Posts tagged: bench

DROGBA UNHAPPY ON BENCH

Chelsea interim manager Roberto di Matteo has admitted that striker Didier Drogba was not too happy at being left out of the starting line-up in the match against Manchester City. Chelsea were coming into the match after the thrilling 5-2 FA Cup quarter-final match against Leicester City on Sunday. Fernando Torres finally broke his 24-hour goal rout in front of goal by scoring two goals and also setting up two others as well. Hence, Roberto di Matteo decided to start with Torres, which did not appear to please Drogba. The Ivorian came on in the match with 25 min left, but was not unable to prevent a 2-1 defeat at the hands of City.

Fernando Torres worked hard the match against Manchester City but without any fruits to his labour. However, he was crucial in helping Chelsea get the lead through a Gary Cahill goal in the second half. Following the goal, Chelsea decided to sit back even further and it did not suit Torres. Roberto di Matteo brought on Didier Drogba for Fernando Torres, which did not go well tactically as Chelsea conceded two goals in the final 15 min of the match to lose the match. Speaking after the match, di Matteo said that Drogba was not happy to sit on the bench after his inspirational performance against Napoli.

“I did speak to Didier and many other players. He was not happy, but okay,” Di Matteo said of Drogba. Looking ahead to the crucial encounter with Tottenham on Saturday, the manager said that he is looking forward to a victory and has a full strength squad to choose from. “I am in a good position to select from almost a full squad. It will need a team ethic to stop Gareth Bale, he is a terrific player, a strong player. It will not be a one-v-one situation,” said Di Matteo.