DYC.

Roman Abramovich discovers that Chelsea's X-factor player is incredible David Luiz & not struggling Fernando Torres Brazilian is delivering sparkle that £50m man was expected to bring COMMENT By Wayne Veysey at Stamford Bridge One is the brilliant finisher whose class and composure in the penalty box is matched by his excellence outside it. The other is Fernando Torres. The sight of David Luiz producing an outrageous piece of skill is becoming as common at Chelsea as Torres looking forlornly at the touchline to see his No.9 being held aloft. The irony of the Premier League new boy completely outshining the global icon during their first seven weeks in London will probably not have been lost on Roman Abramovich, watching from his private box at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. His thoughts can be gauged only from his actions and not his words, as he never speaks publicly, but there was a rueful look to the Chelsea owner when the camera panned on him following Torres' 71st minute substitution. Having shelled out £50 million for what Abramovich would have reckoned to have been the complete article, particularly following a mini renaissance under Kenny Dalglish in January, Torres has reverted to the hesitant figure whose first touch is like a misplaced pass and whose speed across the first 10 yards seems half of what it was 12 months ago. It is not as if he did not try against a Manchester City rearguard that is a tough nut to crack under Roberto Mancini's cautious regime. When Torres was hooked with the scores still level, he was given a standing ovation. There were even jeers from some at his premature removal from the action. Yet Torres has been the beneficiary of faith from Carlo Ancelotti that is starting to look unwarranted. Abramovich's rouble outlay might be swaying the Italian's decision-making but the cold, hard facts are these. In seven games - six of which he has started - for Chelsea, Torres has not scored or created a goal. In six Premier League matches for his new club, he has had only one shot on target, a fine reflex save by Pepe Reina against Liverpool on his debut. In four of his six starts, he has been substituted. The brilliant striker who, at various times during his three-and-a-half-year spell on Merseyside, looked the best centre-forward on the planet now has a fight on his hands to be much more than an impact substitute for the rest of a season that still offers tantalising possibilities for his new club. How did it come to this, might think Torres. His Russian pay-master might think the same. Chelsea were energised by the dual arrival of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka against City. Neither has been at their best since Torres signed his name on Chelsea headed paper but both have offered far more threat inside and outside the box than their new team-mate. Torres is trying to compensate for his miserable form by drifting into wide areas but he doesn't possess the invention to conjure regular opportunities for colleagues and the end result is he is rarely taking up positions in the area, where he is at his most effective. It is an indictment of his situation that Kalou looks a more dynamic presence up front. The X-factor that Torres was supposed to bring to Chelsea is being delivered instead by the riveting Luiz. For the second consecutive home game, the Brazilian, four years younger and £29m cheaper than Torres, lifted the Bridge off its feet with a consummate piece of finishing. He added to his majestic volleyed equaliser against Manchester United in Chelsea's last Premier League home fixture with a powerful and unerring header that undid City's massed defensive ranks. But it was not just for his game-changing abilities that the home supporters chanted 'Luiz, Luiz' at the final whistle. They have merely been mouth-watering desserts following delicious appetisers and main courses. In four-and-a-bit games since his switch from Benfica (sadly the Brazilian is ineligible for the Champions League), he has brought a swagger and majesty to Chelsea which has been the missing piece of the jigsaw for the majority of the serial-winning Abramovich era. Rarely can a centre-back in modern times have been such an asset in attack. One can think of Ronald Koeman and his countryman Lucio on the European stage and, Premier League-wise, the ebullient but brittle Philippe Albert at Newcastle United. Luiz's divine passes above and along the ground, forward bursts and outrageous pieces of skill, such as the bicycle kick on his full debut against Fulham, all have the hallmark of the footballer raised in Brazil. Even the rawness to his defending, which was exposed considerably more by Manchester United than their 'noisy' neighbours, only makes him even more engrossing to watch. He was lucky to escape a red card in that tumultuous clash against the league leaders at the start of the month but he is also racking up a healthy share of perfectly timed interceptions. The man known in Lisbon as Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons for his spaghetti curls has swiftly become the main event at Chelsea. Only perhaps Arjen Robben, when fit and in the mood, has offered such a capacity for the unexpected during Abramovich's reign. This is not to say that, by comparison, Torres is a busted flush. That is nonsense. But the Spaniard's travails cannot be dismissed simply as a blip or even new club blues. He will doubtless soon ease past Luiz on the list of leading scorers at Chelsea. If he gets enough minutes on the pitch, that is. It would not be a surprise if Drogba ends the season where he began it as the main man up front. It is seven weeks to the day since the football world was given notice that Abramovich has lost none of his desire to own the most successful club in the world. For the two signings who are the emblems of his ambition, the mood could not be more different. Link

Cech 7 Ivanovic 6.5 Luiz 9 Terry 8 Cole 7 Essien 7 Lampard 6.5 Ramires 8 Malouda 5 Torres 6 Kalou 6.5 Zhirkov, Drogba, Anelka N/A

Kalou proving he's so much better in his natural position as a second striker. Malouda needs to stop looking for an opportunity to shoot every time he's on the ball, it's very frustating. Ball tempo needs to go up but sadly our midfielders can't play the ball around quicker than this..

Tired of losing to City... COME ON CHELSEA !

Yup, Mourinho did what Mourinho does best and that is getting the best out his players. But Benzema is such an talented player so he just had to show at one point. Reminds of R9 (but not of his class though).

Loving how Benzema is proving everyone who said he wasn't good enough or didn't believe in his qualities wrong.

Thanks LDN .

