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.

Another game, another defensive mistake and another goal conceded, and this time that goal made all the difference as València snatched a draw right at the end at Estadio Mestalla.

Frank Lampard had given the Blues the lead just before the hour mark, but a handball by his substitute, Salomon Kalou, gave the hosts a chance to equalise from twelve yards out from which Roberto Soldado coolly finished.

After being red carded at the weekend which resulted in a three game ban, Fernando Torres started the game as expected, so the fit again Didier Drogba had to be contend with a place on the bench along with the in-form, Nicolas Anelka, as Florent Malouda was given the opportunity to start up front.

València had the impressive Roberto Soldado up front alongside Pablo Hernández, while the on-loan Real Madrid man, Sergio Canales, was given a free role.

The hosts made a really shaky start at the back and gave an early chance to Fernando Torres from a misplaced pass, but the Spaniard had a heavy touch, and thus gave the defender a chance to get back amid some muted penalty appeals.

The generosity continued as Florent Malouda was let free as he found the crowded Ramires. And then Ramires had an even better opportunity to open the scoring, but was hauled down, with him on one of his lung-bursting runs. The resulting free-kick taken by Frank Lampard tested the nervous looking Diego Alves, but scoreline remained intact.

Ramires was in the thick of things, and so it was worrying sight for Chelsea fans when he took a bad knock on his shin from Miguel and required lengthy treatment, but fortunately he was able to get back. In the meantime, València looked to take advantage of Chelsea being down to ten men and created their best chance with Pablo Hernández hitting his first time shot into the side-netting.

Fernando Torres and Juan Mata combined well throughout the first half, but lacked that final touch which would open up the defence as the game died down and started to resemble more of a chess match with both sides cancelling each other out.

Despite looking innocuous at best, València had loads of possession and could have made the Blues pay for the earlier missed chances, but Hernández’s volley on the turn was hit straight at the keeper and the half finished goalless and devoid of any good attacking football.

The start to the second half couldn’t have been more different as both teams played at a frantic pace. Chelsea were first to take advantage of this spell when a brilliant cross in from the right found Fernando Torres as the Spaniard rose above the defender to put in a powerful downward header, but Diego Alves produced a world class one-handed save to keep it out.

València then had the chance of their own, but the slightest of touches of John Terry’s head was enough to put Soldado off as he headed it just wide from close range under no pressure.

The game was now fully stretched and it only looked a matter of time before the deadlock would be broken, and for the all world it looked like it was going to be broken by Fernando Torres when Frank Lampard found him with delicate chip, and just like on the weekend, Torres’s first touch and shot were brilliant, but was equally matched by Diego Alves in this case, to deny him a third consecutive goal in as many games.

The Brazilian keeper epitomised the skills of València manager Unai Emery, who continues to build teams after teams, despite losing his best players, as he wasn’t fazed and lived up to the challenge after the initial nerves were gone, and then went on to save an own goal from point blank range after taming down Torres.

His one man resistance was soon to be broken though when Frank Lampard rifled in a precise first time shot from the edge of the box after some neat build up play by Florent Malouda on the right side.

It was a welcome relief for Lampard, whose future had been under immense scrutiny over the past week or so, and after the game he said; “I love playing for this club. I am very proud of playing here. I’ve had knocks before in my career – it makes me work harder to come back.”

The goal was expected to be the catalyst for further dominance by the Blues, but it wasn’t to be, and on the contrary gave València the incentive needed to go out and attack.

The game then settled into a pattern of us defending back and València testing us.

An over the top ball found the Roberto Soldado and he was able to beat Petr Cech, but in the process was forced out wide and couldn’t find any of his teammates with the cut back.

Pablo Piatti, Sofiane Feghouli and Rami all tried their luck from distance but to no avail and at this point Chelsea were hanging on, but were constantly getting found out by over the top balls looking for diagonal run of València players.

Jonas then went one step ahead and forced Čech into a great diving save. The resulting corner would prove to be decisive as Salomon Kalou carelessly gave away a penalty for handball from which Soldado didn’t miss with only four minutes of normal time remaining.

Chelsea had one final chance at the other end, but Diego Alves was once again the hero for the hosts as he kept out Nicolas Anelka from close range.

Despite being a relatively clean game, except for some playacting by Éver Bangea and the disgusting green laser following Fernando Torres around, the game ended in a chaos after the Italian referee, Nicola Rizzoli, blew for full-time whit Chelsea ready to take a free kick in Valencia’s half.

The referee then booked Juan Mata and Ashley Cole in the aftermath as the players needed to be escorted out to avoid any further trouble.

València gave a good account of themselves with Sergio Canales in particular putting in a very impressive performance.

