As the last days tumble from the calendar before next week’s start to the season, Chelsea seem to be clicking.

Fernando Torres scored as the Blues lifted the Asia Trophy in Hong Kong thanks to a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa.

Interestingly, the goal came just before the hour mark when Torres was playing alongside Didier Drogba, with Nicolas Anelka just behind them.

Could it be that AVB, as new manager Andre Villas-Boas is referred to by many at Stamford Bridge, has cracked the problem of using two similar strikers in harmony?

Drogba played in the centre, with Torres given the freedom to buzz around him, and it worked.

There was also a major boost for everyone’s favourite teenager Josh McEachran, who scored the Blues’ first goal in the Asia Trophy final after barely half a minute, following up a parried shot from Florent Malouda.

Despite all the speculation about a shoal of players leaving Stamford Bridge this summer, there has been very little movement.

AVB knows he still has to shed two or three of his squad to other teams on loan, just to keep numbers manageable, but the encouraging thing is that nobody actually wants to leave.

This weekend sees the last warm-up game ahead of the first league fixture at Stoke, with Chelsea travelling to Glasgow to play Rangers in a friendly – even though the Scottish league season has already started.

The Gers were supposed to be playing Kilmarnock on Saturday, but have bumped that fixture to make room for the Blues v Blues clash.

It promises to be a more realistic test for Chelsea, who have not conceded a single goal in five pre-season wins, with 12 goals to their credit.

The Blues’ decision to basically leave well alone with the squad for the coming season is probably the right one.

But if the directors concede that the players who achieved first and second places in successive years are worth sticking with for a third year, what was the point of ditching Carlo Ancelotti?