UEFA Champions League

Goal came against the run of play and was harsh on the home side. Cudicini made some great saves to keep Chelsea in it in the first half but the second half belonged to the English team and the result was probably a fair one

Great performance from Chelsea in terms of weathering the early storm and then growing into the game. Didn't actually have a shot on target all game but their resolute defending, particularly in the face of the excellent Aleksander Hleb and Philip Lahm down the left, saw them beat a very good side

Final whistle sounds and the game finishes 1-0 in Chelsea's favour

Now it's time for Hasselbaink and Bridge on the left to play keep ball

Cole and Lampard look to kill the clock down by the right hand corner flag but loose possession in the process and Stuttgart can attack

Two minutes of time to be added

Lahm dances down the left wing, flying over Chelsea's tackles. turns full circle in the box and sends the ball across the goal but to no end. great run

Crespo makes way for Joe Cole

Tiffert swings the free kick in to the far post and the ball ends up pinging around the box for a while. Before Chelsea clear

Hleb yet again striving to get round Johnson. Does so but the defender grabs some of his shirt and is booked

Bridge again makes up acres of ground down the left and looks for Duff but the pair can't retain possession.

Stuttgart being reduced to shots from distance. This time it's Lahm's turn and though the effort has power it is well off target

Free kick 10 yards out of the box on by the left corner of the area. Tiffert shoots with a swerving effort aimed at the near bootom corner of Cudicini's goal. Keeper gets down very well to collect

Stuttgart looking to up the tempo to chase the game

Kuranyi tries his luck from distance. On target but Cudicini is well positioned and simply palms it away

Haselbaink tackled in the box and Stuttgart break into space. Poor passing lets them down and so Chelsea counter

Bridge overlaps Duff to receive the ball, then Duff overlaps Bridge as Chelsea make ground. Duff is tackled driving along the by-line towards goal. Claims he is fouled but it is a clean tackle

Hasselbaink lines up to shoot. Makelele lays it short and Cacau is there to put off Hasselbaink. Shot straight into the wall

Ball going from end to end. Long ball forward for Stuttgart sees Cudicini race out of his area to head to touch. Brave from the Italian

Ball over the top for Hasselbaink to chase. Hildebrand gets out of his goal quickly to get there first. Hasselbaink throws himself over the keepers body but no one is fooled - least of all the ref

Stuttgart come forwar in numbers after a Chelsea attack breaks down. Cacau tries a ball long to the back post and it is the wrong option. Bridge easily cuts it out

Lahm down the right chips in a short cross. Terry misjudges it and Cacau is waitng to head for goal. Luckily for Chelsea Bridge is in the way of the balls path

Hasselbaink comes on to replace Gudjohnsen

Hleb releases Cacau down the right and a race is on between him and Johnson. Johnson does enough to get back and halt his run at the expense of a throw in

Duff tries to use his fresh legs to get the better of Hinkel. The German, however, reads his turns and dispossesses the Irishman

duff's first contribution. has the ball infront of goal 35 yards out. Lays a short ball foward to lampard and then powers forward. Delightful back heel return from Lampard just fails to fall into Duff's path. Catches his heels instead

Lah's endeavour has warmed up the crowd a bit and the noise level has risen

Lahm shows speed, power and skill getting forward into the box. Bursts through Makelel and Johnson, cuts inside and then tries to lay a ball back for a team mate but Terry is in his way

Substitutions take an age to get on

Substitutions for bothe sides. Duff replaces Gronkjaer for Chelseas; Cacau on for Heldt for Stuttgart

Johnson does very well to tackle heldt and break forward to Crespo. crespo gets there and nicks the ball away before he is clattered by Soldo on the half way line

Bridge does very well getting forward down the wing. beats two men but then the ball runs away from him and he is out of position when Stuttgart break. Luckily for him the final ball is very poor and the attack comes to nothing

free kick whipped in to the back post area. Bodies go up for it and the referee judges a Chelsea man got the last touch. Corner

Hleb's pace once more troubles Johnson at right back. So much so that he trips his man and gives Stuttgart a free kick, out on the right

Lampard is crudely brought down as he gets up a head of steam. Looked worthy of a card but none given

Cudicini is booked for time wasting after not rushing to take a goal kick - despite the fact he has not taken a single kick all night due to a niggling injury.