André Villas-Boas was left a little disappointed with the late equaliser, but praised the performance on the pitch, he said; ‘We came out for the second half stronger and we had very good opportunities to score a goal before we did, but towards the end Valencia gained the momentum which they should because they were desperate for a point.

‘We came out for the second half stronger and we had very good opportunities to score a goal before we did, but towards the end Valencia gained the momentum which they should because they were desperate for a point.’

Chelsea: Cech; Bosingwa, D Luiz, Terry (c), Cole; Ramires (Meireles 65), Mikel, Lampard (Kalou 82); Mata, Torres (Anelka 72), Malouda

Scorer – Lampard 56

Two goals either side of the half ensured Chelsea maintained their 100% record in the league at Stamford Bridge thanks to a double strike from the ever impressive Ramires, despite going down to ten men in the first half after Fernando Torres was shown the red.

After a lacklustre start, the game came to life in a crazy ten minute spell in the first half which included two goals and a sending off. Swansea gave it a go early in the second half, but the quality of Chelsea was too much for them in the end as Didier Drogba marked his return with a wonderfully taken goal.

Frank Lampard was again left on the bench with Raul Meireles and Ramires being preferred instead, with Obi Mikel completing the midfield three. Nicolas Anelka started the game as Daniel Sturridge missed out due to a leg injury.

It was a first return to Stamford Bridge for Brendan Rogers, another former José Mourinho assistant, and Scott Sinclair since their departure from Chelsea.

Chelsea’s start to the game was a very slow one which allowed Swansea to get bodies behind the ball and defend as a unit, with Nathan Dyer and Scott Sinclair providing the pace up front as they looked to counter.

With Swansea sitting back it restricted us from creating any clear cut chances in the early part and forced us to try our luck from distance as first Raul Meireles, and then Ramires and Branislav Ivanovic, gave it a go without troubling Michel Vorm in goal.

The Swansea resistance was soon to be broken though through a sublime combination between the two Spaniards in our team. Juan Mata saw Fernando Torres’s diagonal run into the box and found him with a brilliant chipped ball which Torres took on his chest before he swivelled and put it into the bottom corner.

And soon it was two with Ramires putting in the finishing touches to a nice move which was started by Fernando Torres on the left hand side as he released Ashley Cole into space from where the England international found Ramires in a quick flowing move.

The game was suddenly changed with Chelsea in control, but the two goal cushion wasn’t representative of the match so far which was to face its final twist to this hectic ten minutes spell.

Swansea’s Mark Gower took a bad first touch leaving the ball open for challenge, and Fernando Torres keeping in line with rash and desperate lunges this season, made a go at it with a two footed challenge, and although the player wasn’t hurt, it was rightfully deemed to be dangerous play and a red card was shown.

The red card gave Swansea a glimmer of hope and they tried their best early on in the second half and started on the front foot. But as one would imagine, the experience of the Chelsea players was visible in every sense as the match progressed and they slowed the game down to suit our play and get a control over the game.

Nicolas Anelka gave a master class on how to control the tempo up front and almost scored out of nothing as he ambled his way through four Swansea players before seeing his sweetly struck shot hit the bar.

The Frenchmen was then joined by Florent Malouda, who showed all his experience and composure as Chelsea firmly kept the game under its grasp.

With lots of time remaining it always felt like we needed another goal to avoid any last minute frenzy, and so it was a big relief when Ramires made it three as he was able to evade Ashley Williams’s weak challenge from a José Bosingwa’s pass and slot it past Vorm.

Didier Drogba then marked his return from injury with a nicely taken goal right at the end, but not before Ashley Williams got one back for Swansea as Brendan Roger’s team once again exploited the bad marking displayed by Chelsea players at set-pieces off-late.

The only disappointment to an otherwise good display was Fernando Torres’s red card just when he was showing improvements in his game. John Obi Mikel gave another wonderful performance in the middle of the park, while Ramires gets more and more followers with every performance.

André Villas-Boas seemed satisfied with his team performance after they had to endure consecutive matches with ten men on the pitch, he said; “It was a good team performance generally,’

‘We have to emphasise the team because it shows the nature and commitment of the players towards their objectives.

‘We were five points behind the leaders and we shortened the distance, so we wait and see what happens at Stoke. You expect Man United to win; we are five points behind and have to continue to get as many wins as possible.’

Chelsea: Cech; Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry (c), Cole; Ramires, Mikel, Meireles (McEachran 82); Anelka (Drogba 78), Torres, Mata (Malouda 58).

Goals Torres 29, Ramires 35, 76, Drogba 90+3

Chelsea progressed to the Fourth Round of the Carling Cup on Wednesday night following a 4-3 penalty shootout win over West London neighbours Fulham.

Martin Jol’s team failed to take advantage of a 49th minute red card for Blues defender Alex, and after Pajtim Kasami missed the resulting spot kick, Chelsea put in what manager Andre Villas-Boas described as a “super human performance” to stay on terms for over an hour despite being a man light.

The Portuguese’s selection included teenagers Josh McEachran, Romelu Lukaku and Oriol Romeu, whilst there was also a full debut for 22 year-old left-back Ryan Bertrand and another start for Daniel Sturridge. They were joined by Paulo Ferreira and Salomon Kalou in making rare first team appearances, whilst experience was on hand in the form of captain Petr Cech, defenders Alex and David Luiz, and Florent Malouda in midfield.

Fulham too shuffled their deck, affording starts to youngsters Matthew Briggs and Kerim Frei from their academy, whilst new signings Kasami, Bryan Ruiz, Marcel Gecov and Orlando Sá were handed the chance to show what they have to offer in Jol’s 5-3-2 formation, with Briggs and Stephen Kelly providing the width from wing-back.

Chelsea made most of the early going but were unable to make their territorial advantage count. Sturridge and Malouda went close but not close enough, whilst Kalou’s glancing header was off target.

A rampant counter attack involving Cech, McEachran and Lukaku culminated in the big Belgian driving a right-footed effort on target, but Fulham captain Mark Schwarzer was equal to it.

The visitors were keen to exploit the high defensive line Chelsea have used so far this season, but on this night Cech was noticeably playing closer to his back four in a sweeper-type role and the Blues were thankful for that when the giant Czech custodian was alert to beat Orlando Sá to a long through ball.

Winger Frei was lively in bursts and showed the capacity to dribble past men at will, whilst Sá’s lively running kept Chelsea on their toes at the back as Fulham pressed their way back into the game.

Chelsea saw a goal disallowed when Sturridge was deemed offside as he converted McEachran’s goal-bound effort. The 18 year-old midfielder had neatly exchanged passes with Lukaku in the box and was set to score before Sturridge tried to make sure.

It would prove an unfortunate mistake as the forward suffered an injury in the process and was forced off, being replaced by Frank Lampard.

Cech would also make way through injury as he failed to return for the second half after colliding with Sá just before the half time whistle. Suffering dizziness after a blow to the head, he took a safety-first approach and allowed Ross Turnbull to deputise.

Both Sturridge and Cech are expected to be fine after post-match evaluations showed no sign of serious problems.

Chelsea started the second half well and Kalou will be disappointed that he was unable to finish from the right side of the penalty box, driving his shot into the near post side netting.

The game swung less than five minutes after the restart when Alex felled the whippet-like Frei in the box. Referee Chris Foy awarded the penalty and gave the Brazilian his marching orders, much to the big man’s dismay.

Swiss midfielder Kasami stepped up but saw his spot kick crash back off the crossbar, a chance well and truly spurned.

In an effort to shore up the back four Villas-Boas introduced John Terry in relief of Josh McEachran, opting for more experience rather than drop the impressive Oriol Romeu into a familiar position alongside David Luiz and shuffle the midfield around.

Romeu shone for large parts of his full debut, displaying tenacity and intelligence in the tackle and exhibiting all of the hallmarks of a typical defensive midfielder. His passing was tidy enough if rarely expansive but he played with confidence and leadership throughout.

Being forced into all three substitutions limited Villas-Boas’ options and meant that a planned runout for Didier Drogba was now impossible. It also meant that Lukaku would have to soldier on in a lone striker’s role and despite visibly labouring, the teenager gave it every ounce of energy he had remaining as Chelsea played on a man light.

For their long spells of advantage with the ball, Fulham rarely created anything to worry Turnbull and instead the Blues had the better chances to win the match inside 90 minutes. Malouda’s golden opening from twelve yards out was wasted as he scuffed an effort on his right foot, whilst David Luiz charged around like a man possessed determined to make something happen.

Turnbull was to be tested, and he passed with flying colours in the closing stages, making outstanding stops to first deny substitute Dembele and then Kasami in quick succession.

Bertrand drew Schwarzer into action with a fine effort after good play with Malouda and Luiz tried and failed again as the match went into extra time. There was little by way of notable action in the addtional period with both sides tiring but Romeu, Malouda, Zamora and Sidwell respectively all went as close as anyone else had on the evening.

And so to penalties, with supporters inside Stamford Bridge more than aware of the club’s appalling recent history in such situations. Their outlook hardly improved after Lampard’s opening gambit was parried by Schwarzer in front of a swarming Matthew Harding Lower tier.

Zamora confirmed Fulham’s early advantage, and it lasted through successful spot kicks from David Luiz, Steve Sidwell and John Terry, who was stepping up for the first time since missing in Moscow three years ago.

Turnbull guessed right to deny Dembele and restore parity, and after Kalou, Baird and Malouda converted, Ruiz’s effort hit the underside of the crossbar and did not cross the line to put Chelsea into the hat for Saturday’s draw.

Chelsea: Cech (c) (Turnbull 45), Ferreira, Alex, David Luiz, Bertrand, McEachran (Terry 51), Romeu, Malouda, Sturridge (Lampard 43), Lukaku, Kalou
Subs not Used: Bosingwa, Mikel, Mata, Drogba
Sent off: Alex 47
Booked: Lampard 120

Chelsea enter this season’s Carling Cup on Wednesday night and as usual, speculation abounds as to how the club will approach the competition ahead of their third round clash with local neighbours Fulham.

The tie represents Andre Villas-Boas’ first foray into the league cup and whilst many clubs treat it as an unwanted distraction, the Portuguese will no doubt recall that it represented his first piece of silverware in his first spell at Stamford Bridge as Jose Mourinho led the Blues to glory in Cardiff in early 2005.

Fulham arrive at the Bridge in the middle of a run of seven fixtures in twenty-one days for Chelsea. At the outset of the run, Villas-Boas indicated that the squad would be used to its fullest during this spell, particularly with an international round (and the lengthy travelling it typically entails) preceding it.

Sandwiched between a defeat at Old Trafford and the visit of Swansea City in the league, conventional wisdom suggests Villas-Boas will use the match to hand playing time to a clutch of players who are in desperate need of it.

Chief amongst these, at least in the eyes of many supporters, is Josh McEachran. The 18 year-old midfielder has yet to make an appearance this season after receiving a generous helping of action in the summer, and was absent from the substitutes bench at Manchester United last weekend.

It was twelve months ago that he made his home debut in this very competition and an outstanding cameo against Newcastle instantly shot him into the limelight. Now, he will be looking for the opportunity to impress and stake a claim for more involvement in the Chelsea midfield.

Teenage kicks is often the theme in the Carling Cup and whilst neither Oriol Romeu and Romelu Lukaku are home-grown academy products, they represent the future of the club and are both set to make their full debuts after fleeting minutes from the bench thus far.

Throw in left-back Ryan Bertrand and you have a fairly decent smattering of youthful endeavour. Alongside them, the likes of Salomon Kalou, Paulo Ferreira, David Luiz and Florent Malouda should add experience and ensure that the Blues remain competitive against good opposition.

Undoubtedly, John Terry and Frank Lampard will be keen to feature, but as Villas-Boas showed last week agaisnt Bayer Leverkusen, he is not afraid to leave them on the sidelines when rest is needed.

There will also be a clamour for the inclusion of Fernando Torres in search of a much-needed confidence boost, but the Spaniard is unlikely to be handed a starting berth.

WIth Hilário and Ross Turnbull nursing injuries, Petr Cech could make his first Carling Cup appearance since the 2007-08 Final against Tottenham. Welsh fourth-choice stopper Rhys Taylor had a scan on a back problem last week and his status is uncertain, meaning a potential place on the bench for 17 year-old Jamal Blackman.

The first-year pro could be joined by any from Nathaniel Chalobah (suspension appeal pending), Billy Clifford or Jacob Mellis but Blues fans should not expect an Arsenal-esque youth team influx.

Fulham have shown a willingness to rotate their own squad this season, with a lengthy Europa League qualification campaign allowing Matthew Briggs, Kerim Frei, and Tom Donegan to make first-team waves, and Martin Jol will likely repeat the trick on Wednesday night.

Kickoff at Stamford Bridge is set for 7.45pm on Wednesday and the match referee will be Chris Foy.

It’s not often that a score line so blatantly refutes the events of the game, but the 3-0 sore line at half-time did just that, and even though Fernando Torres scored early in the second half and we had chances to reduce the deficit it was not to be, as Chelsea’s unbeaten start to the season came to end on a crazy day at Old Trafford.

All of Manchester United’s goals on the day, starting from Chris Smalling’s header, continuing in Nani’s brilliant strike to the easy tap in for Wayne Rooney, had a slice of fortune about them on the day, but were nonetheless ruthlessly taken by the United players.

Earlier, Andre Villas-Boas made the decision that everyone was looking out for as he gave Fernando Torres the start after his assists in the midweek, which meant that the in-form Nicolas Anelka had to do with a role on the bench, with Daniel Sturridge and Juan Mata playing either side of the Spaniard in a 4-3-3 formation.

The first chance of the game fell to Ramires, whose first time volley was saved by David De Gea as the Blues looked to get the early initiative.

Chelsea’s last attempt at victory was put off the track by an early strike by Javier Hernandez, and once again we suffered the same fate as Chris Smalling put the hosts ahead inside ten minutes from a Ashley Young free-kick. Smalling looked offside and that was probably the reason he got a free header with his markers left stranded at the edge of the box.

The difference from the game in May, where we succumbed to the early goal, was clearly apparent as Chelsea went on to the front foot straightaway.

Fernando Torres then had the chance to put Chelsea’s great start on the scorecard when he received a misplaced pass from Anderson, and despite doing the initial build-up brilliantly to get into a shooting position, he scuffed the eventual shot wide of the goal.

Frank Lampard was next to get his shot away, but failed to hit the target after some good work by Raul Meireles. Then came the golden chance for us, Mata supplied a great through ball to Torres, and the Spaniard then laid it on the plate for the two Chelsea players, Ramires and Daniel Sturridge, to score, but sadly it was Ramires who put the shot away rather than the better placed Sturridge.

Chelsea was totally dominant now and it looked as if it was only a matter of time before the equaliser will be scored.

However, it was Manchester United who once again scored to double their lead from a brilliant strike by Nani. The goal which initially looked just like a brilliant strike was again started from an offside position, seemingly missed by the linesman, so he should have never been allowed to get this far.

And so we trailed by two goals despite being the better side and creating more chances, but it was to get even worse as Wayne Rooney was gifted a goal on the stroke of half time. John Terry’s clearance rebounded off Nani into the path of Rooney who had an easy tap in.

Much to the surprise of most fans, Nicolas Anelka came on in the place of Frank Lampard. And, the faithful fans who had made the long journey up North were given an early hope in the second half after Fernando Torres pulled one back for the Blues from a great dink over the keeper after Anelka’s brilliant ‘vertical’ ball in the box.

The early goal was essential to find a way back into the game, but as was the case in this game, every time Chelsea threatened to get control United tried to get the decisive blow at the other end.

Nani once again in the thick of things as he unleashed a fierce shot, but was deflected off on to the cross bar, and he was the first to react to the loose ball, but was brought down by Bosingwa resulting in a penalty. With Rooney in great form and already a goal to his name things looked bleak, but luckily for us he reminded us of Moscow after slipping at the penalty spot and blazing his shot wide.

With Chelsea going gung-ho in search of goals, our defensive frailties came to the fore with Ashley Cole and Branislav Ivanovic not having particularly good outings albeit with limited protection in front of the back four.

With a two goal lead and Chelsea threatening, United laid back and introduced the experienced duo of Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia to get a grip on the game, while we brought on Romelu Lukaku to get some fresh legs in attack.

With time passing by, Fernando Torres had two chances to score, either side of a miss by Rooney.

First chance was all down to the Spaniard when he showed the turn of pace and quick feet to carve out to space for him, but his shot was well saved by De Gea, and the rebound over the bar by Torres.

With every miss the desperation grew and United were themselves guilty of spurning chances to kill off the game. Wayne Rooney had a golden opportunity to add to his already impressive goal tally, but his weak shot could only hit the post as it slowly crawled away.

With ten minutes to go, the elusive chance came for which sadly Torres’s afternoon will be remembered by. After receiving a brilliant through ball from Ramires, he rounded off the keeper expertly and with the goal gaping, he somehow managed to miss the goal when it would have been easier to score.

The chance was gone and with that Chelsea’s hopes for a result form the game as the game finally mellowed down. United had one more decent chance to add to their tally, but seemed to find Chelsea’s finishing from the first half as Dimitar Berbatov failed to capitalise on Rooney’s perfectly laid ball.

The game had lots of positives for the Blues, particularly Fernando Torres’s performance for at least half an hour during the second half, but also reminded us of how weak our defence has been at times. Raul Meireles playing at the base of midfield does provide us with that composed passing, but doesn’t provide the defensive cover of Mikel which we badly missed in the game.

It’s getting better going forward for Villas-Boas as the games go by, but he must be concerned how loose his defense looks at the moment.

Andre Villas-Boas was himself surprised by the route the game took, he said; “It was a strange game, very, very open and a lot of opportunities for both teams.”

“If luck could play a better part for our side today, maybe. We had some very good chances to even the score or even to score first.

“The scoreline went crazy in the first half, but we had good opportunities to do something in this game.

“Coming back from 3-0 down is always difficult and we had to take risks without exposing ourselves too much.

“The second-half recovery was very good and we had a couple of chances to even the score. The scoreline is crazy.”

Chelsea: Cech; Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry (c), Cole; Ramires, Meireles (Mikel 78), Lampard (Anelka h-t); Sturridge (Lukaku 67), Torres, Mata.

Goals Torres 46

A late goal from Juan Mata rounded off another opening day victory in the Champions League, after a brilliant strike from David Luiz had broken the deadlock in Andre Villas-Boas’s first game in charge in Europe.

With the game against Manchester United on the weekend in mind this was a decent result after many of the regular starters were given a rest, as Villas-Boas surprised everyone by resting the likes of John Terry and Frank Lampard.

On the other end there was an emotional return to Stamford Bridge for Michael Ballack, his first return to the Bridge since the departure in the summer of 2010, and was awarded with a commemorative silver plate by Bruce Buck before the start of the game.

After starting on the bench against Sunderland on the weekend, Fernando Torres was back in the starting line-up and immediately sprung into action after his effort, resembling a somewhat overhead kick, went just wide of the goal.

However, it was Leverkusen who had the ball in the first, but it was ruled offside, although it was unclear what prompted the officials to give that decision. Chelsea followed this up with their own disallowed goal after a back flick by Torres was put into the net by Raul Meireles, but this time it was correctly ruled offside, even though it was uncertain if Meireles touched the ball, but he was definitely in an offside position.

Michael Ballack had the best chance to open the scoring for Leverkusen, but his free kick was straight on the wall, and that was about it as far as Leverkusen’s attacking threat goes for the half.

Daniel Sturridge looked in fine form as he forced the Leverkusen keeper into a save from a fierce shot from distance, and then later again tried his luck again but his shot went just wide.

Chelsea were totally dominating the possession with Obi Mikel having a fine game in the middle as he seemingly maintained control of the ball and made vital interceptions, whilst Daniel Sturridge and Juan Mata provided the creativity and sharpness up front.

Part of this domination was also helped by Chelsea having a very strong left hand side on the pitch wherein Ashley Cole, Florent Malouda and Juan Mata, all combined very well throughout the game.

The second half started with Michael Ballack again having the chance to open the scoring, as he was played through on goal after some nice one touch football on the left hand side, but under pressure from Bosingwa and with Cech surging towards him, he didn’t have the time to open up his body and take a proper shot in what was the best chance of the match so far.

Petr Cech was again forced into save just minutes later by Schurrle, who was perhaps the best player for Leverkusen on the night.

After this initial hurrah by Leverkusen at the start of the second half, Chelsea again regained control of the game and started to play their own game.

And with just over an hour gone, it was time for Villas-Boas to ring in the changes as Frank Lampard and Nicholas Anelka were called into action in place of Raul Meireles and Daniel Sturridge, who was having a good game, meaning this represented somewhat a pre-planned move. At the same time, Michael Ballack was also substituted to a standing ovation from the whole ground.

Just as the former German Captain went off, Chelsea scored in the next minute courtesy of a wonderful strike from David Luiz. After going on a trademark marauding run from the back, much like what Ricardo Carvalho used to do, and laid it off to Ashley Cole, he continued his run and when Torres set it up for him; he curled an immaculate shot into the bottom corner.

With Luiz’s name resonating from the stands, the Brazilian made it a point to acknowledge the contribution of Torres in the goal by pointing towards him.

Even after going behind, Bayer Leverkusen hardly threatened the Chelsea goal, and it was the Blues who looked to get another goal to seal the game, as a Mata shot was tipped over the bar by Leno.

And it was Mata only who then got the late goal to shatter any hopes of Leverkusen getting a late equaliser. A sprint by Torres down the left against a tiring defence meant that he was through on goal, and with an opportunity to open his account in front of him, the striker unselfishly squared it to Juan Mata who made no mistake.

The two assists would have done a world of good to Fernando Torres’s confidence and also gave Villas-Boas something to give back to the press, as the striker made a meaningful contribution to the team.

It remains to be seen what composition does the manager chose for the big game against Manchester United, but at least he won’t be short of options with many players putting up their case with decent displays.

Andre Villas-Boas insisted that his team selection wasn’t a gamble and was delighted with the performances of his players, he said; “We have a very, very competitive squad and a tremendous calendar in front of us.

“I think this decision has to be taken bearing in mind the amount of minutes people collect internationally and the amount of talent that we have at our disposal.

“The team that we selected today was a team that gave us comfort to win the game and that’s what we did.”

He added: “Everybody has been amazing in this effort to absorb all of these new ideas. I’ve very happy with everyone.”

Chelsea: Cech (c); Bosingwa, Ivanovic, D Luiz (Alex 75), Cole; Meireles (Lampard 64), Mikel, Malouda; Sturridge (Anelka 64), Torres, Mata.

Scorers David Luiz 67, Mata 90+1.

Chelsea continued their impressive record at the Stadium of Light as they beat a rather average looking Sunderland team by 2-1, which included a cheeky backheel from the returning Daniel Sturridge.

André Villas-Boas has so far impressed a lot of people with his talks about the club and the team, but it was the first, hopefully first of many, time he showed that he can deliver on those statements too as he dropped the gravely under-performing Fernando Torres to the bench.

The system employed by Villas-Boas was an interesting one today with Raul Meireles, making his debut, and Frank Lampard operating in the middle of the park, with the Portuguese man playing in a slightly deeper role. Ramires was employed out wide on the right, with the front three of Nicolas Anelka, Daniel Sturridge and Juan Mata having very flexible positions.

Sunderland’s build-up to the game was marred by Asamoah Gyan’s sudden departure from the club, but he wasn’t expected to be involved in the game due to injury, so the new loan signing Nicklas Bendtner lead the line.

With pressure growing on Steve Bruce due to months of average performances, it was no surprise that his team came out all charged up, had more of the ball early on and got the first chance of the game after Bendtner broke free from a Larsson free kick, but headed it wide under the suspicion of offside.

Chelsea were still settling into the game, but were showing lots of movement which kept Sunderland players on their toes and the new talisman at Chelsea was soon at his work. Nicolas Anelka was fouled just outside the box and the resultant free kick was sweetly struck by Juan Mata, but came off the post.

However, the ball was kept alive in the Sunderland box and came out to Daniel Sturridge who found John Terry in the box with a delightful cross. The Blues Skipper initially tried to find Anelka in the middle, but when the ball kindly fell to him again, he only had one thing in his mind and Chelsea had taken the lead as ball went past various Sunderland bodies and helped on into the goal by Phil Bardsley.

The goal seemed to hit Sunderland hard as the early euphoria died down, and the entire contingent, both players and fans alike, feared the worst again. This allowed the Chelsea team to settle down into their rhythm and control the game as the pressure was relived.

Contrary to past games, Jose Bosingwa was having a rather quiet afternoon, but all of this looked right off the training ground, with Ramires hogging the touchline on the right meaning there was certainly a lack of space for him to run. On the other side, it was the opposite case as Mata kept on coming inside to link up and Cole was constantly seen much higher up the pitch throughout the game as a result.

With the game now being in our control and Sunderland sitting back, the tempo died down as the half wore on. Although, Sunderland did try to enforce things late in the half, it was all too comfortable with Stéphane Sessègnon being the only who tested Petr Čech.

At the start of the second half, it looked more of a standard 4-3-3 with Nicolas Anelka being the lone man up top. It was Daniel Sturridge though who justified his inclusion in the team with an audacious backheel. After Meireles found him with an over the top ball, Sturridge still had a lot to do and under pressure from Brown, he produced that moment of magic as the ball slowly crossed the line.

It was an attempt that will be cherished for years to come and deservedly so as well.

With a two goal cushion and a midweek game to come, Chelsea backed off even further, but kept Sunderland at bay with some crisp passing and movement, but with minimal of fuss and without over-exerting ourselves.

Despite continued attempts by Steve Bruce to get Sunderland going as an attacking force, the change in tide never came as we remained comfortable, except for the last couple of minutes when a lack of concentration allowed Bendtner through, and he was able to square it to the substitute,  Ji Dong-Won, who calmly finished.

There was no further scare though as we held on and kept our unbeaten record going.

This was probably the best performance so far by Chelsea under Villas-Boas, with the defence looking far more assuring except for that late goal.

Raul Meireles was impressive in his debut and did what was required of him, while the front three combined well as Daniel Sturridge stole the show.

Sunderland on the other hand have got an uphill task ahead of them with only Wes Brown coming out of that game with a credible performance.

André Villas-Boas was impressed with the team’s performance as we looked on track to becoming the team that he eventually wants, he said; ‘Today it went very well for us in terms of what we want to achieve. Not that we haven’t tried to do it before but it just didn’t happen in the other three games,’

‘Fortunately today we were able to do the passing which relates more to the way we train and the team played very well.

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry (c), Cole; Ramires, Meireles, Lampard; Sturridge (Malouda 61), Anelka (Romeu 79), Mata (Torres 73).

Scorers Terry 17, Sturridge 49.

Late strikes from Frank Lampard and Juan Mata sealed Chelsea’s victory over Norwich, after Holt had cancelled out Jose Bosingwa’s early strike.

Villas-Boas made a tactical change for the game as he started with a flexible diamond formation, which meant that both Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres started, much to the surprise of most fans.

Branislav Ivanovic came in for Alex, with the Serbian now seemingly moving ahead of Alex in the pecking order, and only missed last week’s game because he hadn’t fully recovered yet.

The Canaries, making their first league visit to Stamford Bridge since 2004, led by Paul Lambert had the influential Wes Hoolahan available after he recovered from an injury, while Leon Barnett returned from suspension, with Grant Holt leading the line upfront alongside Chris Martin.

Norwich have had a decent start to the season with consecutive draws against Wigan and Stoke, but started nervously here and sat back giving too much time and space to the Chelsea players, and Ramires was first to take advantage of this as he forced a save from distance.

The visitors were still adjusting to the surroundings when Jose Bosingwa went ahead and put the Blues into the lead with a scorcher from 25yards out, adding to the line of brilliant goals in these encounters. The Portuguese defender continuing his impressive form under Villas-Boas, as he scored his first goal since 2008 to add to his brilliant assist in the last game.

An early goal against a promoted side normally spells doom for them, but Norwich didn’t achieve back to back promotions on the basis of being soft and quickly regrouped and started again.

It seemed as though Chelsea weren’t expecting them to do so and took the foot of the gas.

Soon, Norwich were making attacking moves of their own rather than just stopping ours, with Chelsea’s high defensive line proving to be a cause of discomfort again. Hoolahan’s chipped ball found Grant Holt as he beat the Blues offside trap to set free, but the Cumbria born forward didn’t realise how much time he had and missed his shot as he tried to flick it on.

Hoolahan was again in the mix as he released Chris Martin this time, but his shot was well saved by Hilario, and then trackbacked Martin away from the goal, wherein he followed it up with a good save from Kyle Naughton.

Hilario was proving to be a more than competent back-up for Petr Cech with another composed performance till now.

Despite not being at their fluent best, Chelsea’s front two almost doubled the lead after Torres delightfully played in Drogba, making his 250^th start in a Blue shirt, but the Ivorian was just inches away from making contact.

Despite slacking off in the latter part of the first half, Chelsea finished the half better and more in control with Malouda going close with a powerful low shot, but Ruddy was comfortably in position.

Chelsea begin the second half just as they ended the first as both the centre backs went close from corners, but unable to extend the lead.

Norwich were holding their own and were proving to be no pushovers, and soon they would have their reward.

A hopeful cross was played in from the right which was met by Ivanovic, but unfortunately for him and Chelsea, Hilario decided to come out to avert the danger and in the process took out Ivanovic, giving Grant Holt the chance he craved as he looped it into the goal.

And, it got worse after that. Didier Drogba while going for a header got accidently punched by Ruddy instead leaving him immediately unconscious and thus made him fall flat on his face, requiring lengthy treatment on the pitch. He eventually left on a stretcher with an oxygen mask, but initial check-ups have thankfully revealed no further damage.

With Didier unable to continue, Chelsea were forced to send on Nicolas Anelka, who joined Juan Mata in a double substitution.

The Blues then shifted to a 4-3-3 formation, with Mata and Anelka taking positions on the flanks to support Torres.

Norwich were still threatening, and looked to open up the Chelsea defence, but Ivanovic was there to clear the danger resulting in a corner. With Norwich having men forward, it gave the Blues a chance to break and so they did with was a fast and decisive counter.

Nicolas Anelka held up the ball surrounded by Norwich shirts, and had the vision to find the rampaging Ramires. With the Brazilian Bison in full flow and making his typical bursts to the run, there were only two results possible; a penalty or a goal, as evident from games last year. In this case, it resulted in a penalty.

Goalkeeper, John Ruddy, was sent off from bringing him down, and the substitute keeper had no chance when Lampard stepped up and the Blues were ahead, much to the relief of everyone in the ground, some of whom got a bit too anxious at times during the match.

Romelu Lukaku was already being lined up when the penalty was given and was subsequently introduced.

With Norwich down to ten men, there was now more space for everyone with Lukaku having a decent couple of chances to make this a dream debut, but it wasn’t to be. However, one player did make this a dream debut; Juan Mata capitalised on a mistake by Marc Tierney’s and calmly curled it past the keeper to make it a far more convincing scoreline then what it actually was.

Chelsea played good in parts during the game and showed some good movement, with Mata and Lukaku having good cameos on debut. With Sturridge returning from his suspension, the manager now has far more options and could be even more flexible with how he wants his team to play.

After some decent showings in the first two games, Torres had an off day, a luxury which he can’t afford due to the innocuous start to his Chelsea career, meaning questions were again raised about his utility to the team.

André Villas-Boas seemed much more satisfied with how his team were progressing, he said: “It was hard work, particularly in the second half. I think the goal we suffered came against the running of the game because we were a little bit calmer at that stage, but we raised the tempo and the emotions of the game. I think we were able to respond well to suffering the goal.

“We played better in our overhaul, 90 minute performance because we only had two second halves against Stoke and West Brom when we were good. We were more consistent, so we are happy with that and fortunately enough we managed to turn the result in our favour.”

Chelsea: Hilario; Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry (c), Cole; Mikel, Ramires, Malouda (Mata 67), Lampard; Torres (Lukaku 82), Drogba (Anelka 70)

Goals Bosingwa 5, Lampard (pen) 81, Mata 90+10

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