• ‘He’s feeling confident in his abilities,’ says Chelsea manager
• Villas-Boas warns that Chelsea still have work to do in group

Fernando Torres registered his first Champions League goals for Chelsea on Wednesday night as the Londoners strolled to their biggest home victory in the competition, prompting André Villas-Boas to admit confidence has finally been restored to the Spain striker’s game.

Torres, two games into a three-match domestic suspension, had not scored in the competition since doing so for Liverpool against his current club in April 2009, having endured 875 scoreless minutes before converting Frank Lampard’s pass on Wednesday night. His brace helped Chelsea to a comfortable 5-0 success over Genk.

The Spain international’s recent displays offer solid grounds for optimism. “It was never a question of Fernando not being in form,” said Villas-Boas. “It’s just important for players to feel confident, and he’s feeling confident in his abilities now. He was always on form. It would have been a long period off had Fernando not played tonight [given his domestic ban], but we are able to choose from the best up front, whether it’s him, Didier [Drogba], Romelu Lukaku or Salomon Kalou. The choice fell with Fernando tonight and he responded pretty well. But I was pleased with the whole team’s performance.”

The forward’s resurgence – he has now registered four goals in as many games for his club – has been welcomed by his team-mates. “You could see his hunger to be out on the pitch again and scoring goals,” said the goalkeeper Petr Cech. “It was just unlucky he couldn’t get the third.” That was denied him by a post in the opening period and a fine save from Laszlo Koteles late on, with Kalou converting Chelsea’s fifth from the rebound.

Villas-Boas admitted the occasion had been “comfortable” against opponents who are struggling badly in their domestic championship. “This was a game everyone expected us to win, and that’s when surprises lie just round the corner. But we had the focus and put in a good performance. With seven points, we go to Genk and securing another three over there would put us in a good position to qualify,” he said.

“The most important months for us will still be the last three of the season, when you finally collide – or not – with occasions where you can claim trophies,” Villas-Boas said. “For now, we’re just aiming to stay on track in the competition. This group could still become very tight depending upon what happens when Leverkusen go to Valencia [next month], so we still have to show motivation. We will need to be focused on gaining a result in Belgium.”

Champions League 2011-12André Villas-BoasFernando TorresChelseaGenkDominic Fifieldguardian.co.uk

Chelsea’s captain for the night made his belated Champions League bow without any theatrics but with an inevitable goal

Stamford Bridge had to wait until just after the hour for Didier Drogba to signal his return. The Ivorian emerged from his customary autumn hibernation away from the group stage of this competition, a legacy of misdemeanours sparked by elimination the previous year, to face Spartak Moscow. With their talisman restored, Chelsea’s latest pursuit of this trophy feels as if it is gathering pace.

This was a gentle welcome back, lacking the emotion of the visit of Internazionale in March that had seen Drogba rake his boot down Thiago Motta’s achilles to prompt a red card. Three campaigns in a row have begun with a ban, not a bang.

The fever that kept him out of the trip to Moscow having subsided, Drogba eased his way back in here, stirring midway through the second half to ensure his side’s passage into the knock-out phase.

He had been drifting somewhat in the early stages of the half, before he snapped awake to induce Evgeni Makeev’s foul in the area after 61 minutes. The penalty was dispatched comfortably for a 32nd goal in 61 Champions League appearances. Moments later it was Drogba’s free-kick that was headed down and in by Branislav Ivanovic to add gloss to the scoreline. In truth, Drogba’s display – occasionally almost uninterested, at other times alert and productive – summed up his campaign to date.

If there has been a vague criticism of the forward this season it would be of his apparent desire to supply rather than score. Selflessness is rarely cause for concern but at times, when Chelsea have been strolling against the lesser lights in the Premier League, Drogba has meandered out of the centre and sought to present team-mates with opportunities. It is as if scoring has become too easy, as if he considers the goals to be somewhat devalued.

That should hardly constitute an annoyance. Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka have benefited – the Ivorian’s lay-off for the latter at Ewood Park on Saturday was immaculate – and Frank Lampard’s absence has gone relatively unnoticed with his goals being supplied by others in this supremely effective team. The manager sees the value in Drogba’s assists.

“He is a striker, but I think he has always shown unselfish behaviour on the pitch,” said Carlo Ancelotti.

Yet, on a humdrum occasion such as this it would have been refreshing for Drogba to rampage again, his focus fixed solely upon swelling his own tally as it was on the season’s opening day, against West Bromwich Albion. There had only been three goals since that hat-trick before last night, including his customary score against Arsenal. The sight of Drogba at his