 Complete the following phrase:  Due to missing most of the beginning half of the 201112 Premier League season, Essien was unable to gain favour with manager André Villas-Boas. On 21 February 2012, during a Champions League match against Napoli, Villas-Boas left Frank Lampard, Essien and Ashley Cole on the substitutes bench. Chelsea lost 31 and the clubs technical director asked for an explanation of the team selection on behalf of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. On 4 March 2012, following a 10 league defeat against West Brom which left Chelsea three points adrift of Arsenal in the battle for fourth place in the Premier League, Villas-Boas employment was terminated by Chelsea, with assistant manager Roberto Di Matteo being appointed as caretaker manager on an interim basis until the end of the season. Di Matteo immediately showed favour towards veteran Chelsea players like Essien, Lampard and John Terry. Subsequently, Essien started in Chelseas second leg champions league fixture against Napoli, with Chelsea winning 41  and 54 on aggregate  in an entertaining match allowing Chelsea to advance to the quarter-final, where they met Benfica. Essien subsequently remained an unused substitute in Chelseas Champions League run, culminating in the Blues victory over Bayern Munich in the 