Frank Lampard stole the show in his 350th league appearance for Chelsea at the Reebok Stadium, scoring a hat-trick and putting in a performance that will have more than answered his critics in the media.

The team lined up with Cech in goal, Luiz and Terry in the centre of defence with Cole and Bosingwa on the left and right respectively.

In mid-field, Villas-Boas opted to start with Ramires on the right hand side, Meireles in the middle and Lampard in his favoured position on the left of a middle three.

Drogba replaced the suspended Fernando Torres in the central striking berth with Mata to his left and Sturridge returning after injury to the right hand side.

The match got off to the best possible start when David Luiz picked up the ball in his own half and played Bosingwa down the right flank, the Portuguese crossed the ball in low and it was cleared for a corner. Mata put the ball in with pace and no-one in the Bolton defence picked up on the movement of Sturridge who headed home from five yards at the near post to make it 1-0 in 90 seconds.

The second goal came just 14 minutes later and it was via a lovely passage of football. Lampard was involved in the build-up and played the ball forward via Ramires, who passed to Mata who then played the ball to Sturridge, who in turn squared it back for Lampard to slot home from 12 yards. 2-0 Chelsea and only 15 mins on the clock.

Pre match predictions from many of a goal glut were looking increasingly likely, and it wasn’t long before Chelsea added the third. Another low ball from the back by Luiz found Sturridge wide right of the Bolton area, the striker cut back inside and unleashed a left footed shot that the Bolton keeper could only deflect high into the net. Sturridge’s second goal, and Chelsea’s third.

Just two minutes later Lampard added his second of the afternoon, David Luiz had stormed from the back and with no-one closing him down he kept on running and hammered as shot at the Bolton goal, with the keeper only able to parry it the familiar figure of Lampard was closing late into the box and slotted home to make it 4-0 in less than half an hour.

With the match almost a foregone conculsion at this point, Bolton’s heads dropped and Chelsea eased off the gas a little for the remaining 15 mins of the half, although did have a few more opportunities to add to the tally with Mata going closest but seeing his shot saved.

Bolton brought on Zat Knight during half time in order to try and close things up at the back yet it was at the other end that Bolton made an impression. An early free kick was sent into the box by Petrov and Boyata evaded everyone to plant his header past Cech to make it 4-1. The free kick was eerily similar to that conceded against United, and again showed our weaknesses at set plays.

Villas-Boas responded after ten minutes of seeing Bolton with their tales up following their goal, and a probable stern word or two from their manager at half time, introducing Ivanovic for Bosingwa and brining on Mikel for Ramires. The Nigerian slipped into the holding role moving Meireles to the right, leaving Lampard on the left.

Frank then became the fifth highest league goalscorer in the clubs history in the 58th minute after combining well with Didier Drogba in the box, for the big Ivorian to pull the ball back to the penalty spot for the advancing Lampard to slot the ball home first time to complete his hat-trick and make it 5-1.

Bolton continued to improve on their first half performance, looking dangerous at times however Chelsea were able to clear the danger the majority of the time, with JT and Luiz making some vital tackles and interceptions. There was however a contentious issue later on when a Davies shot was cleared on the line by Ivanovic, however replays looked to show that the ball had crossed the line.

In the end it wasn’t relevant, and for once the talk won’t be able a poor refereeing decision, it’ll be about one man; Frank Lampard. So often criticised in recent weeks as being ‘finished’, today he proved that was nonsense.

If this is what rest and rotation does for the man, then long may it continue.

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Bosingwa (Ivanovic 53), D Luiz, Terry (c), Cole; Ramires (Mikel 55), Meireles, Lampard; Sturridge, Drogba, Mata (Anelka 72).

Goals: Sturridge 1, 24, Lampard 14, 26, 58.

The first home match of the season, against opponents we always score against and beat, looked to be the perfect antidote after the stalemate against Stoke.

Chelsea lined up with Hilario replacing the injured Cech in goal, with Bosingwa continuing at right back, Alex and Terry in the middle with Cole on the left.

