Harpreet Seehra
Elite
Goalkeeper Petr Cech says Chelsea will have to "do it the hard way" in their Champions League group after drawing 1-1 away to Genk on Tuesday.
Chelsea started the game knowing they had a chance of qualifying for the knockout stage with two games to spare, if they did the business and the other result went their way. In the end neither happened.
Ramires gave Chelsea the lead when he burst into the area after playing a neat one-two with Fernando Torres before David Luiz missed the chance to double the Blues' lead from the penalty spot.
Jelle Vossen then equalised for Genk in the 61st minute.
Chelsea do, however, remain top of the group after Valencia beat Bayer Leverkusen.
Cech admitted Chelsea failed to kill off the game when they had the chance.
"We could have put the game beyond their reach but we didn't do and that's why they came back into the game," he said. "For their comeback they deserved a point.
"We had chances to kill the game off but we didn't do it.
"We kept organised and did what we had to do. For them it was a fantastic game and they had nothing to lose.
"When you get the opponent into this sort of mood it's difficult.
"We could have done it the easiest way possible and play four games and be qualified so now we have to do it the hard way".
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas admitted things were now "a little bit tighter".
He said: "We go away and it's a bit tighter, but we have responsibilities that we don't escape.
"Our job is to qualify first and that's what we'd like to do.''
The Portuguese denied his side had lost control in the second half.
"We were quite organised in the first half and, in the second half, you are confusing losing control of the game with the emotions coming from the stadium,'' he said.
"But we created enough opportunities to win the game.
"It's just not happening for us in terms of efficiency.
"We hit the post, missed a penalty, had chances in front of the posts.
"It seems we need to focus, in terms of efficiency.
"At 1-0, the game is always close. They created a few chances, and one went into the net to make it 1-1.
"It's not a bad result away from home, but it's a game we expected to win. We have to react.''
Villas-Boas insisted Luiz had not broken ranks by taking the penalty.
Explaining the reasoning behind who took the spot-kick, he said: "They decide out on the pitch and today it went with David, but the goalkeeper made the save.''
Villas-Boas also defended right-back Jose Bosingwa, who struggled again after his error-strewn display in Saturday's 5-3 Barclays Premier League defeat to Arsenal.
He said: "I would never discuss any particular player in public, but I have faith in all of my squad.
"That's the squad that we have for the season, and hopefully it's the squad that will take us to titles.
"The team suffers when we make a mistake, not individuals.''
Genk boss Mario Been was delighted with his side's fightback, especially after their 5-0 thrashing at Stamford Bridge two weeks earlier.
"I'm very pleased with the result,'' said Been after watching Jelle Vossen score the Belgians' first goal of the competition.
"We saw also the game in London - this was completely different.
"We started very well. Then, when we lost the ball, it was right away 1-0.
"At that moment, the goalkeeper kept us in the game by stopping the penalty.
"But, in the second half, we kept on believing in our chances and we created some chances. We played even better than Chelsea in the second half.
"The goal was really good, so we can be very pleased to take a point against a big club like Chelsea. You can imagine how happy we are.''
He added: "I know how they talked about us in England. Maybe we'll buy the papers tomorrow and see if they talk about us a little bit better.''
Chelsea started the game knowing they had a chance of qualifying for the knockout stage with two games to spare, if they did the business and the other result went their way. In the end neither happened.
Ramires gave Chelsea the lead when he burst into the area after playing a neat one-two with Fernando Torres before David Luiz missed the chance to double the Blues' lead from the penalty spot.
Jelle Vossen then equalised for Genk in the 61st minute.
Chelsea do, however, remain top of the group after Valencia beat Bayer Leverkusen.
Cech admitted Chelsea failed to kill off the game when they had the chance.
"We could have put the game beyond their reach but we didn't do and that's why they came back into the game," he said. "For their comeback they deserved a point.
"We had chances to kill the game off but we didn't do it.
"We kept organised and did what we had to do. For them it was a fantastic game and they had nothing to lose.
"When you get the opponent into this sort of mood it's difficult.
"We could have done it the easiest way possible and play four games and be qualified so now we have to do it the hard way".
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas admitted things were now "a little bit tighter".
He said: "We go away and it's a bit tighter, but we have responsibilities that we don't escape.
"Our job is to qualify first and that's what we'd like to do.''
The Portuguese denied his side had lost control in the second half.
"We were quite organised in the first half and, in the second half, you are confusing losing control of the game with the emotions coming from the stadium,'' he said.
"But we created enough opportunities to win the game.
"It's just not happening for us in terms of efficiency.
"We hit the post, missed a penalty, had chances in front of the posts.
"It seems we need to focus, in terms of efficiency.
"At 1-0, the game is always close. They created a few chances, and one went into the net to make it 1-1.
"It's not a bad result away from home, but it's a game we expected to win. We have to react.''
Villas-Boas insisted Luiz had not broken ranks by taking the penalty.
Explaining the reasoning behind who took the spot-kick, he said: "They decide out on the pitch and today it went with David, but the goalkeeper made the save.''
Villas-Boas also defended right-back Jose Bosingwa, who struggled again after his error-strewn display in Saturday's 5-3 Barclays Premier League defeat to Arsenal.
He said: "I would never discuss any particular player in public, but I have faith in all of my squad.
"That's the squad that we have for the season, and hopefully it's the squad that will take us to titles.
"The team suffers when we make a mistake, not individuals.''
Genk boss Mario Been was delighted with his side's fightback, especially after their 5-0 thrashing at Stamford Bridge two weeks earlier.
"I'm very pleased with the result,'' said Been after watching Jelle Vossen score the Belgians' first goal of the competition.
"We saw also the game in London - this was completely different.
"We started very well. Then, when we lost the ball, it was right away 1-0.
"At that moment, the goalkeeper kept us in the game by stopping the penalty.
"But, in the second half, we kept on believing in our chances and we created some chances. We played even better than Chelsea in the second half.
"The goal was really good, so we can be very pleased to take a point against a big club like Chelsea. You can imagine how happy we are.''
He added: "I know how they talked about us in England. Maybe we'll buy the papers tomorrow and see if they talk about us a little bit better.''
