A third-minute strike from Alex Teixeira has given Shakhtar Donetsk a deserved half-time advantage over Chelsea in their Champions League tie at the Donbass Arena tonight.

In what was a disappointing opening 45 minutes for the Blues, the recalled Frank Lampard was forced off injured as Chelsea failed to settle after conceding early on.

The Ukrainian champions, who have remarkably won their last 27 domestic league matches, could have been further ahead at the break were it not for visiting goalkeeper Petr Cech.

However, the Chelsea stopper was helpless to prevent Teixeira's opener, after David Luiz's tame tackle diverted the ball straight into the path of the Brazilian, who shot low across Cech into the bottom corner.

Reported Chelsea target Willian, who was apparently the subject of a summer bid from the European Champions, had an opportunity to extend Shakhtar's lead but blazed over aimlessly having shown great trickery to find space on the edge of the area.

Fernando Torres wasted Chelsea's only notable chance when he was foiled by Donetsk keeper Andriy Pyatov after he had been found unmarked by Ramires's square ball.

At the other end, Cech ensured the deficit remained at one with a string of fine saves in the period's later stages, twice denying the hosts' top scorer Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Cech's international teammate Tomas Hubschman had a brilliant opportunity just prior to the interval but his close-range effort was palmed away from danger.