Ramires, Lampard and Mikel continued in the middle with Torres up front, Anelka to the right and Kalou on the left hand side, with Malouda dropping to the bench.

It wasn’t to be any antidote though, with West Brom starting very deep in order to frustrate us early on, and breaking quickly and looking to get Shane Long in behind Alex and Terry.

It took less than five minutes to unravel all of Villas-Boas plans for the day as a ball through the middle was dealt with poorly by Alex, who allowed West Brom to break through and Long took full advantage, holding off the Brazilian and slotting low past Hilario.

Stamford Bridge was shocked and so it seemed were the team, as heads dropped and play went awry. Most of the attacking play we made was slow and lethargic, whilst in contrast West Brom were able to threaten our box in 2-3 quick forward passes.

West Brom wanted it more, were winning the second balls and pressing our players into mistakes, with Kalou and Bosingwa guilty of sloppy passes more than most. Kalou eventually was hauled off in the 34th minute and replaced by Malouda.

Chelsea changed to a diamond formation and it almost paid immediate dividends however resolute West Brom defending again kept us out until the half drew to a close.

The second half started with no change in personnel, and for the first few minutes no real change in play with Chelsea still looking somewhat nervous.

Then Chelsea started to play a bit, and a couple of nice passages of play resulted in chances on goal, and eventually Anelka scored. Chelsea played into the box, Lampard went down on what seemed to be a penalty but the ref played on, the ball came to Anelka who slotted low past Foster, by way of a deflection.

The goal seemed to get the monkey off the players back and brought some life to Stamford Bridge, Villas-Boas was clearly pleased on the touchline, celebrating the goal as much as any supporter there.

West Brom were not finished though, and were still a danger on the break as Chelsea pressed forwards looking for a winner.

Drogba came on for Torres, and Ivanovic on for Alex leaving us no more subs for the 25 minutes. Villas-Boas had set out his team to win the game and win it they did, albeit leaving it very late.

In the 82nd minute Jose Bosingwa raced down the right touchline, ghosting between two defenders before putting in his best cross of the afternoon across the face of goal, finding Malouda at the far post who slotted home.

Stamford Bridge exploded, as much out of relief as celebration, and ten or so minutes later the match was over and the players and supporters rested that little easier.

It wasn’t a vintage performance, for long spells it was just like watching the team at the end of last season. Slow on the attack, devoid of ideas or spark, desperately lacking pace. Yet we won, and that is the most important thing right now.

Things will change, new players are already here and if you follow us on Twitter, you’ll know there’s rumours about about two more this week. On this performance, we’ll need them.

Villas-Boas explained why he took Kalou off so early post match, stating; “The change was us wanting to surprise the opponent in some way but it didn’t happen straight away, because the players were still suffering from anxiety.”

“The half-time talk was for the players to release themselves from the anxiety they were suffering because the public was anxious and the players were anxious, and we still had 45 minutes to play and anything can happen, and it did happen.”

The manager added; “Today it was a very emotional game, and the emotional part of the game was the main difference from the first half to the second half. In the first half we suffered a little bit with anxiety because we conceded the first goal too early, and we couldn’t express ourselves.”

“We have done good quality passing when we trained but we just couldn’t do it and this was much more due to a mental block. Then when you find the back of the net for the 1-1, the emotional impact on the opponent is tremendous and we felt very confident to search for the second goal, and we found it.”

Chelsea (4-3-3): Hilario, Bosingwa, Alex (Ivanovic 65), Terry (c), Cole, Ramires, Mikel, Lampard, Anelka, Torres (Drogba 59), Kalou (Malouda 34).

Goals: Anelka 52, Malouda 82
Booked: Lampard 33, Terry 89
Attendance: 41,091

The start of a season that heralded a new beginning, and a break from the old, turned out initially to be much the same as last season.

A familiar line up read; Cech, Bosingwa, Alex, Terry, Cole; Ramires, Mikel, Lampard; Kalou, Torres, Malouda – eight of whom started the final match of last season, with Kalou making a substitute appearance in that match too.

Yet to focus only on the line-ups and predictable headlines the Stoke match generated will be to miss so much more of what happened at the Britannia stadium. Both the team and some individual performances were a marked break with the old.

Torres was the surprise inclusion up front having taken a knock mid-week for Spain, and then so began a seemingly familiar story too; Chelsea with an exciting early push, only to lose possession then their nerve, and allow Stoke to put a series of challenging balls into our area.

Cech was thankfully up to the task, and commanded his area well throughout the match, especially considering the repeated holding and blocking by Stoke players whenever challenging a ball, or defending a free kick, and playing as a sweeper at times too.

Chelsea grew into the first half, with Torres looking very sharp, strong and controlling the ball well. Alex was a beast at the back, seeing off everything that came his way alongside Terry, and Ramires put in a good shift too – providing some sorely needed muscle, and strength on the ball.

The play was sharper, more intelligent and with some good interplay between positions, Cole pressed forwards where possible and even Bosingwa played well, defending and attacking very well, and playing himself out of some tricky situations, as well as putting some decent balls in the box too.

The major disappointment of the half was that of our wide players. Kalou was Kalou, frustrating and fascinating with equal measure. Skinning a player one minute then losing simple possession the next, as well as falling over his own feet in the box.

Malouda had good spells, but ran into his man too often. He missed a good chance when played in by Torres, and was seemingly hesitant at points in passing to the Spaniard too. Villas-Boas was up and down on the touchline, clearly not happy about the way his team was playing.

The half time came and went with no changes, and the second half started with Chelsea pressing the ball harder, and having more time in possession than before with Stoke sitting off more, increasing their physical play, and knocking the ball longer.

Torres was the recipient of the worst of their tactics, but got up and got on with it each time, despite referee Mark Halsey’s increasingly erratic interpretation of the rules. Torres had a couple of efforts, one a delightful turn and shoot that was offside, and also a header saved at close range.

The shot of the half came from Mikel; 40 yards out on the volley, needing a save from Begovic to tip it over the bar. Chelsea were also denied at least three penalty shouts, two on Torres and one on Lampard, but Halsey waved each one away in turn.

It was looking like one of those days, and so it came to pass as despite five minutes of injury time and having Drogba, Torres and Anelka on the pitch at the same time, we just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net.

Villas-Boas stated after the match; “I couldn’t be pleased with a point but it is one of the most difficult grounds to play away from home,’ said Villas-Boas as he looked back on the game. Last season at home I think Stoke had 10 wins and a couple of draws so for our title challenge one point from Stoke is not bad. ”

“It is not the greatest start of course but we are happy we raised our game in the second half. The first half we were able to defend them but we struggled with Stoke’s set plays and we couldn’t put the ball on the ground which was to their advantage.”

“We couldn’t create opportunities which we managed do in the second half, but unfortunately the goal didn’t happen. We were close and we played in their half in the second half. The game was more in our control but unfortunately we couldn’t find the back of the net.”

Fernando Torres rightfully won the man of the match award for his performance, and sounded confident in his post match interview, stating; “I am feeling very fresh, with pace and sharpness, so I’m happy with that, but not the nil-nil, as strikers want to score all the time. I would like to score in every game, but that is not possible.”

“Following the pre-season, I am only 27 so I have not forgotten how to play, score or play well. Last season was a season to forget for me. A lot of bad things happened in that season, but that is in the past and now I want to focus on this season which I am sure will be very good for Chelsea and myself.”

Chelsea had 16 shots on goal, with 8 of them on target. Stoke had 4 shots on goal, with one on target. In total we had 64% of the possession to Stoke’s 36% – Stoke is never an easy place to go and so it proved, but this is only an early stutter, we can and will improve.

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Bosingwa, Alex, Terry (c), Cole; Ramires, Mikel, Lampard, Kalou (Drogba 75), Torres (Benayoun 88), Malouda (Anelka 65).

Booked Cole 65, Lampard 88.

Chelsea took another step forwards in their collective rehabilitation of the seasons fortunes against Manchester City in the Premier League today, but it was the boys from Brazil, via Benfica, who were the stars of the show.

Chelsea lined up in their now almost standard 4-4-2 formation with Torres and Kalou leading the line, supported by a flat four of Ramires, Essien, Lampard and Malouda, whilst Ivanovic, Terry, Luiz and Cole made the back four in front of Cech.

City lost talisman Carlos Tevez earlier in the day to a late fitness test, so started with Dzeko up front, and Italian bad boy Mario Balotelli on the bench.

Chelsea started slowly, allowing City to take the initiative over the first five to ten minutes, with David Silva and Yaya Toure both trying their luck early on, however as the half started to settle it was Chelsea who became more comfortable in their play, with City seemingly happy to sit back and look to hit us on the break.

Kalou was looking especially dangerous and showed both quick feet and a sharp mind, having a go himself and laying on the ball for others in what was one of his better performances for some time. Malouda continued his erratic form, for reasons only known to himself there were a couple of occasions he should have played in Torres, but decided to go it alone, ultimately ruining the chance.

For all the good play though, and some of it was lovely to watch, especially with Lampard returning to the form of old, spreading play to both wings with first time balls, and Essien, Ramires, Cole and Ivanovic all getting into advanced positions, it wasn’t until the 41st minute of the first half that we got a shot on goal, which came after Malouda set up Kalou.

Half time came and went with no changes, and the game continued exactly how the first half had ended, with City happy to sit back in numbers and let Chelsea try to pick their way through. Malouda, Essien and Cole all tried with long range efforts and the attempts at playing Torres in were snuffed out. Increasingly the match looked to be heading for a stalemate.

With the clock approaching 70 minutes Torres made way for Drogba and Malouda was replaced by Anelka, with Ancelotti clearly going for goals. It was however the impressive Luiz who made the difference, twice in the space of a few moments.

Some Ronaldo like fancy footwork on the left wing saw Luiz fouled, Didier lined up the free kick and put a ball into the box that Luiz got onto the end of, and planted a header past Joe Hart to make it 1-0, crowning what had been a fantastic performance from the man who is quickly becoming firmly established as a fans favourite.

A few moments later Luiz almost made it two, nearly getting onto the end of a ball into the box, however it was left to another Brazilian, and one who supporters haven’t taken to nearly as quickly as Luiz, to seal the points.

Essien laid the ball into the path of Ramires, who danced his way into the box, getting past both Lescott and Kolarov, before drilling across Hart and into the far corner, a just reward from yet another impressive performance from the Brazilian, to make it 2-0 and put the result beyond doubt.

The result took us to third in the league, leapfrogging Manchester City and leaving us nine points behind United with a game in hand. Whilst talk of the title is still somewhat muted, talk of Luiz is not, with his the name on every supporters lips post match.

Ancelotti had his say too, stating; “‘David Luiz and Ramires had a fantastic performance and fantastic goals and Ramires showed he is improving very well. Defensively David Luiz worked with a fantastic tempo and one-against-one was good, his performance was really good.”

Discussing the match overall, Carlo noted; “We wanted to win but it was not easy to find a solution in the final third in the first-half, the second-half was better because Manchester City were softer; they played Thursday night and were a little bit tired and we had more opportunity at the end of the game.”

“We needed to be patient. It was a difficult game because we didn’t want to concede on the counter-attack like we did in the last game against them.

“Tactically it was a good as well. We played for 90 minutes with good fighting spirit, so I am happy for this, and our moment is good, we showed this on the pitch.”

Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech, Ivanovic, David Luiz, Terry (c), Cole, Ramires, Essien, Lampard, Malouda (Anelka 69), Kalou (Zhirkov 76), Torres (Drogba 69).

Goals: David Luiz, Ramires

So that was easier than many of us expected! What with Copenhagen’s impressive home form this season, and ours erratic, the 2-0 win was more than many of us could have hoped for.

Chelsea lined up with Torres and Anelka up front, in what turned out to be more a 4-4-1-1 formation than 4-4-2, with the Frenchman playing just behind the Spaniard.

Ramires took the right midfield position, with Malouda on the left, and Lampard partnering Essien in the middle of the park. With Luiz ineligible, Ivanovic partnered Terry in the centre of defence, Cole left, and Boswingwa right.

Chelsea old boy Jesper Gronkjaer lined up for the opposition in what many of us thought would be a tougher encounter than it turned out to be.

The 4-4-2 allowed us something we’ve missed in previous games with both Malouda and Ramires seeing a lot of the ball in wider areas.

Copenhagen also lined up in a 4-4-2 formation which made life easier as the players lined up man for man, and left a lot of space behind their defence was left open to exploit, unsuccessful at first with a raft of offside decisions.

Torres and Anelka both looked sharp and interchanged well throughout the match, yet it was the Frenchman who made the headlines by way of a brace, with both lovely goals.

The first came in the 17th minute by way of the unfortunate Gronkjaer, who played a pass blind, which Anelka latched onto and ran at the Copenhagen defence, before smashing the ball past Wiland from the edge of the area. The strike was Anelka’s sixth goal in Europe this season.

Chelsea enjoyed numerous chances to double their lead, with Anelka and Torres both lively, and the movement between the strikers and mid-fielders a marked improvement on recent weeks. However we went in at half time with no change at 1-0.

Copenhagen started the second half a lot better than they’d played the first, and caused Chelsea problems early on, testing Cech on a couple of occasions. However it wasn’t long before Chelsea doubled their lead.

Essien drove forwards and picked out Lampard, who with two touches controlled, turned and played a delightful reverse ball into the patch for Anelka to shoot low and hard into the net after 54 minutes.

Chelsea grew as the match drew on with Copenhagen visibly tiring, we could and should have had more goals. Torres had a chance cleared half a yard of the line and Anelka was sharp as he hunted his hat trick, however it wasn’t to be.

Didier Drogba made an appearance for the last twenty minutes, with Zhirkov getting five and Kalou replacing Torres in injury time.

All in all a better performance and the home leg should be a comfortable affair. Ancelotti was please after the match, stating; “The key to this game was the good movement up front from Nicolas Anelka and Fernando Torres.”

“It was a good performance because we played with intelligence. We played quick up front to avoid the pressing and this why I say we played with intelligence. We didn’t give Copenhagen the opportunity to press.”

Chelsea (4-4-2): Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry (c), Cole, Ramires, Essien, Lampard, Malouda (Zhirkov 84), Anelka (Drogba 73), Torres (Kalou 90+1).
Goals: Anelka (17, 54)

With yesterday’s incredible deadline deals still fresh in the memory, focus shifts to the main course of Premiership football.

Neither of yesterday’s signings will be available to play this evening, and with the departure of those out on loan too, it means the squad may be a little stretched for the journey north and we may see some newer names on the bench.

Sunderland served up a shock last time around, recording a 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge back in November, back when we were clear at the top of the league, in what was the first match of our recent record slump.

Chelsea showed a convincing return to form in their last league outing, hitting four goals to beat Bolton at the Reebok. They have the best defensive record in the league too, thanks in part to goalkeeper Petr Cech’s magnificent form.

We thankfully produced a convincing return to form last match, notching four goals against Bolton at the Reebok and would hope that continues this evening. With a return to goalscoring form, we must hope that our defensive performances continue to shine, and that Petr Cech extends this seasons magnificent form.

Expected team: Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Essien, Mikel, Lampard, Malouda, Kalou, Drogba.

Kick off: 19:45

Chelsea face Ipswich Town at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup today, hoping a change of competition may enact a change of form and luck.

The FA Cup has been good for us in the last two decades, the pain of 1994 aside, and this season we set to the task of retaining the FA Cup for a second year, to make it three wins in three.

The team new is still unclear, however with so many players being ran into the ground, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see some of the younger players get their chance.

Cole needs a break, so Van Aanholt should start, Bruma may line up in the centre of defence and Sturridge could also start following his five goals in mid-week. Another who could play, is Josh McEachran.

The young Englishman spoke of the FA Cup and said; “We’re playing Ipswich on Sunday so hopefully some of us might be involved and we can put a good performance in and go on and win the competition again. I’ve been to the new Wembley a couple of times and it looks brilliant to play at, so if we did reach the final this year I would love to be involved.”

Reflecting on his own cup win last season, he recalled; “Winning the FA Youth Cup was a massive thing, Chelsea hadn’t done it for so long so it was huge for the club and everyone in the Academy as well. I was aware of the history of the competition, it was on Chelsea TV and the coaches were telling us it had been 50 years since Chelsea had won it so it was a great feeling.”

“Making your first-team debut is what everyone dreams of so that was probably a bigger high,” said McEachran. “It is a lot quicker in the Premier League, you have to make your mind up quicker than in the reserves. You don’t realise the crowd is there because you are very focused, but you hear them when you’ve given the ball away!”

Blowing away the cobwebs of Jose’s ‘untouchables’, Carlo Ancelotti stated on Friday; “There are no untouchable players. Drogba was out against Tottenham; Anelka has been out. We have the opportunity to change something up front; it is more difficult to change something defensively but there are no untouchable players. If we feel they deserve to play, they play.”

“There are some players that in this moment can use their character and experience to help the others to move on.” He adds; “I don’t want to do a table of the most important players at this club but obviously the players who have experience are more important compared to the others.”

Responding to media speculation regarding his future, the manager stated; “You have to face reality; the reality is that there is a long period that we didn’t have a good result. I don’t know how many managers were able to manage this club with these results; this means the owner supports my job. I feel this because I speak with him.”

“Roman never asked me to win. He asked me that his team play exciting football, this is our aim. I know we have the ability, the skill to win, like we did last year. To move on we must stay focused on the pitch. We have to close our minds, work on the pitch and try. If we are not able to find the right solution, try again. I will follow this way for the future.”

What would have been classed as a simple match some three months ago, takes on an entirely different look as our woeful form leaves us ripe for the picking.

We’ve seen many ‘signs’ that improvement is only around the corner, spells in matches where it’s clicked again and we’re playing as we can, these are all too rare however, and teams are playing us with their tails up.

Wolves will fancy their chances against a Chelsea side bereft of confidence, and who’s line up is unlikely to spring any surprises.

With Ivanovic returning from suspension we should see him return to the centre of defence alongside JT, with the now traditional Paulo start, Jose finish at right back, and Cole on the left hand side.

Lampard will hopefully continue his return to full fitness alongside Essien and Ramires, with Mikel, Zhirkov and Benayoun all still unavailable. Drogba, Anelka, Kalou and Malouda will fill the three front spots, and one place on the bench.

Carlo spoke of his attacking options, and admitted they’ve been under par; “They didn’t score many goals in the last month but Didier Drogba has started to score and Florent Malouda scored against Bolton. ”

“The bad moment is behind them, now I hope Anelka can start to score as well.  Sturridge also has the quality; he will have more opportunity to play for us up front at the beginning of games.”

Chelsea loanee Michael Mancienne is one who’s able to give a good insight into what we may face from Wolves tonight; “It’s definitely going to be a tough game for Chelsea because Wolves need points and they’ve been playing well recently. ”

“The crowd at Molineux is good, they get behind the team and really support the boys, so they’ll make it difficult because it’s a massive game, a really important one for both teams. They’ve done well against the big teams and will be fired up for it.”

Speaking of his loan, he said; “I’ve got a bit of an injury at the minute so I’m staying at Cobham to get it right before I go back to Wolves on loan until the end of the season. Hopefully I’ll be back playing within two or three weeks. I was playing a lot before I got injured but the injury has gradually come on until the point where I couldn’t really run on it.”

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The leftovers are eaten, the alcohol has run dry, and football finally returns. Tonight we see the festive treat that is Arsenal vs. Chelsea at the Emirates.

