Chelsea’s Ancelotti full of praise for Anelka

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti was full of praise for Nicolas Anelka after the Blues won their opening Champions League clash on Wednesday night.

The Frenchman scored two goals to help his side to a 4-1 win over Slovak minnows MSK Zilina in their Group F opener and his performance was lauded by his Italian boss.

“The key was Anelka, he played a fantastic game. He created space, he had opportunities, he was the key for this game,” Ancelotti said.

"He can play the position in front, sometimes we use him more wide, sometimes he plays in the middle but he shows the same skills if he plays wide.”

Ancelotti was also impressed with young striker Daniel Sturridge, who scored the fourth goal, but admitted he had to improve in some areas to become a first team regular.

"I am happy Sturridge scored, but he has to improve his positioning, I would like him to play more infield rather than out wide. He showed fantastic movement to score, I am happy with his performance,” he added.