Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho hailed Didier Drogba after the striker's superb performance against West Ham yesterday.
Drogba has been booed by his own fans and labelled a cheat and a diver in recent weeks, but he was given a standing ovation after he inspired 10-man Chelsea to a 4-1 win over West Ham.
With their win, Chelsea took a giant step closer to their second successive Barclays Premiership title.
Chelsea trailed to an 11th-minute goal from James Collins and had midfielder Maniche sent off for a lunge on Lionel Scaloni soon afterwards, but goals from Drogba and Hernan Crespo turned the game in their favour by half-time.
Second-half strikes from captain John Terry and defender William Gallas set the seal on a stunning performance by the champions.
"Didier closed a few mouths today, not mine, because I always support him," said Mourinho.
"I think he was amazing. The team performance was unbelievable, but the way he worked for the team and the effort he put in was unbelievable too.
"The best way for players is to speak on the pitch. I think Drogba should go home, switch on TV and listen to the pundits.
"He should buy every single paper to see if the same people who wanted to kill him, now have the common sense to give him the credit he deserves."
West Ham boss Alan Pardew also conceded: "We had a problem with Drogba in the first game and we had a problem again with him today.
"None of their players put in a world class performance like Drogba did, he was a real problem."
Drogba has been booed by his own fans and labelled a cheat and a diver in recent weeks, but he was given a standing ovation after he inspired 10-man Chelsea to a 4-1 win over West Ham.
With their win, Chelsea took a giant step closer to their second successive Barclays Premiership title.
Chelsea trailed to an 11th-minute goal from James Collins and had midfielder Maniche sent off for a lunge on Lionel Scaloni soon afterwards, but goals from Drogba and Hernan Crespo turned the game in their favour by half-time.
Second-half strikes from captain John Terry and defender William Gallas set the seal on a stunning performance by the champions.
"Didier closed a few mouths today, not mine, because I always support him," said Mourinho.
"I think he was amazing. The team performance was unbelievable, but the way he worked for the team and the effort he put in was unbelievable too.
"The best way for players is to speak on the pitch. I think Drogba should go home, switch on TV and listen to the pundits.
"He should buy every single paper to see if the same people who wanted to kill him, now have the common sense to give him the credit he deserves."
West Ham boss Alan Pardew also conceded: "We had a problem with Drogba in the first game and we had a problem again with him today.
"None of their players put in a world class performance like Drogba did, he was a real problem."
