Why former Mourinho favourite may sink Chelsea's ship

Chelsea are the last club in the world to need telling about the brilliance of Didier Drogba. But does the Ivorian still have the power to devour the Blues as they meet his new team, Galatasaray, in the first knockout round of the Champions League?

It’s the clash Jose Mourinho wanted yet Drogba remains a game changing individual, having created the assist for Wesley Sneijder in Istanbul back in December to dump Juventus into the Europa League and claim second place in Group B.

In his six appearances so far in this year’s competition he has scored two goals and assisted three, with a shot accuracy of 77% from 13 shots, though 15.4% of those attempts ended up in the back of the net. Petr Cech will have to be at his vigilant best to block his former teammates’ on-target shooting to prevent that conversion rate rising.

Drogba’s CL duels 2013/14

John Terry will also have to be on his guard to nullify the striker who fired him and his teammates to the Champions League in 2012. After all, Drogba’s favoured battleground remains in the air, where he is still a dominant presence. That should worry Jose Mourinho. Terry and co. may form an intimidating defence on their day but if any player should be able to take advantage of their foibles (and age) it’s Drogba, who can match his former captain for wily, match-winning experience as well as physical strength.

Though Galatasaray suffered at the hands of Real Madrid twice in the group stages, beaten 6-1 at home and 4-1 away at the Bernabeu, Drogba won three out of four headed duels in both games against Los Blancos. Without disrespecting Chelsea however, the Blues are arguably closer to the La Liga outfit in terms of raw talent and form at present than Carlo Ancelotti’s Galacticos, and just like the rest of the Turkish champion’s squad, the Ivorian came alive against the Old Lady to salvage Galatasaray’s European hopes.

Drogba won 3/4 headed duels in the defeat to Real Madrid

Besides that aforementioned assist to set up Sneijder for the winner in their final group game against the Italians, he was once again an airborne menace, winning seven out of 10 attempted headed duels in Turin and three out of five in the home game in Istanbul.

He was also something of a handful on the floor too, completing one out of two take-ons and two out of four take-ons in their respective clashes in Italy and Turkey.

Drogba’s tenacity in the game against Juventus in Turin saw he capitalise on sloppy play from the home team, and the Ivorian is sure to be on the look out for similar opportunities against his former club in Istanbul

Mourinho’s team have only conceded three goals in the Champions League so far, one of which was a header. In the league, they have let in 21 strikes in 27 games. Of that total, five were fired home off the head of an attacker. This isn’t exactly a weak point in their defences – as a team they’ve also won 51% of the aerial duels they’ve entered into – but Drogba remains a potent adversary who could well damage those stats.

Of course, Chelsea will still go into the tie as favourites, with Galatasary up against it and unlikely to down the Blues, but in Drogba, Gala have a player who can upset the odds, especially at the Turk Telekom Arena.

Even if their new ground may lack the palpable fear factor of their infamous Ali Sami Yen Stadium – where visitings teams would be greeted with the fan’s famous “Welcome to Hell” atmosphere – the supporters haven’t been replaced. As a player who rarely struggles to ingratiate himself with his team’s fan base, be it at Marseille, Chelsea or in Turkey, Drogba will thrive on the passion from the stands, as well as his own personal motivations against opponents and close friends he loves and respects.