He told the club's official website"The possibilities are better for the game against Portsmouth than they were before," as the team left Moscow for London.

"I am happy because I saw players go up in their level from training and the last game.

"It was not the normal Milan, they had four or fives players out, big players with quality, but our team played very well and the performance today was better than the four earlier games.

"This game was important for (Nicolas) Anelka but more important for us - the fans, the coach and the other players who will have more confidence in him.

"Today was good not because he scored four goals but because he played more free and with more quality than in other games.

"He was playing against a big club and to get four goals against Milan, for his confidence it is fantastic and Anelka today and the last game played more inside the penalty area than before.

"That is where I asked him to play and where I need him, not right and left as before, because we have one striker and that is Anelka.