BlueLion.

I think he could, he has a good reading of the game and is physically strong enough... however with Terry, Ivanovic, Alex and Bruma, plus Ferreira who is more than capable of playing at RCB, I don't think we'll ever need him.

Drogba is on fire... but Malouda is something else, I've never seen someone start a season so well, ever.

Agreed, but I didn't explain myself very well. I was trying to say that the term 'big spending' now relates to £30 million and above signings, like Ronaldo and Kaka, etc.

That's not Man City or Real Madrid big, though.

This season is going to be hard for Ancelotti because people know about him and how we play. It'll be interesting to see if his level of support and admiration from the fans changes if we don't win anything.

Stunning work mate, looks fantastic. I'll be sure to take a good photo from the Shed next time I'm down.

Fantastic! Mikel doing Drogba was hilarious

Agreed. But I can see him playing on Wednesday against Newcastle and we all know how fit Super Frank is!

I think that's very unfair on the teams we've played, to be honest. Everyone has to play the same fixtures.

After his couple of errors (if you count that punch at West Ham as a mistake, which in all fairness I do) I think that Cech was exceptional. Two great saves (from Baptiste and Taylor-Fletcher) and some brilliant catching. Good, quick distribution today as well.

@Madmax... Ash was excellent, I agree. Tough choice between him and Malouda in my view, but I gave it to Flo on the benefit of his goals.

Yes I agree. I really like Paulo as a player and as a person but the defensive side of his game really isn't as strong as it once was. He's been made to look a bit foolish at times this season, and I remember him getting done by Varney a couple of times today - if he played against Gareth Bale or Nani he'd be crucified time and time again. That's why I'm looking forward for Bosingwa's return - he's a little more refined and his pace and reading of the game make him a better all-round full-back in my view.

IF he is indeed injured I think the club may be keeping it quiet until they know the extent of the injury.

I complete agree. I don't think he quite has the same natural tendency to maraud forward like Essien - but that's no problem at all; it means he can quite easily play in any of the three central roles (ie. the Lampard role, the Essien role and the Mikel role).

Haha that's brilliant mate! Awesome

Solid performance today, enjoyed watching him play.