The most important thing, well one of the most important things, is for CA to pick his starting forwards. They need to grow an understanding between them, and the rest of team, and constantly switching them doesn't help at all. We really need our strikers to start scoring goals and make teams 'fear' them so they have an psychological advantage on top of it.

You're kidding right? And about the draw, boooring. UEFA doesn't want another three English teams in the semi-finals scenario so not really surprised we got an English quarter-final. Oh well, we can definitely knock them out so let's hope we're in good form by then and hope for the best.

The tucking in is CA's decision, we don't play the traditional 4-4-2 like Man Utd and Tottenham do. Malouda did it (the tucking in), Zhirkov's doing it and Ramires does nothing else so it has to be CA's tactics. Probably because he wants the strikers to have support, it worked well in the first half, but that was mostly because of the fact Kopenhagen gave us a lot of time and space yet again, but the players obviously chose to save their energy in the second half which resulted in a boring second half (but I hope he changes his mind though and let them stay out wide more and let's Lamps support them while the other CM supports the defense). And I disagree with you on Zhirkov. In the first half where we actually 'cared' to play, Zhirkov was one of the better performers (the guy is absolutely tireless by the way, just keeps running).

Poor second half, that's all I have to say. But we're through so it's all good. We need to work on that one poor/terrible half and one okay/good half though. Let's hope we get Schalke.

Noticed that since the start of the season. He's ageing so it's normal and nothing he can do about it.

Very good first half, should've scored. On and off the ball we've been playing very well, something that was not the case in previous matches in our new formation (yes I know we won all matches but our overall play wasn't that good). Very happy to see the boys are getting used to the formation, at least so it seems. Mikel's having a great game. He's been quality on and off the ball, something which was not the case for a long time, so I'm glad to see him playing so well, he's looking very fresh. Anelka's having a very good game as well. I like 'CL Anelka', this Anelka plays with urgency, actually runs on the ball and stays upfront showing very good movement. If he could only always play like this, then he would've been starter for sure.. oh well. Everyone else is having a good game as well so I hope they keep it up in the second half. A goal for us should come soon. And almost forgot, anybody notice how we play with tucked in wingers, it's definitely a tactical decision by CA (the man loves a packed midfield). Was confused about our wingers constantly drifiting inside but now I know why. It's working well today but didn't exactly work well the previous games so hopefully the team keeps this up.

Alexis Sanchez proves his class once again by scoring a goal and providing two assists, he's really growing in his new 'roaming striker' role. The same goes for the never ageing Di Natale for scoring two goals and bringing his domestic total up to 24 goals. Wonderful players and hope to see Alexis in our beautiful blue shirt soon.

I don't understand how people don't see Sturridge is a pure striker. He won't make it as a winger and he shouldn't be asked to make it as a winger. The winger position is a very difficult position (try to name ten world-class wingers in current football). We all saw how well using a striker as a winger works out just because he has pace.. *cough* Anelka and Kalou *cough*. (This isn't specifically aimed at you BL.) And we definitely need a creative midfielder, everybody and their pets can see that.

Time is RIGHT to give John Terry captaincy.

I've only seen like two or three games of Dzagoev so I can't say much about him but he did impress in those few matches I watched him. Definitely the type to deliver that final ball so if he has what it takes to make it at Chelsea, I would of course support buying him. And having a Russian star in the team would make Roman a happy man. Dzagoev, Sanchez and a left winger and we would be pretty much set.

Thank you. Exactly (and a playmaker). Torres is the type that needs to be fed so we absolutely need to get a player that loves to feed. And about Sanchez' price, don't if you heard but a club offered a amount between 30 and 35 mil and they rejected it. Also, recently the Udinese president said Sanchez is as good and worth as much Messi () so you do the math..

@ LDN You're right about our players and changes but this being the 4-3-3 formation that has become 'our own' formation, i doubt there would be any kind of confusion. I went with Kalou because Anelka offers us nothing (we actually need) from the right-wing. I'd rather have Kalou, who can be frustrating, but at least he has the will to run on the ball, doesn't drift to the centre of the pitch constantly and he's a lot more direct. @ MetsajCFC Thanks.

I don't see us messing this up so the best thing to do here would be to rest a few players. Can't remember the day where our line-up didn't feature Lampard, Essien and Cole (would add Terry to that list but with Alex out and Luiz not being able to play, he has to play). They should be rested as we are about to enter the most crucial part of our season, McEachran, Mikel and Bertrand/Zhirkov being their replacements. Think we should switch back to 4-3-3 for this one: Cech Bosingwa - Ivanovic - Terry - Bertrand/Zhirkov Mikel Ramires - McEachran Kalou - Torres - Yuri/Louda

Yeah even though it pains me to say it, I agree. City is Chelsea's kryptonite. It's not impossible for us to beat them but they know exactly how to beat us and have the players for it too and they always perform 10 times better than they normally do when they face us. But you never know, luck may be on our side..

Poor first half and a okay/solid (except for the last ten minutes) second half. Yup, sounds like a typical Chelsea performance to me. Terry and Essien were our best players tonight. Kalou was great when he came on but showed he's still the same old Salomon with that last miss . Torres still not looking good (although poor service has to do with it as well) and has to start performing soon. Three points, I'm happy.

Exactly. He should start for like 4, 5 games so he can show what he can bring. Our other option on that position hasn't been playing well at all for months.

Yeah but when he did get the ball, he didn't exactly do things that made me happy. Personally I never believed in a Drogba-Torres partnership but I was (still am) hoping i was wrong. Yeah you're right, it painful to watch overall. But if we get three points today, I won't complain.