My first Chelsea team better than current crop – Drogba

Didier Drogba believes the current Chelsea team still has work to do to match the side he played in during his first spell at Stamford Bridge.

Drogba scored 157 goals in 341 games during his initial spell at Chelsea between 2004 and 2012, and became ingrained in the club’s folklore by scoring the winning penalty in a shootout win over Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League final.

In that same period Drogba also won the Premier League three times, League Cup twice and the FA Cup four times.

Drogba made an emotional return to Stamford Bridge ahead of the 2014-15 campaign and enjoyed more success as Jose Mourinho’s men cantered to the title while also winning the League Cup.

But when asked to compare the two sides, Drogba told BT Sport in an interview to be aired later on Monday: “I would say the first one was better because I was involved more as a player, but there is a difference in the way that when I joined the team it was a bit more mature.

“Frank [Lampard], [Claude] Makelele, William Gallas – all these players were I think around 24, 25 and plus. 

“So this time it’s younger and I can see and I can feel that there is a gap, it can progress together so it’s good for the players.”