CURT SCHILLING, the former Boston Red Sox pitcher, had a nice line about "Mystique" and "Aura" being "dancers in a nightclub" rather than concepts that could influence a sporting encounter. Yet there was something undeniably powerful about the image Chelsea projected in their pomp under Jose Mourinho.

They were not merely winning, they were dominating; they did not simply beat opponents, they pummel-led them. Somewhere down the line that serrated edge was blunted and teams started to respect Chelsea more than they feared them.

But now, John Terry believes that Chelsea are scary again -- and players at rival clubs sense it, too.

"When we were winning the Premier League we had that invincible feel and I think that we are getting close to that again," said Terry, who captains Chelsea for the 300th time tonight against Porto in Champions League qualifying group D.

"I listened to other players when we were away with England and they are talking about how we are playing like that now.

"They're fearing us again. They are confident that we're playing well and could go on to do great things again this year. It's key to get that back."

Perhaps others are scared by their own inadequacies as much as Chelsea's strengths. Carlo Ancelotti's men are England's finest so far this season, yet they have lost away to Aston Villa and Wigan Athletic.

optimism

Terry's optimism is cautious because the division is unusually tight and last year, Chelsea's Christmas was less than festive.

"We are getting close to being dominant," the England captain said. "We are not getting carried away. We started well last year and then threw it away over the Christmas period."

On November 22 last year, Chelsea led the Premier League on goal difference from Liverpool. Twelve months ago tomorrow, Luiz Felipe Scolari's side drew away with Bordeaux. Next came a home defeat by Arsenal.

Chelsea then embarked on a run of four victories in their next 10 Premier League games and on February 9, Scolari was abruptly dismissed.

"In this period, the games are coming thick and fast," Terry said. "This is where the manager's very clever: we're not training on Sundays, we have two days' recovery, things like that. We're going into games a lot sharper, a lot fitter."

Chelsea are away to Arsenal on Sunday, then visit Manchester City.

Crucial matches ahead, but tonight's is not one of them. With Porto and Chelsea already through from their group, Ancelotti will rotate.

The manager virtually gave away his line-up last night, although not with the theatrical bombast of Mourinho when Chelsea met Barcelona in 2005.

Yuri Zhirkov, restricted by injury to only two appearances this season, will play at left back in a match in which a victory would guarantee top spot.

© The Times, London

PORTO v CHELSEA, SKY SPORTS 2/ SETANTA SPORTS 1, KO 7.45

- Tom Dart