Chelsea 4-0 Blackpool Salomon Kalou scored after just 71 seconds whilst Florent Malouda and Didier Drogba also found the net in a comfortable victory for Carlo Ancelotti's Chelsea. The champions were excellent in the first-half and opened up an impressive 4-0 lead after just 41 minutes thanks to Salomon Kalou's early opener, a brace from Florent Malouda and a strike from captain Didier Drogba. But whilst the Blues were exceptional with their passing and moving in the first-half, they demonstrated the defensive qualities of their starting eleven with a resilient display in the second half, despite captain John Terry missing out through injury. Carlo Ancelotti made a host of changes to the side that thrashed MŠK Žilina in Slovakia on Wednesday, with Ashley Cole, Paulo Ferreira, Alex, Ramires, Salomon Kalou and Didier Drogba all returning to the side. But his players showed no signs of a European hangover when Kalou hooked the ball home after little more than a minute. Drogba's inswinging corner was headed on at the near post by Branislav Ivanovic, giving Kalou the freedom of the six yard box to poke the ball home and give the Blues a very early lead. Michael Essien, currently in great goalscoring form, then had a couple of chances. After spanking an effort from distance just over, he then tried to bundle the ball home in the box but in the midst of an on-pitch melee, a Blackpool foot found the ball first and Tangerines were able to clear. But the Blues' whirlwind start was seeing them impossible to contain, with Paulo Ferreira and Ashley Cole effectively acting as additional midfield players. And the paying customers at Stamford Bridge did not have to wait long for their team to double the lead when Malouda fired home his fifth of the season after a well-crafted passage of play. In a move that showed the swift efficiency of the champions, Kalou fed the ball down the channel to Drogba, who in turn crossed intelligently for Malouda to fire under Matthew Gilks in front of the Shed End. Gilks may have performed heroics at St James' Park the previous weekend, but he was praying for a miracle as Chelsea continue to turn on the style. That being said, it took a good piece of goalkeeping from Gilks' opposite number; Petr Cech, to maintain Chelsea's lead when he made an exceptionally good low save from Alex Baptiste's low strike. Cole and Malouda were particularly rampant, with the marauding Essien also posing a massive threat to Ian Holloway's side. The Frenchman then fired awkwardly wide after Drogba had fashioned a chance, but the chances were Chelsea were going to score again considering the array of attacking talent on the pitch - even though the likes of Frank Lampard, Nicolas Anelka and José Bosingwa were all absent. And it was Drogba who extended the home side's advantage when he fired home via a deflection after Essien had dissected the Blackpool defence. The Ghanaian played a long, raking ball to Ashley Cole, who in turn fed Drogba. The rest was typical of the Blues' number 11; the turn and instant shot deflecting beyond a stranded Gilks. Cole then fired across the face of goal before Malouda made it 4-0 with an emphatic finish that gave Gilks no chance. Kalou had squared from the right after Drogba had played his compatriot through after winning possession in the centre circle and spraying the ball forward. Kalou demonstrated good ball retention to feed it to Malouda, who wasted no time in returning to the top of the Premier League scoring charts - six in five for the Frenchman, now. Whatever Ian Holloway did at half-time seemed to work for Blackpool as they had their fair share of possession and the chances in the second half. First, DJ Campbell saw an effort hooked off the line by Branislav Ivanovic, before Luke Varney hooked over after Charlie Adam had played a brilliant ball to the far post. Cech then had to be at his best to deny Gary Taylor-Fletcher a consolation; tipping over his deflected effort. Kalou's touch then let him down as Gilks denied Chelsea their fifth goal, before Malouda found the goalkeeper's midriff with a decent effort. Though the Blues had shown great gusto in their first half display, they were looking lethargic following the interval - Ancelotti clearly had an eye on the midweek Carling Cup clash with Newcastle. And that line of thought was highlighted when Jeffrey Bruma came on to replace Alex. Yossi Benayoun and Yuri Zhirkov would also later join the fray, replacing John Mikel Obi and Ramires - two players who had enjoyed fine afternoons. Chances then became few and far between - Malouda poked wide when trying to complete his hat-trick, before Kalou hit only fresh air from a pull-back by the Frenchman. The ball fell to Cole, who saw his shot blocked, and Chelsea's second half performance was summed up when Drogba smashed the ball over from twelve yards. The Blues might have had a penalty late on, but referee Mark Clattenburg signalled an end to the game and a very satisfying result for Chelsea. Some fans may be disappointed they did not build on their impressive half-time lead, but Ancelotti's side showed their defensive qualities in the second half with an efficient rearguard performance. A one-hundred percent record after five games makes for impressive reading - three points against Manchester City next weekend would make that statistic even more eyebrow-raising. ___________________________________________________________________ Chelsea - Cech; Ferreira, Ivanovic, Alex (Bruma 71), Cole; Essien, Mikel (Benayoun 77), Ramires (Zhirkov 74); Kalou, Drogba, Malouda Blackpool - Gilks; Eardley (Taylor-Fletcher 46), Keinan, Evatt, Crainey; Bapiste; Grandin (Ormerod 60), Vaughan, Adam ©, Varney (Harewood 60); Campbell The TalkChelsea.net Man of the Match was Chelsea's number 15, Florent MALOUDA

