Chelsea back in the groove, boss claims

Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez claims his side's confidence couldn't be any higher as it turns its attention to the Club World Cup in Japan this week.

The Blues crashed out of the Champions League on Wednesday and traveled to Sunderland's Stadium of Light on Saturday on the back of their worst domestic run in 18 years.

However, a comprehensive 3-1 win over the Black Cats made it nine goals in the space of four days after Wednesday's 6-1 rout of Danish side Nordsjaelland and provided a timely morale boost ahead of the trip to Yokohama.

Chelsea takes on either South Korean side Ulsan Hyundai or Mexican outfit Monterrey in its opening Club World Cup fixture on Thursday and Benitez believes it could be a successful trip given his side's upbeat mood.

"I was pleased with the way we played in the Champions League game, with passion and desire right to the end, and this was another good performance," Benitez said.

"If you are going to a tournament like this it is important to show what you can do on the pitch and play well.

"It's important to have an opportunity to win any trophy, but especially a trophy like this one.

"I have managed a team (Inter Milan) to victory in the competition before and that was a great experience for me, and hopefully this will be a great experience for the players.

"We are concerned because we know the schedule will be difficult, but we are trying to organize everything properly.

"It might not be ideal because we have to go and then play a game in three days' time, but we will try to do our best."

Saturday's victory over Sunderland came courtesy of a first-half double from Fernando Torres, who scored with a first-time volley and a penalty, and a second-half strike from Juan Mata.

Adam Johnson threatened to spark a Sunderland revival with a curled effort, but Chelsea ran out a comfortable winner.

(China Daily 12/10/2012 page23)