Chelsea's quest to repeat as European champion may have gotten significantly more difficult.
All Chelsea had to do to top its Champions League group was hold out for a couple of more minutes. With a 3–2 lead over Zenit St. Petersburg and a first-place finish within its grasp, it was all there for the taking for the defending European champions. But a stoppage-time concession forced Chelsea to settle for a draw, and subsequently a second-place group finish that makes the road to returning to Zenit's home stadium—the final is set to be staged there in late May—all the more challenging.