Brilliant Blues batter Spartak

CHELSEA manager Carlo Ancelotti, brought to Stamford Bridge specifically because of his Champions League expertise, believes his team have taken the first of “three steps to heaven” after completing a routine victory over Spartak Moscow that confirms a place in this year’s last 16.

Ancelotti, who won the trophy twice with AC Milan, has set a target of reaching the final after a 4-1 win that makes it four wins in row in Group F with his team sitting with an unassailable 12 points.

On an night when Didier Drogba — a man who has endured such a chequered history in the Champions League — was made captain in the absence of rested John Terry, the Blues justified their label as one of the tournament favourites with a ruthless display of second-half finishing.