Sturridge can fill Drogba’s boots, insists Ancelotti

AN FA Cup fourth round trip to Preston may have been the immediate reward on offer for Chelsea, but for manager Carlo Ancelotti there were other targets he needed his team to meet that went beyond the mere dismissal of Championship side Watford.

This was the Blues’ first game of a month in which the squad has been depleted by the absence of Salomon Kalou, John Obi Mikel, Michael Essien and, most importantly, Didier Drogba, and Ancelotti was anxious for signs that his remaining players could satisfactorily fill the gaps left by the quartet of players on African Cup of Nations duty.

To that end, the Italian could consider the afternoon to have been a resounding success, particularly in light of the performance of Daniel Sturridge, who this week had been elevated from hopeful youngster and cast in the role of his side’s main goal threat.