Chelsea ran riot in Copenhagen this evening, winning 2-0 with Nicolas Anelka scoring on both sides of the half. The west londoners got just the opposition they needed to turn their sad form around, with the bald Frenchman showing real class against a side who looked very much like they hadn’t played in two months. Torres wasn’t as lucky, though he’s manufacturing chances. Here’s a good summation of his current condition by the guardian liveblog:

59 min: Torres picks the ball up down the right and cuts inside. For a moment he’s free in the box, one on one with the keeper, but hesitates and allows Antonsson to come back at him. Torres drops a shoulder and makes himself some more space, eventually getting a shot away, but the keeper’s got time to position himself well and gets behind it. It’s become a glaring confidence issue, this, but he’s getting so many openings surely a goal isn’t long in coming, and then we can forget all about it.

In Lyon, once and future king Karim Benzema broke the deadlock after having been on the field for less than a minute. After a terribly boring first half which saw a lot of niggling fouls interrupt play around midfield, Madrid came out in the second half flying. Within five minutes they’d hit the woodwork twice (off a Ronaldo dipper and then a lofted header by Sergio Ramos) though they never found any real fluidity. Often, the players in white found themselves isolated on the attack, and it was chaos more than tactics that gave Benzema the chance to score against his old side.

The substitute respectfully held his celebration in front of a crowd that had just seconds before politely applauded his return to the pitch, and the goal took the wind out of the stadium for a few minutes. Soon the drums started back up and Les Gones started to push. While it was Michel Bastos and Aly Cissokho combining well up the left in the first half, the sturdy pair of Gourcoff and Toulalan pushed the ball wide while holding the center in the desperate buildup to the end—and eventually the home side got their chance. Off a set piece in the 83′, centerback Cris, a problem for Madrid all night, rose to head the ball down onto the waiting foot of Senegalese-Frenchman Bafetimbi Gomis.

Madrid played a very defensive game tonight, only showing themselves for moments. One wonders though, can they really turn it on when they need to?

As for Chelsea, they’re sure to get through to the next stage of the cup. If only they could play a few more games outside the country they may find their championship form again.