, steered the ball into the path of Ieroklis Stoltidis who got between Ricardo Carvalho and Alex.
His first touch should have been better though and he gave the ball back to the Chelsea defence when he might have shot. Ashley Cole came to Chelsea’s rescue on 28 minutes as Olympiakos hit the visitors on the break.
From the resulting corner, captain Djordjevic found Stoltidis whose header flew across Petr Cech’s goal.
The chances were no more than Olympiakos deserved. Physically able to match Chelsea’s muscle, they also have good technique on the ball.
While Chelsea too often hoofed long, the Greeks created triangles Isosceles would have been proud of.
After the break, Juliano Belletti was booked for chopping down Stoltidis.
From the resulting free- kick Djordjevic drove the ball into Cech’s near post but the keeper smothered it.

Cech’s team-mates tried to do the same by holding possession. During a remarkable 90 seconds or so, they passed to each other while the 28,000 crowd booed so loudly it hurt your ears.
Lampard, Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou did eventually come on and Chelsea looked more dangerous but it was too little, too late.
With 90 minutes left at home, Chelsea have the benefit of another crack at this contest to win it.
They will have to be much more inventive and clinical if they are to retain the Carling Cup, which will be played to the death on Sunday. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mirror:
Olympiacos 0-0 Chelsea: Avram Grant gets away with resting star playersMartin Lipton Chief Football Writer20/02/2008
(What's this?)Avram Grant got away with it last night but the Chelsea boss will know that he has to start showing a whole lot more if he wants to meet Roman Abramovich's Chelsea expectations.
By leaving out John Terry, Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka, Grant demonstrated beyond any doubt that Sunday's Carling Cup Final was more important for the Israeli than this first leg ordeal by Greek fire.
The Blues did little to suggest they can fulfil Grant's belief that he will take them all the way to Moscow in May.
But to be fair to Grant, they never really looked like losing, as they showed organisation and focus at the back.
Yet there was none of the swagger and invention that Grant himself has promised Abramovich and three draws in their last four games is not the sort of form that wins the titles the Russian demands.
It was only in the last few minutes, as Olympiacos ran out of legs and ideas, and Grant sent on Anelka and Lampard from the bench, that Chelsea began to look dangerous. And had fellow replacement Salomon Kalou controlled Anelka's brilliant ball in from the flanks in front of goal two minutes into stoppage time, then Grant would have given himself a massive pat on the back.
Kalou's touch, however, summed up Chelsea's evening - full of endeavour and energy but lacking real quality.
Thankfully, it did not matter too much and with Olympiacos having lost on all seven of their previous visits to England, Chelsea will anticipate making it eight in a fortnight. Yet Grant's side cannot afford to be too complacent and the Israeli will do well to remind his men that they could have ended the evening in a truly perilous position. Luckily for Chelsea, even though their midfield never fired and Didier Drogba looked like a man who had not started for the Blues since December 1, Ricardo Carvalho was peerless at the back.
Two early interceptions were further proof of his class as skipper Predrag Djordjevic orchestrated the home side.
A thrilling break by the Greeks ended with Ashley Cole conceding a corner before Djordjevic's inswinger was met by Ieroklis Stoltidis. The flick took the whole Chelsea defence out of the game and any contact at all from Vassilis Torosidis inside the six yard box would surely have resulted in a goal.
For all their possession, though, Olympiacos did not threaten enough, though Djordjevic's low shot saw Petr Cech save at his right-hand post. With four Chelsea players - Alex, Juliano Belletti, Claude Makelele and Ashley Cole - earning bookings from finickety referee Konrad Plautz, the mood might have darkened if a volley from Argentine Luciano Galletti on the hour had been on target.
Grant had the foresight to send for the cavalry, with £15million substitute Anelka showing signs of an instant understanding with Drogba.
That vision might have changed the complexion of the game, only for Kalou's miss to ensure the tie is still right in the balance.
Grant knows he must get far more from his players at Wembley on Sunday, and for the rest of the season too. He remains, like his team, unconvincing.
Olympiacos: Nikopolidis, Zewlakow, Julio Cesar, Antzas, Pantos, Ledesma, Galletti (Leonardo 82), Torosidis, Djordjevic (Belluschi 75), Stoltidis, Kovacevic (Nunez 86).
Chelsea: Cech 7, Belletti 6, Carvalho 8, Alex 7, A Cole 6, Essien 5, Makelele 6, Ballack 6 (Lampard 86), Malouda 5 (Kalou 74), Drogba 5, J Cole 6 (Anelka 74).
45% POSSESSION 55%
2 SHOTS ON TARGET 3
2 SHOTS OFF TARGET 7
4 OFFSIDES 4
5 CORNERS 2
16 FOULS 17
1 YELLOW CARDS 4
0 RED CARDS 0
ATTENDANCE: 29,500
Man Of The Match: Carvalho