Posted on Wednesday, 22nd February 2012 by Adrian Del Monte

scored a brace on either side of an goal that saw coming back from a goal down to put up a stellar performance in the first leg knock out tie with a convincing 3-1 victory over .

The visitors took the early lead through Juan Mata after a horrendous error from Paolo Cannavaro, but the Azzurri restored parity through Argentine Lavezzi shortly afterwards.

Cavani scored in the extra minute of half time while Lavezzi added salt to Chelsea’s injury after Cavani’s lay off via shambolic defending from David Luiz.

The hosts started with their usual formation of attacking trio upfront- Marek Hamsik and Lavezzi supporting Cavani.

Meanwhile under pressure Chelsea boss, Andre Villas Boas dropped Fernando Torres and Frank Lampard to the bench and Didier Drogba was introduced into the starting lineup after coming back from African Cup of Nations. Skipper John Terry missed out due to Knee problems, as he would undergo surgery.

Cavani found himself in space after he evaded Gary Cahill in Chelsea penalty area, whose powerful shot was brilliantly blocked by Peter Cech.

That was followed by a litany of errors from both the teams. The injury to Bosingwa didn’t help either for the visitors and was substituted by Ashley Cole after just 10 minutes.

The Blues started to create some panic at the Naples heart as Florent Malouda missed a gilded chance after a long ball from Cech, though expertly intervened by Campagnaro on the way.

Christian Maggio was fed a delightful through pass from Hamsik on the right flank. The wing-back scurrying through drew another top save from the Chelsea goalie.

Against the run of play, Juan Mata scored for Chelsea, as skipper Cannavaro under pressure mis-kicked as he tried to clear a pass from Daniel Sturridge. It fell in the path of the Spaniard, who exuded great composure with a side footed finish.

Napoli shortly got back into the match through Lavezzi. The Argentine recieved a pass from Cavani outside the Chelsea penalty area curled a shot into the bottom corner with his right foot that could easily described as sublime piece of art.

Ramires could have given the Blues another lead had he found the net after blasting his shot over the bar before advancing to the goalmouth unchallenged from the middle.

Cavani gave the home side a relief after he met a cross from the right hand side, threw his shoulder against the delivery to divert it into the net. Branislav Ivanovic should have done better in that case.

Napoli looked dangerous after the break every time they attacked, Cavani got a great chance early in the half but he dragged his effort wide.

Chelsea enjoyed a fair amount of possession in the match until David Luiz made a defensive howler that was severely punished by Lavezzi after Cavani feeding him through a simple square pass.

Lampard and Essien were summoned from the bench though chances dried up as Napoli looked to pile up more pressures.

They could have got the fourth goal with 10 minutes remaining on the clock. Hamsik’s brilliant skill and pass was met by Maggio, but his shot on target was cleared off the goal-line by Ashley Cole.

Chelsea need to win the home tie by at least 2-0, but it is easier said than done. Napoli looks the possible winner of this tie from here on.

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This article was originally posted by Saikat Mandal

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Adrian Del MonteAuthor Adrian Del Monte  (779 Posts)

Founder of Socceranchor.com, I am a devoted Serie A and Roma supporter, who fell in love with the game at the age of just five, when Roberto Baggio excelled at the ’94 World Cup. Living in Australia and initially supporting Fiorentina, all roads led to Rome when star man Gabriel Batistuta made the switch, and I have not looked back since. Have worked for Goal.com and ESPNsoccernet over the past five years, whilst I spent a few months in the UK in 2010, working as an intern for the likes of ESPN, Sky Sports and The Guardian. Also had the amazing opportunity to report from the recent World Cup in South Africa – a life changing experience. Follow me on twitter: @adriandelmonte


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