Big spenders Chelsea lost 2-0 to Lazio here at the Flaminio stadium in a friendly marred by the racial abuse aimed at the Premiership club's black players by large sections of the Italian crowd.
Chelsea's Dutch striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink suffered the worst treatment with nearly every one of his touches greeted by a chorus of monkey chants from the home supporters in a hostile first 45 minutes.
Many Lazio fans even taunted their only black player, Fabio Liverani, who understandably lacked confidence in possession and was withdrawn by coach Roberto Mancini for the second half.
Lazio have been in trouble before because of their fans' behaviour towards black players and the Rome-based club were heavily fined two seasons ago when supporters unfurled banners insulting Jewish fans of city rivals AS Roma.
Simone Inzaghi's 30th minute scissor-kick gave Lazio a deserved lead before Dejan Stankovic's downward header secured a comfortable win for the Serie A side at the stadium which usually hosts Italy's international rugby matches.
Lazio and Chelsea, who finished fourth in their respective leagues, have both qualified for the Champions League but must overcome a two-legged third round qualifying match to claim a place in the group stages.
Mancini was upset by the way the home fans turned on Liverani and booed Chelsea's black players.
"I'm very sorry, it's not pleasant," he said. "It spoilt what was otherwise an enjoyable evening."
Asked if there was a way of stopping the racists he replied: "There has to be. We have to keep trying."
Mancini said he was delighted with the condition of his players but refused to go overboard about the result.
"To beat a top team like Chelsea is always pleasing but let's not forget it was just a friendly," he said.
"We are all working towards getting into the Champions League and we have a lot of work to do in the next four weeks."
Playing under the watchful eye of new Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich, who bought the club two weeks ago and paid off its debts for an estimated total of 200 million euros (225 million dollars), Chelsea nearly conceded twice in the opening five minutes.
Only a last-ditch tackle by new signing Glen Johnson prevented Jaap Stam's goalbound effort from crossing the line before Serbian midfielder Sinisa Mihajlovic's looping free-kick hit the crossbar.
Apart from a half chance which was headed woefully wide by Mario Stanic, Chelsea rarely threatened and they were punished for their unadventurous approach on the half hour.
Lazio wing back Massimo Oddo found yards of space wide on the right after a Chelsea attack broke down and his waist-high cross was acrobatically diverted past Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudici by Inzaghi.
The English visitors fell further behind six minutes after the break when Claudio Lopez's inswinging free-kick was met by Stankovic who headed powerfully wide of Cudicini at the back post.
Chelsea have been linked with a batch of star players since Abramovich took control, including Arsenal duo Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira, Manchester United's Juan Sebastian Veron and Inter Milan striker Christian Vieri.
The Russian has said he wants to build a Chelsea team capable of winning the Champions League in the next three years.
So far Chelsea have signed 18-year-old right-back Johnson from West Ham and Real Madrid's Cameroon midfielder Geremi, who spent last season on loan at Middlesbrough.
Chelsea have also agreed fees for Blackburn's Republic of Ireland winger Damien Duff and Southampton's England full-back Wayne Bridge who are currently discussing personal terms.
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