Soldo tries an effort from all of 35 yards and demonstrates why he is a centre back and not a striker

Hleb, Stuttgart's best player so far, wriggles to the by-line in the box. Looks to cut back but there are no options for him. Does put it across but it is a Chelsea head that gets there first.

Johson does well to cut in from the right along the penalty area. Lays square to Gudjohsen who in turn puts Crespo away into the box. Good finish but the whistle has already gone, rightly, for offside

Meira strides out of defence with the ball and plays a wayward diagonal ball to a Chelsea man. Crowd groan - they are starting to get on their team's back a bit

Promising move for Chelsea with Geremi down the right channel. has time to measure a cross but slices it behind. Wasteful from a good position

Chelsea getting some time on the ball. A passing move that started with Cudicini until Gudjohnsen is given too much to do to latch on to a through ball at the other end

Second half has begun as the first did with Stuttgart making all the running

free kick for the home side, a long way out, slightly to the left. Meira runs up and hits a daisy cutter along the wet surface. Powerful enough but it goes wide of Cudicini's right hand post

Helb, looking energised on the left for Stuttgart plays a one two with Szabics to get into the box but the ball does not quite reach him and Chelsea snuff out the danger

Lham and Helb interchange passes down the left before Helb swings in a dangerous looking cross. Geremi gets to it first though

At the break Christian Tiffert came on for Silvio Meissner

Second half gets underway and Gronkjaer gets into space on the left, cuts back and tries a back heel to set Bridge away. Easily read though and Bridge is tackled

The goal came against the run of play and subdued the home side for a bit until they once more threatened each time they attacked. Chelsea looked good on the break, at times, until the last 15 minutes where they have started putting passes together and cut out the silly mistakes

Great opening from Stuttgart who took the game to the visitors and dominated early play. Working down the flanks with neat approach play Chelsea were chasing shadows and unable to retain possession in midfield.

Last action of the half as the referee calls half-time. 1-0 Chelsea

Lampard is pushed as he tries to ride a tackle. Free-kick 30 yards out to the left side of the pitch. Geremi drills a low effort round the wall and into a crowded box. Could break anywhere but fortunately for Stuttgart it lands at the feet of Soldo who punts clear

One minute of added time to be added

Long pass down the left wing from Bridge gives Gronkjaer too much to do to control it

Chelsea retaining possession better than they have previously in the match

Makelele plays a short ball forward from the centre cirle up to Crespo with his back to goal. Soldo gets up too close to him and the tackle from behind earns a free-kick

At the other end there are half-hearted appeals for a penalty as Terry gets in front of Kuranyi. Referee gives nothing and Terry clears far upfield

Good period of pressure from Chelsea, camped in the opposition's half

Corner from the right is better. Gudjohnsen rises to meet it at the back post but the imposing figure of Soldo gets ahead of him to make contact. Bouncing ball is punted clear by the same man

Bordon puts his goalkeeper in trouble with a slack back pass but between the two they manage to avert the danger at the expense of a corner

Again the corner from Geremi is poor and, at the second attempt, Stuttgart get in a headed clearance

Gudjohnsen plays a wonderful diagonal pass to Geremi who runs forward into space down the right. Men waiting in the middle but the first defender is able to stick out a foot and put behind for a corner

Chelsea don't rush to take the corner. Wasn't worth waiting for and Stuttgart clear easily

Hleb tries to cut inside from the right looking to give a pass. Johnson shadows and then tackles him. Quick ball up field to Crespo. Johnson busts a gut to join him and it's three against two for a moment. However, Crespo goes left to Gudjohnsen and the move breaks down. Corner ball

