Chelsea Still Rely On The Brooding Brilliance Of Drogba

With his side staring down the very real possibility of exiting the Champions League in the Group stages, Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari threw the dice, hoping to pull an ace from his sleeve.

The Brazilian sent on Didier Drogba in an attempt to wrest back control of the game that his side had surrendered when Kone headed in past Petr Cech.

The move paid off in a spectacular fashion, and underlined just how important Drogba will be to Chelsea’s trophy hopes this season.

The Ivorian may have had an injury and suspension ravaged season so far, but he didn’t show it as he expertly took down Joe Cole’s pass and then prodded the ball home.

The home fans within the confines of Stamford Bridge breathed a huge collective sigh of relief, and Scolari cut a much less agitated figure on the touchline.

No doubt sensing that the media coverage was set to focus on the exploits of Drogba, Scolari was at pains to point out in his post match interviews the contribution Nicolas Anelka has made to the club’s season so far.

 "Don't forget we arrived in this position, and second in the Premier League, because our scorer is Anelka," Scolari said.

"Drogba is very important, one of the best in the world, but I need to think about Anelka. He is as important."

But one cannot help but come to the conclusion that Drogba will be the main protagonist in Chelsea’s quest for domestic and European glory over the coming campaign.

Time and again in his career at Stamford Bridge, Drogba has delivered when it matters. He has scored 4 goals in 3 Carling Cup Finals, and notched up the decisive goal against Manchester United in the 2007 FA Cup Final.

The Champions League Final between the teams last season may have been a noticeable exception, but without his brace against Liverpool in the Semi-Final, Chelsea wouldn’t have been there in the first place.

Anelka has undoubtedly been in fine goal scoring form so far this season, but not against the big teams. Against Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United, he has failed to shine as he does against the likes of West Brom, Sunderland and Bolton.

If Drogba had been fit for those games, would the results have been any different? It is often worthless and futile to speculate on what might have been, but in this case you would certainly find some Chelsea fans who would think that you had a point.

While Drogba can nearly always be relied upon to deliver, Anelka’s record remains very patchy and doesn’t inspire total confidence.

John Terry no doubt echoed the sentiments of many Chelsea fans when he hailed Drogba’s return to the team.

“It's a great boost to have him back and it was a great goal from him as well. He can hold the ball up but he can play as well," said Terry.

"Put it into his feet and he can spin a man and he can score some great goals. He's a great dimension for our team and it's a great boost to have him back.

"His fitness is there, he's delighted and we're well pleased with him."

Scolari seemed to have conflicting views to his captain, asserting that ‘all of my players are important, not only one player’.

One player certainly doesn’t make a team, but there can be no doubt that Chelsea are a very different side when they are spearheaded by the their temperamental talisman.