Lethal Nic sees Blues maul Milan

CHELSEA coach Luiz Felipe Scolari believes Nicolas Anelka finally showed he can be his lethal weapon with a four-goal rampage against AC Milan.

The clinical Frenchman scored two in each half as the Blues hammered the Italians 5-0 in Moscow in the pre-season Railways Cup, after Frank Lampard’s early opener.

A strong Chelsea side, including Michael Ballack for the first time this summer, proved too good for a weakened Milan side, shorn of the likes of Kaka and Alexandre Pato.

But Scolari admitted the new-found ruthlessness and focus shown by Anelka pleased him most just two weeks before the start of the Barclays Premier League season. “This game was important for Anelka but more important for us — the fans, the coach and other players, who will have more confidence in him,” he said.

“Today was good, not because he scored four goals, but because he played more freely and with more quality. He was playing against a big club and to get four goals against Milan, for his confidence, it is fantastic, and today and in the last game he played more inside the penalty area.

“That is where I asked him to play and where I need him, not right and left as before, because we have one striker and that is Anelka.”

With Didier Drogba closing on a return to training after a knee injury, Scolari admits he has tough decisions before the Premier League kick off against Portsmouth on August 17. “Maybe I will receive good news about Drogba and we have 12 days to train and maybe we will have something I don’t expect,” he said.

“I have quality, competitive players and they fight for places on the pitch. I have 22 here, five at home. I have a good team.”