Didier Drogba played his first match of his new tenure at Chelsea yesterday as he was sent onto the pitch as a substitute in the second half of the pre-season friendly match against the German club SV Werder Bremen. He couldn’t create an impact though as the Blues ended up losing that game by 0-3.
Drogba was not included in the starting XI by Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese manager decided to go with Fernando Torres and Diego Costa instead, but, the performance of the duo in the first 45 minutes was unimpressive which forced the boss to bring a change in the offensive line. He took Costa off and put Drogba in with the hope that the Ivory Coast man would bring his team back into the game, but, it wasn’t to be.
Drogba also seemed to be struggling as the other strikers and Chelsea eventually suffered the defeat.
Drogba was actually in with a chance the moment he got onto the pitch. He had got a wonderful pass from another new signing Cesc Fabregas, but, he was not quick enough to take advantage of that. A slightly younger Drogba might have given it a finishing touch with extreme authority.
Drogba also got to captain the Blues in the dying moments of the match when John Terry was substituted.
The last match that Drogba had played for Chelsea, he had created history in that. His penalty kick had given Chelsea the European Cup glory.
The fans would certainly not have been expecting that sort of heroic performance from Drogba again in this game, but, they’d not have been expecting such a disappointing show either.
However, to be fair to Drogba, he must be given some games before being expected to start delivering the goods. It would take him some time to find his feet at Stamford Bridge again.