Chelsea have rediscovered ruthlessness – Drogba

Didier Drogba believes Chelsea must again create the winning habits of Jose Mourinho’s 2004-05 Premier League-winning side in order to secure this season’s title.

Mourinho led the club to a record 95-point haul to lift the trophy 10 years ago, and the Blues currently sit five points clear with seven wins from eight league games in the Portuguese’s second season back in charge at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea suffered a late-season collapse last year as Manchester City battled back to win the title, and 36-year-old Drogba – re-signed by the club this summer – says the team must show the same ruthlessness as Mourinho’s original Chelsea side to prevent more disappointment.

‘Costa is similar to me’

Diego Costa congratulates Didier Drogba on another Chelsea goal © Getty Images

• Diego Costa has been one of the main reasons for Chelsea’s impressive start, scoring nine goals in seven league appearance since a summer move from Atletico Madrid – and Didier Drogba sees similarities between himself the 26-year-old.
• “What I like in him is his character,” he said. “We are quite similar, we never give up. That’s one point that makes me smile and respect him more. This start he’s made is fantastic. It’s what all strikers are dreaming of and he will want to continue because the season will be long and we will need him for important games.
• “That’s why the squad is big with a lot of quality players. He is doing the job, he is doing what he has to do for the team to win trophies.”

“I think we have had a fantastic start to the season,” said Drogba. “The only game we haven’t won in the league is at Manchester City, otherwise it would have been the perfect start.

“I think after what the group went through last season being close to winning the league and the difficult results in the Champions League, the group is stronger.

“It is more experienced and you learn from this kind of defeat. You try to become a better team, better players, stronger. I hope we have learned from these kinds of mistakes. I hope this season we achieve what we want to achieve.

“I think about what Chelsea did in 2004-2005 and how that year was incredible. This is the season we had the moment where we were 12 points in front of Manchester United. We were the best team in the League and one of the best four or five in Europe.

“We had [Frank] Lampard at his peak, Hernan Crespo and Michael Essien were here the following year. All the players were playing at a really high level.

“For us winning became a habit and we felt so bad when we lost. We want to create a similar feeling now.”

Chelsea face a trip to Manchester United on Sunday, and Drogba thinks the creativity of Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard could be vital in securing a win at Old Trafford.

“They’re so good,” he added. “They bring a lot to the team, their pace and vision is amazing. We are always going to create chances. That’s why we have to defend well as a team and hope for these players to create the good assists.”

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd

Feeds: ESPN staff

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.