Chelsea’s dismal run continued as they slumped to a 1-0 Champions League defeat at Marseille.
The Blues, who were already assured of a place in the last 16, struggled to get going in the first half as the French side looked the more likely to open the scoring at Stade Velodrome.
Benoit Cheyrou was just off-target from distance before Mathieu Valbuena clattered Petr Cech’s crossbar as Marseille threatened.
An unmarked Valbuena headed wide before Loic Remy also failed to hit the target, and Marseille thought they had taken the lead when Gabriel Heinze headed home, but celebrations were cut short by an offside flag.
There was controversy before the break when Chelsea’s Florent Malouda went down under a challenge from Souleymane Diawara and the referee pointed to the spot, but following a discussion with the linesman the official changed his decision.
And Salomon Kalou also had appeals for a penalty kick waved away, but it continued to be almost one-way traffic in favour of the hosts.
Branislav Ivanovic threw himself in front of a Fabrice Abriel shot and a Taye Taiwo strike struck John Terry and flew just wide of Cech’s goal.
But Marseille were finally rewarded nine minutes from time when another deflected Taiwo effort fell to Brandao, and the Brazilian made no mistake to tap in the winner.