Manchester United Vs. Chelsea FC, UEFA Champions League: Fernando Torres Substituted For Didier Drogba

Normally, during the (thus far, failed) Fernando Torres experiment at Chelsea, Carlo Ancelotti has waited until the 60th minute to remove the £50m star whenever he has been poor, which has been much too frequently. Today, he’s decided not to wait to see if Torres can improve his game, and he’s removed the Spaniard at halftime, replacing him with Didier Drogba.

Despite the fact that Nicolas Anelka and Torres did not play the same position in this match, with Anelka operating behind Torres as one of two trequaristas in a 4-3-2-1 formation, the Frenchman was considerably less effective in the first half than Torres, and due to his play and Ancelotti’s history of substitution patterns with Torres, it’s a mild surprise that Anelka was not the man removed. If Ancelotti plans to stay with this formation throughout the second half, we might get a chance to see Yossi Benayoun, a natural in that position who was out for an extended period of time with an injury.