Terry heads Chelsea victory over Roma

John Terry's powerful header led Chelsea to a 1-0 victory over AS Roma on Wednesday to open up a three-point advantage at the top of their Champions League group.

The Chelsea captain charged to meet a corner by Frank Lampard and scored with a glancing header inside the far post in the 77th minute at Stamford Bridge to take the Blues to seven points from three games.

Roma still has three points in Group A with three more games to go and Romania's CFR Cluj remains second with four points after a 1-0 loss in Bordeaux.

"It's my first goal at the Bridge for a couple of years so I'm pleased to get off the mark," Terry said. "They made it very difficult for us the whole time. They're a very good side, with some great players in their team. Maybe they deserved something, but thankfully we got the three points."

Roma manager Luciano Spalletti said that despite the defeat, his team performed well after the weekend's 4-0 loss at home to Inter Milan.

"I thought we deserved more out of the game. We were unlucky," he said. "The only way Chelsea were going to score tonight was from a set piece or scoring a goal out of nothing. John Terry timed his run well and made the goal well. That's part of his quality."

Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari said he learned long ago how dangerous Terry is at set pieces.

"When I was with Portugal, we played against England and I was afraid when Terry came into my area at corner kicks," he said. "I told my players that this player is very decisive and we need to look for him. If he touches the ball it is dangerous for us. Now I am here, I say to Terry to do the same."

With defenses dominating, there was little action in front of goal in the first half and Roma showed few signs why it is struggling in 14th place in Serie A. At the same time, Chelsea looked nothing like the side at the top of the Premier League, although the English team threatened more in the second half.