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Ten-man Chelsea missed out on the chance to book a place in the last 16 of the Champions League when they were held to a 1-1 draw at Bordeaux.

Nicolas Anelka opened the scoring on the hour mark with Chelsea's first real attempt of goal, only for Alou Diarra - formerly on Liverpool's books - to head an equaliser with seven minutes remaining.

Chelsea were out of sorts for much of the match and a generally miserable night for the Blues was compounded in the 87th minute when Frank Lampard received a second yellow card and his marching orders.

Chelsea now need to beat CFR Cluj - who fell 3-1 at home to new group leaders Roma - in a fortnight to be guaranteed a place in the knockout stage of the competition.

It is a headache manager Luiz Felipe Scolari could well do without, but after dropping two points against Cluj, losing at Roma and now drawing on the Atlantic coast of France, it is hardly a surprising one.

Scolari chose to stick with the in-form Anelka in France, rather than recalling Didier Drogba - whose future remains the focus of much speculation - while Michael Ballack made his first start since surgery on both feet, coming into the side for the suspended Deco.

But the hosts made most of the early running, Fernando letting fly from 30 yards with a devilish shot that bounced just before it reached Petr Cech as early as the fifth minute; the Chelsea keeper opted to take no chances and, even though the ball appeared to be going wide, turned it behind for a corner.

Cech was again brought into action on 19 minutes, this time to parry a speculative Mathieu Chalme effort away to safety as Bordeaux showed real intent to avenge their 4-0 mauling in the sides' meeting at Stamford Bridge earlier in the competition.

On-loan Milan midfielder Yoann Gourcuff in particular looked a class act, and the young Frenchman bringing a good save out of Cech on 26 minutes after a lovely turn and shot from the edge of the box.

At the other end, Chelsea struggled to fashion an opening during the opening period and were more often than not forced into hitting long balls up to Anelka, who had little joy against the hosts' backline.

Scolari's face told its own story as the teams headed into the dressing room at half-time, but the visibly unhappy Portuguese still waited until the hour mark before deciding to shuffle his pack.

But with Drogba stripped off and waiting a break in play before entering the fray, Lampard split the defence open with a super through pass which Anelka ran onto, delaying his shot as long as possible before coolly slotting home.

It was to prove Anelka's final involvement in the game, as Scolari went ahead with his plan to bring on Drogba in an attempt to ruffle a few Bordeaux feathers.

The goal briefly settled Chelsea, as they began to play the ball around with a lot more fluency. Lampard came into the game and could have added a second on 79 minutes, stand-in keeper Mathieu Valverde finding his wickedly swerving shot too hot to handle.

But that was as close as Chelsea came to sealing all three points as Bordeaux blew the game wide open once again with the equaliser four minutes later.

Scolari will ask questions as to why the unmarked Diarra was allowed to nip in at the near post to head home from a corner. His captain John Terry may have the answer, having completely lost his man.

Just as Anelka's earlier strike had threatened to, the goal turned the tide of the game; a new-found confidence coursed through Bordeaux and they pressed in search of a late winner as Chelsea panicked under the pressure.

Lampard's dismissal - for a wild lunge on Chalme - prompted a fevered final five minutes during which substitute Fernando Cavenaghi shot wide and Gourcuff's corner created pandemonium in the Chelsea six-yard box.

Chelsea managed to hang on for a point, but the relief will be shortlived as yet more tension awaits Scolari and his troops at Stamford Bridge when Cluj make the trip over from Transylvania in two week's time.

CFR Cluj 1-3 Roma

Matteo Brighi scored a goal in each half to help Roma beat Cluj 3-1 and overtake Chelsea at the top of Group A.

Brighi opened the scoring in the 11th minute after a defensive error and added his second in the 64th after a perfect assist from Rodrigo Taddei.

Talismanic captain Francesco Totti gave Cluj goalkeeper Eduard Stancioiu no chance with a soaring 25-yard free-kick into the left corner of the net to make it 2-0 in the 23rd minute.

Yssouf Kone, the home side's best player on the night, pulled a goal back seven minutes later with a header after Doni failed to clear Alvaro Pereira's low shot from the edge of the area.

Roma's victory made up for their shock 2-1 home defeat to Cluj in the group opener at the Stadio Olimpico in September.

The Italians now have nine points with Chelsea second on eight and Bordeaux, Roma's opponents in the final group match on December 9, third on seven. Cluj have four points.

Mike Hytner / Eurosport / Reuters