Sturridge misses chance to shine

12 April 2012

Striker Daniel Sturridge fluffed his chance to become an instant hero with the Chelsea faithful but still won the support of coach Carlo Ancelotti as the Blues made light work of Bolton to reach the last eight of the Carling Cup.

Chelsea overcame Wanderers in their fourth round tie with two goals in each half. Salomon Kalou and Florent Malouda did the damage in the first 45 minutes followed by Deco and substitute Didier Drogba in the second period.

Sturridge, who made his full home debut against Gary Megson's side, missed two gilt-edged chances in as many minutes, but Ancelotti said: "I'm disappointed for him. I think he played 60 minutes well for the team. I asked him to play for the team, not just to score."

He added: "He did what I asked of him. For me, it's not important that he didn't score. The others - Malouda, Kalou - did. For him it would have been better to score, but I'm happy with his work out on the pitch."

The Blues have turned Stamford Bridge into a fortress with 13 goals rattled in during the past three games.

They have not conceded at home since the opening day of the season but Ancelotti knows it will be a different contest when the two sides meet again at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday.

"I think this is a very good moment for us," said Ancelotti. "Above all, because the players who returned after injury came back very well. Joe Cole came back in the last match and did very well.

"Alex and Paulo Ferreira did a very intelligent match (against Bolton). It's a very good moment. We have to continue and maintain this atmosphere.

"The first thing is to play well and to win a game. It happens we've won with large results, but that's not so important. Rather, we want to win the games. We played the last three games very well, and Saturday can be another kind of match. We have to be ready to play a different match."

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