Ball held up in midfield for a period

Stuttgart having all the pressure but when Chelsea break they look dangerous

Chelsea break into space up front with a surging run from Crespo who is found by a long slide rule pass from Geremi. Finds space out on the right and lays a beautiful square ball across to Gudjohnsen right in front of goal. Must score but instead balloons his shot over. Let off for Stuttgart

Szabics wide on the left, lays a ball inside to Soldo who tries to release him in the box. Gronkjaer however is alive to the danger and covers the pass well

Referee lets play go but after the ball is put out so he can receive treatment he showns Makelele yellow

Makelele loses possession not for the first time in the middle of the pitch. In an effort to get the ball back he kicks Hinkel in the chest. Nothing in it really, a genuine attempt for the ball.

Delivery from the free-kick, on the right level with the six yard box, is not as good as it has been and comes to nothing

Heldt breaks down the left and looks to have got the better of the Chelsea back line before Lampard trips him up with a bad challenge. Lampard is the first player to be booked

Chelsea mount an rare attack and after a mistake from Bordon, Gudjohnsen gets possession in the home team's box. Wastefully lets it run out for a goal kick

Stuttgart go for a quick ball over the top for Kuranyi to chase but he sets off from an offside position and is penalised

Corner flung in is won by a white shirt but the header is right down Cudicini's throat and he hangs on to the ball well

Hleb, hugging the left touch line again heads for the touchlin. Lampard this time comes across to deflect the attempted cross off his shins for a corner

Corner from the left requires Cudicini, under pressure, to punch clear which he does well

Corner from the right is delivered with speed. Kuranyi leaps to a great height and really attacks the ball. Downward header on goal but Bridge is on the line to get his own head to it before Makelele clers

Johson has to intervene as Stuttgart attack down the right, again, to give away a corner

A lull in play that is broken up with a few niggly fouls

Cudicini is not taking goal kicks, obviously not yet fully fit

Helb has room on the right. looks for the right pass into the box, plays the ball along the box and back again. Whips in a low cross but Heldt's shot on the turn is weak

Heldt tries to get the better of Johnson down the right flank. the Chelsea man look to foul his opponent but the referee says otherwise and he is able to clear up field

Harsh on the Germans who, until the goal, had bossed the game

Respite for Chelsea with a long clearance for Geremi to chase but he comes off second best against Meira

Ball given away in the centre by Makelele invites the German side back on to them

Stuttgart having all of the opening play with Chelsea chasing shadows

Kuranyi hits the byline on the left, cuts back and swings in a right footed cross that the defence can't deal with. Breaks wide to Hleb who picks out Meissner completely unmarked by the penalty spot. First time effort is goal bound until Cudicini gets down sharply to pull off a fantastic save to his left

Ball returned up feild to the edge of the box. Beautiful chested lay-off front Szabics for the oncoming Hinkel whose snap shot flys over the bar

He gets up to take the kick and floats it deep for Kuranyi who heads back across the goal but no one is able to make contact and Chelsea can clear.

Hleb is upended out by the left corner flag by Geremi

Gudjohnsen twists and turns into the box but is crowded out by a number of white shirted defenders

Lampard plays a hopeful ball forward and Gudjohnsen reaches it before letting the ball run out of play

Stuttgart kick off and break early but a slip by Szabics and the move breaks down

Both sides are suffering a dip in domestic form after topping their respective leagues and will be looking to kick start the end of the season with success tonight

Stuttgart are highly organised and have the meanest defence in the Bundesliga. No major injury worries for the German side who will be looking for highly rated Kevin Kuranyi to casue problems up front

Chelsea boss Claudio ranieri makes a number of changes from the side that started against Arsenal at the weekend. Fit again Cudicini starts in goal while Johnson, Gronkjaer and Crespo are given starts. Damien Duff is fit but starts from the bench, as do Parker, Cole and Hasselbaink

All the first leg action from the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion, kicking off at 19.45 GMT