Anelka and Drogba Combine Forces at Last for…a Nil-Nil Draw

By: Laurie | February 19th, 2008

I almost volunteered to liveblog the Olympiacos-Chelsea Champions League game today. Glad I didn’t. I would have spent all of my energy desperately trying to type names like Djordjević and Stoltidis and Kovacevic and Torosidis. (Note to self: Never liveblog Greek games. It can’t be healthy dealing with all those syllables.)

But I guess that’s not really relevant. Chelsea were the favorites in this game, at least partly because of the possibility of January addition Nicolas Anelka and African Cup of Nations returnee Didier Drogba playing together. I find these two guys to be among the most interesting strikers around, so I figured Chelsea manager Avram Grant would stick them on the field from the start and the rest of us would sit back and enjoy the fireworks.

Alas, the game didn’t start out that way. Grant was wedded to 4-3-3, which put Drogba in as the lone striker and Anelka on the bench. I’m not sure if Drogba is still suffering from an African Cup of Nations hangover or what, but he looked less than spectacular. Actually, they all did. Chelsea split possession very close to 50-50 in the first half, with neither side looking threatening. Second half Chelsea dominated possession but looked less than lethal. Best description of the game?

There was little to enthuse about as both sides struggled to find any fluidity during a game that rarely threatened to entertain.

It was far from the best advert for free-flowing football and Chelsea seemed quite content to pass the ball around without purpose until they lost possession.

That about sums it up. This game made me realize one of my favorite things about wifi. I can put the computer on my kitchen counter, and when the game gets really boring, I can do my dishes.

My kitchen, post-game, is very clean.

But back to the Anelka-Drogba thing. Finally, in the 74th-ish minute, I got my wish. Anelka went on, and Drogba did not come off. Rapture! Or it would have been if they’d actually done anything together. Unfortunately Avram stayed with 4-3-3, putting Anelka in on the left wing. Not his strongest position. Nico did his best with it, but there was no chemistry up front. Anelka (and Salomon Kalou on the right) both had a couple of pretty individual moments, but there was no click among players that could have resulted in a score. End result: an extremely disappointing nil-nil draw.

I’m choosing to believe this was strategic on Grant’s part and not a sign that this pairing will be a dud. Of course he chose this lineup for defensive reasons, going for the draw, expecting that they can win the second leg without benefit of away goals.

That’s the only possibility, right?

(For Chelsea blogger Jack’s view on things, check out Chelsea Offside.)