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Watch: Drogba, Torres still showing off the skills in friendlies

By George Perry

SAN JOSE, CA - JULY 28: (L) Didier Drogba of the All-Stars and (R) Petr Cech of Arsenal after the MLS All-Star Game between the MLS All-Stars and Arsenal at the Avaya Stadium on July 28, 2016 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA - JULY 28: (L) Didier Drogba of the All-Stars and (R) Petr Cech of Arsenal after the MLS All-Star Game between the MLS All-Stars and Arsenal at the Avaya Stadium on July 28, 2016 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images) /
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Former Chelsea Blues Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres – average age: 35 – showed that they can still bring the pain to opposing defenses in their friendlies last night. Drogba scored for the MLS All-Stars against Arsenal, and Torres geared up the footwork against Tottenham.

Didier Drogba scored his 16th goal in 16 games against Arsenal as the MLS All-Stars lost to the north Londoners 2-1. Drogba collected three of his own rebounds off of blocks by Arsenal’s defenders before putting the ball past another former Chelsea man, Petr Cech.

Even Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger couldn’t help laughing at Drogba’s complete ownership of the Gunners, saying after the match “At half-time, I was thinking ‘He’s still haunting us, even in the United States!'”

Down under, Fernando Torres’ Atletico Madrid took on Chelsea’s other north London rival, Tottenham Hotspur, in the Australia bracket of the International Champions Cup. With Atletico protecting a late 1-0 lead, Torres was swarmed by three Tottenham players. Torres dribbled and danced his way out of trouble and broke clear, only to be fouled from behind by Tottenham captain Ryan Mason.

Torres was Atletico Madrid‘s second-highest scorer behind Antoine Griezmann last year, netting 11 goals in La Liga. Torres was almost as prolific as Griezmann, scoring a goal every 154 minutes to the Frenchman’s rate of one goal every 138 minutes. Torres also led the way among forwards for most aerial duels won.

In a situation reminiscent of his former Chelsea teammate John Terry, last month Torres signed a one-year contract with Atletico. Torres joined Atletico as a child, and as his career took him around Europe he wanted nothing more than to close out his career in Madrid. He played 18 months at Atletico Madrid on loan before making the transfer permanent.

Related Story: Didier Drogba's top 10 Chelsea FC goals

Drogba scored a hat-trick in his first start for the Montreal Impact in Major League Soccer. He finished last season with 11 goals in 11 games, and has 8 goals in 12 games so far this year.

Neither Torres nor Drogba seem ready to close the books on their career, and their performances last night showed that they are still highly capable of powering their teams to victory.

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