The Blues had a penalty decision overturned.
Chelsea fell to a 1-0 defeat in their final Champions League group game against Marseille, with a performance that typified their recent poor form.
An 81st minute winner from Brandao was enough to settle the game at the Stade Velodrome and it was a deserved victory for the hosts, who progress alongside Carlo Ancelotti's beleaguered Blues into the tournament's last 16.
Ancelotti claimed that the performance of his side was more important than the result, though a line-up that included a host of Chelsea regulars suggested that the Italian wanted all three points in France to aid a side short on confidence.
Marseille approached the game with vigor from the off, keeping the ball with relative ease against a sluggish Chelsea midfield in the opening exchanges.
Suggestions prior to the game that is was a dead rubber never showed on the pitch, as both sides took a relatively carefree attitude under the encouragement of a typically red-hot Stade Velodrome atmosphere.
Loic Remy saw a difficult chance pass him by on the sixth minute after Mathieu Valbuena's deflected shot fell to him on the edge of the six-yard box but the Frenchman failed to maneuver himself to catch the floating ball sweetly.
Marseille's opening pressure nearly paid dividends on the 10th minute when Valbuena, the Ligue 1 side's enigmatic captain, rattled the crossbar with a fine 25-yard strike after some uncharacteristic dithering by Michael Essien.
Marseille, who play Auxerre this weekend, had clearly rattled Chelsea and it was a miracle that the Blues survived the opening 15 minutes without Petr Cech's goal being breached.
Chelsea briefly responded however, and it was on their first attack of any real merit that French international Florent Malouda went down in the box under the challenge of Souleymane Diawara. Referee Vladislav Bezborodov pointed to the spot but changed his mind after an intervention from his assistant, to the indignation of the visitors.
Ten minutes later and it was the French champions who had cause for complaint, as Gabriel Heinze rose in the box, twisting his body to net Benoit Cheyrou's whipped free-kick with a powerful header, only to see it chalked off for a questionable offside decision.
It was a controversial close to an scintillating first-half as Diawara rode his luck for a second time to fall Ivorian Salomon Kalou in the box only for the fifth-official to dismiss what appeared to be a very credible penalty shout.
As the second half started, Chelsea had a chance to break the deadlock after 17-year-old starlet Josh McEachran delivered a sublime through-ball for Malouda to only waste the chance, hitting a limp effort into the arms of Steve Mandanda.
The intensity of the crowd, which topped 50,000, somewhat dampened as the opener looked evermore unlikely and it was reflected on the pitch, with a scrappy midfield battle ensuing as the hour mark approached.
Didier Drogba was ineffective on his return to the club which he left to join Chelsea for £24 million in 2004 and was duly replaced for Daniel Sturridge on the 62nd minute.
Sturridge's introduction failed to spark Ancelotti's side into life and the Italian seemed happy to settle for a draw as he substituted captain John Terry for Paulo Ferreira, presumably with a view to resting the recently injured defender ahead of a vital league clash against Tottenham this weekend.
Chelsea were forced into a further change as Jose Bosingwa, sidelined for much of his Stamford Bridge career, was brought off with a suspected hamstring injury.
L'OM continued to look the more dangerous as the game entered it's final ten minutes and the Blues misery was compounded as Brandao tapped in from close range after a dangerous low ball was delivered by the impress Taye Taiwo.
Chelsea never threatened to equalize in the closing stages, as Didier Deschamps' side saw out a fine and very much deserved win.
An 81st minute winner from Brandao was enough to settle the game at the Stade Velodrome and it was a deserved victory for the hosts, who progress alongside Carlo Ancelotti's beleaguered Blues into the tournament's last 16.
Ancelotti claimed that the performance of his side was more important than the result, though a line-up that included a host of Chelsea regulars suggested that the Italian wanted all three points in France to aid a side short on confidence.
Marseille approached the game with vigor from the off, keeping the ball with relative ease against a sluggish Chelsea midfield in the opening exchanges.
Suggestions prior to the game that is was a dead rubber never showed on the pitch, as both sides took a relatively carefree attitude under the encouragement of a typically red-hot Stade Velodrome atmosphere.
Loic Remy saw a difficult chance pass him by on the sixth minute after Mathieu Valbuena's deflected shot fell to him on the edge of the six-yard box but the Frenchman failed to maneuver himself to catch the floating ball sweetly.
Marseille's opening pressure nearly paid dividends on the 10th minute when Valbuena, the Ligue 1 side's enigmatic captain, rattled the crossbar with a fine 25-yard strike after some uncharacteristic dithering by Michael Essien.
Marseille, who play Auxerre this weekend, had clearly rattled Chelsea and it was a miracle that the Blues survived the opening 15 minutes without Petr Cech's goal being breached.
Chelsea briefly responded however, and it was on their first attack of any real merit that French international Florent Malouda went down in the box under the challenge of Souleymane Diawara. Referee Vladislav Bezborodov pointed to the spot but changed his mind after an intervention from his assistant, to the indignation of the visitors.
Ten minutes later and it was the French champions who had cause for complaint, as Gabriel Heinze rose in the box, twisting his body to net Benoit Cheyrou's whipped free-kick with a powerful header, only to see it chalked off for a questionable offside decision.
It was a controversial close to an scintillating first-half as Diawara rode his luck for a second time to fall Ivorian Salomon Kalou in the box only for the fifth-official to dismiss what appeared to be a very credible penalty shout.
As the second half started, Chelsea had a chance to break the deadlock after 17-year-old starlet Josh McEachran delivered a sublime through-ball for Malouda to only waste the chance, hitting a limp effort into the arms of Steve Mandanda.
The intensity of the crowd, which topped 50,000, somewhat dampened as the opener looked evermore unlikely and it was reflected on the pitch, with a scrappy midfield battle ensuing as the hour mark approached.
Didier Drogba was ineffective on his return to the club which he left to join Chelsea for £24 million in 2004 and was duly replaced for Daniel Sturridge on the 62nd minute.
Sturridge's introduction failed to spark Ancelotti's side into life and the Italian seemed happy to settle for a draw as he substituted captain John Terry for Paulo Ferreira, presumably with a view to resting the recently injured defender ahead of a vital league clash against Tottenham this weekend.
Chelsea were forced into a further change as Jose Bosingwa, sidelined for much of his Stamford Bridge career, was brought off with a suspected hamstring injury.
L'OM continued to look the more dangerous as the game entered it's final ten minutes and the Blues misery was compounded as Brandao tapped in from close range after a dangerous low ball was delivered by the impress Taye Taiwo.
Chelsea never threatened to equalize in the closing stages, as Didier Deschamps' side saw out a fine and very much deserved win.
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