Anelka steps out of Drogba's shadow as Chelsea win

New Delhi: There might not have been the expected APOEL Nicosia crumble, but Chelsea will nevertheless feel they got their just desserts.

The 1-0 scoreline was a fair reflection of the performance, as the Blues kept their inferior opponents at arm's length throughout the match.

That distance was provided by Nicolas Anelka, whose opening goal came pleasingly early for manager Carlo Ancelotti and the Blues' traveling support.

The Italian would have known that the longer the score remained level, the greater APOEL's confidence would grow, and Anelka's intervention stopped the home side in their tracks, just as they looked like they were rising to the challenge.

The goal came from Juliano Belletti's good work and astute cut-back on the right, from which the Frenchman was on hand to curl a measured right-foot shot from the edge of the box across Nicosia 'keeper Dionsis Chiotis and into the far side-netting.

The Greek stopper might wonder how he was beaten in such a manner, but from that point on the away side were in control.

Nicosia had their moments, and were impressive in their effort if not their execution, but Chelsea will accept that while they didn't play at their best, they certainly deserved the three points.

For that, they have Anelka to thank.

Anelka might be commonly known as the 'Incredible Sulk', but performances like tonight's prove that such a reputation is increasingly unfair. There is no doubt the 30-year-old earned such a nickname as an abrasive youngster plying his trade across Europe, but he has matured considerably since those years.

After all, tonight's match was the sort you would have expected the young Anelka not to fancy. The pitch was exceptionally poor — with almost as much sand on the surface as grass — and the Nicosia fans were combining to form an intimidating wall of noise.

The mature Anelka, however, rose to the challenge of leading the Chelsea line, and was far and away the game's star performer (although Michael Essien was also impressive).

With Didier Drogba suspended and Frank Lampard again worryingly mute, Anelka's performance was exactly what his side needed.

He was threatening every time he got on the ball, both in the center of the pitch and while working the flanks. He was happy to drop deep to link the play when required, and overlapped his wide players on numerous occasions.

In short, he provided a consummate all-round team performance.

Anelka has had to play second fiddle to Drogba for much of this season, if not his entire Stamford Bridge career, but that should change.

Top scorer in the league last season, and the source of two decisive goals in the Champions League so far — Anelka is scoring goals when required but, more importantly, he's also putting in the effort when his team need it most.

Manager Ancelotti will be less pleased with the rest of his side's performance, especially in midfield where they seemed to lose their grip on the match in the second half.

But APOEL will cause problems to all teams that come to the GSP Stadium, and Anelka's efforts were undoubtedly the big positive that came from the game.

Chelsea have two undeniably world-class strikers and Nicolas Anelka doesn't want to let his manager, or the wider public, forget that.