Ancelotti faces the difficult problem of Torres-Drogba

Since arriving at Stamford Bridge, Torres has always been favored to play in the starting lineup while Drogba has been relegated to the bench. But when "El Nino" has continuously failed to score, should Drogba be given a chance before the big match against MU at Old Trafford tomorrow night?

648 minutes, no goals, Torres’ current form is really alarming. The killer instinct of “El Nino” like when he played for Liverpool has not appeared at Chelsea. The pressure and expectation from the 50 million pound contract really made “The Kid” lose himself.

Ancelotti did something he had never done before, leaving Torres on the bench against Wigan, Drogba starting. Chelsea were more coordinated and in sync, but they still had to wait until the last minute to score. Torres' lack of goals still affected Chelsea's play somewhat.

Ancelotti plans to use both Torres and Drogba in the starting lineup.

Compared to Torres, Drogba may be inferior in speed and sensitivity in front of goal. But the “Wild Elephant” has strength, power and harmony with Chelsea’s playing style. The Ivorian striker can develop his ability to take good free kicks, and at the same time show more cunning in front of the opponent’s goal.

Using Torres or Drogba, or even both, is a difficult problem for Ancelotti because it could disrupt Chelsea's playing style. The Italian coach has tried both 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 formations, but it seems that he does not have the tactical flexibility that Jose Mourinho had before.

Against Wigan, Ancelotti returned to his traditional 4-3-3 formation with Drogba as the centre forward, Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda on the wings, Frank Lampard, Ramires and John Obi-Mikel in midfield. Torres, Essien and Terry sat on the bench to save energy for the big match against MU at Old Trafford tomorrow night.

During the first half, Chelsea dominated, creating many chances and Drogba also had a relatively good understanding with Anelka, although he did not score. In the second half, Ancelotti made many changes when returning to the 4-4-2 formation by taking Mikel off and replacing him with Yossi Benayoun, then Torres replaced Anelka.

With the striker pair Torres-Drogba, Benayoun and Malouda operating on the two wings, the pair Lampard-Ramires playing in the middle of the field, Chelsea's attack is more diverse. But certainly, this arrangement is difficult to use against MU because it will create fragility and risk in the midfield area.

Chelsea were lucky to beat Wigan thanks to Malouda's goal, but the lack of goals from both Drogba and Torres made Ancelotti worried. The Italian coach took advantage of the match with Wigan to experiment with both the squad and personnel, but unfortunately he did not get the expected results.

One of the problems that has arisen at Stamford Bridge is that Torres does not receive full support from his teammates. Malouda, Anelka and Drogba often combine together, or finish from difficult positions themselves, rather than passing to Torres in a more favorable position. Torres can only receive support from Lampard or Essien, but that is too little for him to explode.

Pressure from President Abramovich forced Ancelotti to use Torres. If he can find his best scoring form again, Torres will still be the world's top striker. But if the pressure continues to pile on "El Nino", plus being "boycotted" by other strikers, it will really put Torres in a difficult position.

In the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against MU, Ancelotti sent both Anelka and Malouda out, using Zhikov and Lampard to support the Torres-Drogba pair, Chelsea's play was more open, with more space. Ancelotti will probably continue to use that formation at Old Trafford in the hope of creating a surprise.

By trusting Torres and the Torres-Drogba duo, Ancelotti will waste Anelka, the team's best scorer with 7 goals in the Champions League, or Kalou and Malouda, who always know how to create breakthroughs on the left wing. But Ancelotti still wants to gain success once from his personal mark, from the star he has been pampering for the past 3 months.

According to Dan Tri