Roman Abramovich will live in hope that Avram Grant’s turbulent reign at Stamford Bridge has not found permanent expression in this second-half car crash. At the moment, it appears as though it is a fitting summary.

Cruising to victory while playing some of their best football of the season, Chelsea suddenly were on the end of a shock defeat after conceding two goals in the space of 16 minutes, the first from Colin Kazim-Richards, a former Football League striker whose lack of European pedigree is shown by the fact that his first transfer was the result of a competition sponsored by Coca-Cola.

The Chelsea first-team coach cut a sorrowful figure while failing to provide a reason for the defeat, although few others present could offer a plausible explanation, other than the blindingly obvious — Fenerbahçe took their chances.

It is Grant’s fate that he is blamed for all that goes wrong regardless of whether it is his fault or not. Good managers find a way to win matches they should have lost, while poor ones lose games that were there to win. On this occasion, however, such analysis does him a disservice.

Grant is in the invidious position where credit for success will be given to his players, whereas blame for any failure is thrust firmly at his door, but the men on the pitch should take responsibility on this occasion. Chelsea created enough chances to win several matches but failed to take advantage, thwarted by casual finishing and several outstanding saves from Volkan Demirel.

Didier Drogba was particularly culpable, although Grant could be criticised, too, for failing to make a change after Fenerbahçe came back into it in the second half. The introduction of John Obi Mikel for a tiring Frank Lampard was a case of too little, too late.

The ultimate irony is that, for much of the night, Grant appeared to have got all the big decisions right, with Michael Ballack outstanding on his return to the side and Michael Essien getting through the work of two men at right back as he frequently stepped into midfield to drive his team-mates forward. Even Florent Malouda contributed on his first appearance for the club since the FA Cup defeat away to Barnsley four weeks ago, with his cross from the left silencing the crowd as Deivid put through his own net in the thirteenth minute.

Chelsea had started confidently enough, with Claude Makelele dictating the pace in midfield and Joe Cole providing a good outlet down the right and, after taking the lead, they dominated. Essien hit the crossbar with a powerful drive from 30 yards, Drogba headed across goal from the Ghanaian’s hopeful cross and then brought a smart save from Volkan after a clever ball from Ballack.

Chelsea’s biggest problem at that time appeared to be overconfidence, the only possible explanation for Drogba’s poor decision to shoot from the edge of the penalty area when Essien was unmarked in space to his right. Other than their own profligacy, Chelsea’s only moment of concern in the first half came when Mehmet Aurélio burst down the right and Ricardo Carvalho failed to reach his cross. Fortunately for them, so did Mateja Kezman.

Drogba spurned a great chance to kill the game just before half-time, shooting straight at Volkan after another magnificent through-ball from Ballack, a miss that proved costly when Fenerbahçe improved. Alex headed wide and Kezman aimed an overhead kick straight at Carlo Cudicini before Kazim-Richards grabbed the equaliser with a goal that could have been inspired by Neil Warnock, who signed him for Sheffield United.

Aurélio’s long ball caught Chelsea by surprise, no wonder given they had not conceded in this competition for more 11 hours, with Kazim-Richards outpacing Carvalho to shoot past Cudicini. If Grant’s sudden elevation to this level was a surprise, then that of Kazim-Richards has been even more astounding — the 21-year-old scored only nine goals in three seasons with Bury, Brighton & Hove Albion and Sheffield United before moving last summer to the country of his mother’s birth.

Spurred on by their fans, Fenerbahçe pushed for a second and were rewarded in the 81st minute when Deivid atoned for his own goal by beating Cudicini with a swerving shot from 30 yards. Chelsea still have it in them to progress, but if they fail to do so, the Champions League could claim the scalp of the club’s second manager this season.

Fenerbahçe (4-4-1-1): Volkan Demirel – Önder Turaci, Edu, Lugano, Gökcek Vedersen – Deivid, C Maldonado, Mehmet Aurélio, Ugur Boral (sub: C Kazim-Richards, 54min) – Alex – M Kezman (sub: Semih Sentürk, 72). Substitutes not used: Serdar Kulbilge, Yasin Cakmak, Kemal Aslan, Ali Bilgin, Selcuk Sahin.

Chelsea (4-3-3): C Cudicini – M Essien, R Carvalho, J Terry, A Cole – M Ballack, C Makelele, F Lampard (sub: J O Mikel, 76) – J Cole (sub: N Anelka, 86), D Drogba, F Malouda. Substitutes not used: Hilário, P Ferreira, S Kalou, S Wright-Phillips, Alex.

Referee: C B Larsen (Denmark).