Chelsea FC: Didier Drogba and Other Old-Timers Shine in Emphatic Win

Chelsea made a remarkable comeback in the second leg of the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League to convincingly defeat Napoli 4-1 (5-4 on aggregate, aet).

All throughout the game, besides a few nervy moments, Chelsea worked effectively well as a unit.

They defended very well for the majority of the game, but the first 15 minutes were especially nerve-wrecking for the men in Blue.

Nevertheless, Chelsea pulled off an emphatic win and sealed their place in the quarterfinals.

The game did have its fair share of tense moments.

When Görkhan Inler pulled one back for Napoli and gave the Italian team an important away goal, it looked like the end of Chelsea’s Champions League involvement for this season.

All the plaudits should be bestowed upon the three players whom many considered pivotal to Andre Villas Boas’ departure—John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.

All three managed to get on the scoresheet.

Didier Drogba was simply phenomenal. Although he failed to register a mark in the opening minutes, his goal was a breathtaking spectacle. He opened the proceedings with a world-class header off an equally remarkable Ramires cross.

More importantly, his goal set the tone for the rest of the match, as Chelsea looked more confident and poised.

He was also instrumental in the final goal that saw Chelsea through—it was a man of the match performance from the Ivory Coast international.

John Terry was next on the scoresheet after he latched onto a Frank Lampard corner and headed home.

Frank Lampard was also highly industrious and tracked back extensively, winning five tackles in the process.

He was effective in the air and his penalty—a handball in the 75^th minute by Andrea Dossena meant that Chelsea had an opportunity to take the game to extra time—to put Chelsea back into the game was taken with perfect poise.  

A man who had been snubbed by the young Portuguese manager, Andre Villas-Boas, proved once again that he was still at the top of his game.

The encounter went into extra time, and a goal came from the unlikeliest of sources—Branislav Ivanovic—just before the end of the first period of extra time.

At this stage, Napoli still only needed one more goal to put them through on the away-goals rule.

However, it was Chelsea who came closest to scoring and they could have buried the game in the dying moments of extra time when a fast break down the left hand side by Florent Malouda opened up the Italians.

He played the ball too late and Didier Drogba could not put it away.

In the end Chelsea won convincingly. 

David Luiz had an excellent game at the heart of the defense. He intercepted balls with precision and made four tackles.

Branislav Ivanovic also put in a fantastic performance which culminated in a beautifully taken goal. He was strong in the air and tackled with pin-point precision throughout the game.

Chelsea now remain the only English club left in the competition and have the possibility of facing heavyweights like Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid.