Ancelotti has plenty in reserve as mighty Chelsea flex their muscles

Euro star: Branislav Ivanovic scored twice as Chelsea steamrollered Spartak Moscow to qualify for the knockout stages
13 April 2012

Twrnty four hours after Gareth Bale's exhilarating performance grabbed the attention of the whole of Europe, Chelsea demonstrated why they are the English club teams on the continent will fear most in the Champions League.

Unlike their north London rivals Tottenham, there was no stunning individual display on show in Chelsea blue to take the breath away. In fact, the real sense of awe was caused by the fact that such an emphatic victory was achieved without four recognised members of the first team.

John Terry and Michael Essien were rested. Florent Malouda was out with an ankle injury, while Frank Lampard was doing some work as a pundit for ITV before his return from a groin problem against Liverpool on Sunday. About £100million of talent not even used and still the gulf in class between themselves and their opposition was demonstrated by a healthy scoreline.

Obviously, Spartak Moscow are not in the same class as defending champions Inter Milan and Chelsea's stroll in securing a place in the knock-out phase after just four matches is an indication of the quality of opposition they have faced in Group F.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti has yet to field his best XI in the competition this season and still they amassed 12 points in no time at all. With their last two matches in the group rendered virtually meaningless as they only need a point to secure top spot, it is unlikely his first-choice team will be seen in the Champions League until the last-16 phase gets under way in February.

Few teams could progress in such fashion without Didier Drogba and Lampard available for the first three matches. Yet it is a sign of Chelsea's strength in depth that they did just that and continued their 100 per cent record with other players joining Lampard on the absentee list last night.

No one should forget that their away match in Moscow two weeks ago was their toughest of the group stage and they faced it with just 11 members of the senior squad available, meaning the subs' bench was full of inexperienced outfield players from the Academy aged between 17-20.

Ancelotti's side still secured an impressive 2-0 victory and with Drogba available for the return, it was no surprise the gap between the two sides was even greater last night. The home side were in cruise control for the first 45 minutes, no doubt saving their energy for the tough match at Liverpool on Sunday.

It was not as if they were going all-out after the break either but the quality of Nicolas Anelka's goal in the 49th minute was a demonstration of what Chelsea are capable of when the mood takes them.

Spartak couldn't cope with the runs of the Frenchman or that of strike partner Drogba, who won and then scored a penalty just past the hour.

Branislav Ivanovic's two goals in the final 25 minutes piled on the agony for the visitors, although they became the first away side to score against Cech at Stamford Bridge this season when Nikita Bazhenov converted a cross from Welliton late on.

Just as Drogba, who missed the start of the Champions League campaign because of suspension and then a fever, isn't taking Premier League success for glory, he also remains cautious over their chances of winning the Champions League too.

"Last year we were in the same position," said the striker. We qualified with two games to go and then we were out in the last 16.

"I can't say I'm happy to have missed the first few games because I'd have preferred to help my team achieve victories.But I hope the break is going to help me in future games. It's not easy because as a player you want to keep playing so you can find your best physical condition and understanding with your team-mates.

"I missed that a little bit before and that's why sometimes it was difficult for me at the start of League games but hopefully now I am going to be able to play regularly."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in