What is harder to fathom, still, is Andre Villas-Boas' treatment of Fernando Torres.
Roman Abramovich may want Villas-Boas to succeed but he did not spend £50million on Torres to see the striker stuck on the bench for four games in a row.
Villas-Boas appeared to suggest that Torres had not taken his chance and that Drogba's reliability made him the better option.
"Fernando had a good run when he performed for the team but we decided in this run to go with Didier for consistency and to give the team a reference point," said the manager.
"It's a risk he may suffer from tiredness but it was worth the risk. I'm sure Fernando and the others will get a chance in the future."
Maybe they will but Torres, surely, needs to play to lift his inner doubts.
The desperation of the home fans to see him on the pitch and find the back of the net was evident, a welcome boost for a player who is clearly suffering from the burdens of expectations, both from supporters and within himself.
Yet Torres has played just 19 minutes in the last three games, after a 45-minute run-out at Blackburn. Leave him out once more against Liverpool and it will start to look as though the manager has no faith at all.