Didier Drogba was sitting alone in the changing rooms of Moscow's Luzhniki stadium when John Terry missed his penalty last May.

Drogba had been sent off for a petulant slap on Nemanja Vidic three minutes from the penalty shoot-out in which undoubtedly he would have been one of the major players.

Drogba could not bear to watch Manchester United lift the trophy. He could not bear to go back out to face the Chelsea fans he had let down.

Tomorrow night against Juventus at the Stadio Delle Alpi it is time for Drogba to pay off a chunk of the debt he owes those supporters.

Time for Drogba to prove his recent transformation extends to the matches where it really matters, away from home against the toughest opposition in Europe's top competition.

Let's face it, the real Drogba, the strong-running scorer of great goals, 'left' Chelsea at the same time as Jose Mourinho.

For the past 18 months Chelsea have put up with a pale shadow. A walking, falling, injury-prone, disaffected shadow of the man who once was football's most feared striker.

Yet, with the arrival of Guus Hiddink, there are signs that the real Drogba is back.

Not just in the goal Drogba scored in the Champions League first leg against Juventus, which came in Hiddink's first game in charge at Stamford Bridge.

Nor the fact that he has scored three in his last five matches, including one in the FA Cup against Coventry on Saturday. Drogba's entire demeanour since Hiddink arrived has been that of a player determined to prove once more that he can conquer Europe's best defences.

A resurgent Drogba is one reason I take Chelsea to return from Italy with their place secured in the Champions League quarter-final, even if Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri, sacked by Chelsea in 2005, has a powerful incentive of his own.

Another is the simple truth that Serie A no longer can claim to be the world's top league with greater technique and tactical awareness.

It has been overtaken by the wealth and power of the Premier League, whose resilience is epitomised by Chelsea now that the bond of togetherness, conspicuous by its absence since the departure of Mourinho, appears to be returning.

I expect Chelsea to be joined in the quarter-finals by Liverpool following another emotional European night on Merseyside.

Just two notes of caution.

One is that Real Madrid surely cannot play as badly again as at the Bernabeu stadium two weeks ago when Yossi Benayoun scored the vital away goal in a 1-0 Liverpool victory.

The other is Liverpool's increasing reliance on Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.

The injury-plagued Torres is a long way from his European Championship best while an ill-timed injury or sudden loss of form for Gerrard could undermine Rafael Benitez's challenge.

Benayoun admitted as much.

"It is obvious to everyone, including us players. Torres and Steven Gerrard are our main men," said the Israeli. "They are the big stars so, of course, we depend on them."

The tactical nous of Benitez in one-off European ties, however, should give Liverpool the edge and by Wednesday night the chances are that the Premier League will have four clubs in the quarter-finals.

Arsenal have a tricky trip to Roma with a 1-0 first-leg lead, but what has been lost in their disappointing domestic league form is that the Gunners remain unbeaten in 17 matches in all competitions.

They are tough to crack and with such as Eduardo and Theo Walcott riding to the rescue from their treatment tables - to be joined by Ade Adebayor, Cesc Fabregas and Tomas Rosicky in the not-too-distant future - their European dreams should not be dismissed.

As for Manchester United if they play anything like they did in the first-half of a goalless encounter at the San Siro a fortnight ago they will have far too much at Old Trafford for Mourinho's Inter Milan, a destination Drogba appeared bound for not so long ago.

Not now. Right now Drogba's thoughts appear to be focused only on Chelsea and redemption.