Didier Drogba should be lining up against his favoured opponents and we will need him to be on form if we’re to have a chance of bagging all three points. Expect Anelka and Malouda to flank him, Anelka getting the nod ahead of Kalou for his ball retention skills.

The return of Frank Lampard could also be critical, with the midfielder brining some much needed stability and attacking nous to what has been an overly physical midfield since his absence, so expect Ramires to drop to the bench as Essien and Mikel take the other two slots.

The defence all but picks itself with Cole, Terry and Ivanovic certain to start, the only question is the right back position, and it remains to be seen whether Carlo will go for Bosingwa or Ferreira.

Speaking ahead of the match, Carlo Ancelotti stated; “I think that Arsenal are a little bit afraid about the performance of Drogba because he did very well against them, but this cannot decide the game, though obviously if Drogba plays at his best we have more opportunity to win.”

“It is an important game obviously because both teams are involved in the fight for the title. Arsenal, Man City and Tottenham has the opportunity and skill to fight for the title until the end.” He added; “I think it will be a race with balance because a lot of teams have the possibility to win, not just Chelsea and Man United.”

John Obi Mikel also spoke of his feelings in the build up to the match, saying; “Arsenal is Arsenal, they are trying to put this thing right with the big games playing against the big four, but lately they keep failing. I think they’re a very good team though, they’re playing well now and have been getting results to stay in the race.”

Reflecting on the extending break the United postponement allowed us, Mikel reflected; “We’ve had more time in training to get things right for this game, we know what we’re doing and are working together as a team, improving our physical condition, receiving tactical advice, so by the time we start the game we will be really ready and know what we are going to do on the pitch.”

“We often play well against Arsenal and I hope we will do again, if we do I am sure we will get those three points.”

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We went into the match hoping for a good performance and three points. We got the former, but sadly not the latter.

A Pavlyuchenko opener for Spurs deflated Chelsea early on, yet a Didier Drogba goal courtesy of a rubbish save by Gomes sealed a point at least, yet a penalty in injury time that wasn’t converted by Didier meant we had to settle for the one, rather than all three.

However there were enough positives to take away from the game that we can be hopeful for the next two fixtures against Manchester United and Arsenal.

Despite many of us having nightmares about Bale against Ferreira, the Portuguese defender put in a solid display, limiting Bale’s influence on the match.

Ramires also put in a good shift, showing strength and running constantly with some good passing and movement. He and Essien in the centre of a flat middle four looked better than they have together co-operating in a middle three.

It was also great to see Lampard in a blue shirt again. Frank will be understandably rusty yet his presence alone gives opponents something to think about, and if you’re wondering why he didn’t take the penalty that could have won us the game, see his post match interview on TheChels.tv to see why.

Terry looked back to his best after his recent absence, putting in a commanding performance both at the back, and the front, leading the team by example on many occasions. These things only bode well for the future.

Speaking after the match, Terry said; “I thought we fully deserved to win the game, especially second half we dominated. Spurs started very well, got the goal and made it difficult at times but that was more like the Chelsea we all know.”

“Playing like we did the second half, things are back to normal. The hunger, the spirit, the determination – we pressed a lot better, especially in the second half and that is what we want from a Chelsea side. You can lose or draw games, I think the fans appreciate that, but it is when they don’t see the passion that it hurts.”

Terry stated; “I’ve never doubted the players, never doubted the manager, never doubted the football club, nothing much has changed from last year when we won the Double and let’s not forget that. We were the best team by a long way and at the moment no team has hit their top form.”

“The last couple of weeks we would all admit that some of the passion for no one reason was not there but we have it back now. Hopefully the game on Monday night between Man United and Arsenal will be a draw, that will suit us.”

“Then we have got Man United to come to the Bridge and we go away to the Emirates which is always tough, but things are looking up.”

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Ferreira, Ivanovic, Terry (c) Cole; Ramires, Mikel, (Drogba h-t), Essien; Kalou (Sturridge 67), Anelka, Malouda (Lampard 77).

Goal: Drogba 69.

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