Drogba is the Enemy for 90 minutes but on his Return to Chelsea, we celebrate deadly Didiers Best Goals at the Bridge (and remember one shameful, F-word rant) ‘King Didier’ makes his emotional return to Stamford Bridge as Chelsea take on Galatasaray, with the former Blues striker hoping to make yet another mark on the pitch he once graced with such distinction. Drogba, who turned 36 last week, scored 89 goals at Stamford Bridge in his glittering Chelsea career, starting with the second in a 3-1 Champions League win against Porto in September 2004 and ending in April 2012 with the winner against Barcelona. This is a player who has always thrived on the biggest stages, after all. Here, we remember some of Drogba’s best moments at Stamford Bridge... 1. Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool, September 2006 That winner against Liverpool in September 2006 (with apologies to Jamie Carragher). Drogba took a touch to bring down a Frank Lampard pass, swivelled and fired a stunning left-foot half volley past a helpless Pepe Reina to give Chelsea a 1-0 win. You won’t see many goals better than that. 2. Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona, April 2012 One chance, one Drogba goal, one precious lifeline for Chelsea to take to the Nou Camp to keep their Champions League dream alive. A cool left-footed finish from a Ramires cross was all Drogba needed to make the difference that night as Chelsea held firm at the back against the Catalan carousel. This was Drogba’s last goal in a Chelsea shirt at Stamford Bridge - and how pivotal it proved to be. 3. Chelsea 3-2 Liverpool, April 2008 Two more Goals for Drogba on a night of high drama at Stamford Bridge saw Chelsea finally sneak past their European nemesis Liverpool in the Champions League. He scored the first after 33 minutes and Chelsea’s decisive third in stoppage time, but then so nearly became the villain as referee Roberto Rosetti waved away Sami Hyypia’s penalty appeal after a Drogba challenge. 4. Chelsea 2 - 1 Arsenal, March 2008 Two second-half goals from Drogba gave Chelsea a 2-1 win over Arsenal in March 2008. They were not particularly beautiful strikes, with both coming from long passes, but the substance over style - and the timing, coming in the 73rd and 82nd minute after Bacary Sagna had given Arsenal the lead - says everything about Drogba. The victory saw Chelsea leapfrog Arsenal in the table, too. 5. Chelsea 4-0 Watford, November 2006 Drogba’s first Stamford Bridge hat-trick came in this 4-0 win. Mourinho praised a striker ‘at the top of his game... playing amazing stuff’ as the Ivorian converted two Geremi crosses and played a one-two with Andriy Shevchenko to take his tally for the season to 14 goals after just 19 games. Two further hat-tricks were to follow for Drogba at Stamford Bridge: in an 8-0 win against Wigan in May 2010 and a 6-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion the following August. PS... No list of Drogba’s Best Stamford Bridge moments would be complete without mentioning his ‘over-reaction’ to Chelsea’s Champions League exit at the hands of Barcelona in May 2009. A foul-mouthed rant at referee Tom Henning Ovrebo and the TV audience watching at home landed Drogba with a four-match ban. You certainly can’t accuse King Didier of doing anything by halves, can you?
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 03:37:14 +0000
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