Darren Bent's 95th-minute leveller ensured Sunderland a point against Arsenal, whilst Dimitar Berbatov and Florent Malouda fired Manchester United and Chelsea to victory in another entertaining weekend of Premier League action. Ten-man Arsenal were denied three valuable points at the Stadium of Light in the fifth minute of stoppage time as Darren Bent rescued a point for Sunderland. Arsenal went ahead through fluke circumstances; Cesc Fabregas chased down Anton Ferdinand who hit the ball against the Arsenal skipper and could only look on as it looped into the net. However Alex Song was dismissed for two bookable offences, and when Tomas Rosicky missed a penalty, it looked as if it would not be the Gunners' game - and those fears were confirmed when Bent stole in to stroke home his third goal of the season. Meanwhile at Old Trafford, Manchester United left it late to beat Liverpool, with Dimitar Berbatov scoring a magnificent hat-trick. United had opened the scoring late in the first half when Berbatov found the net moments before half-time, but Sir Alex Ferguson's side soon found the tables had turned when Steven Gerrard scored a quick-fire brace to cancel out a second Berbatov goal. And just as it looked like United were about to surrender yet more points from a winning position, Berbatov popped up to complete his treble with five minutes remaining to give United a much-needed win. Champions Chelsea continued their flawless start to the season with a 4-0 rout of Blackpool. It took only 71 seconds for the high-flying Blues to open the scoring; Salomon Kalou netting his fifth of the season before Florent Malouda fired home twice with conviction to extend Chelsea's lead. Didier Drogba - captaining the team due to John Terry's absence - also found the net in a convincing win. Carlo Ancelotti's side maintain their 100% record this season, and stretch their impregnable home record even further; now not having conceded at Stamford Bridge since March. Everton came within a post's width of a late equaliser against Chris Hughton's Newcastle at Goodison Park, but David Moyes was left cursing his luck when Yakubu Aiyegbeni rattled the base of the post. The Toffees had fallen behind to a stunning goal from Hatem ben Arfa, but they might have found the chances of a recovery even greater had a blatant foul inside the area on Kevin Nolan not been missed by the officials. Everton languish in the bottom three and are still without a win this season - Moyes will hope the sort of character his team displayed against Manchester United last week will be on display once again sooner rather than later. Another side looking for their first three-point haul of the campaign were West Ham United, who were without manager Avram Grant for their lunchtime visit to the Potteries to face Stoke City. Scott Parker gave them the perfect start when he bundled the ball home from close range, but Kenwyne Jones equalised and then was only denied by a brilliant Rob Green save as the two sides were locked in stalemate by full time. Elsewhere, Aston Villa were held 1-1 at home by a resilient Bolton side, with Kevin Davies scoring his 100th career league goal. The hosts had taken the lead when Adam Bogdan was beaten by Ashley Young's free kick, but Davies capped off a brilliant flowing move to equalise and ensure a share of the spoils. Across town, West Bromwich Albion got the better of Alex McCleish's Birmingham City thanks to a Scott Dan own goal and strikes from Peter Odemwingie and Jonas Olsson. Cameron Jerome had earlier opened the scoring, but the Blues were beaten 3-1; their first loss of the campaign. Clint Dempsey scored a second half equaliser for Fulham at Blackburn, as the two teams drew 1-1 at Ewood Park. The hosts had gone ahead contentiously when Chris Samba headed home despite a blatant foul on Mark Schwarzer in the Fulham goal in the build-up to the Rovers captain finding the net. Nevertheless, Dempsey beat the impressive Paul Robinson with a smart header to level the scores and continue Fulham's unbeaten start. Manchester City returned to winning ways after taking just a point from their last two games, by inflicting another home defeat on Wigan. Carlos Tevez and Yaya Toure got the goals for the Eastlands outfit who move up to fourth in the table whilst Wigan dropped into the relegation places on goal difference due to Stoke's draw with West Ham. Though it is still only early days, Roberto Martinez will no doubt be concerned his team have mustered a solitary win from their first five matches. At White Hart Lane, Tottenham came from behind with a three-goal salvo in just thirteen minutes to beat a spirited Wolverhampton Wanderers. The visitors from the Black Country had opened the scoring thanks to Steven Fletcher's goal on the stroke of half-time, but Rafael van der Vaart restored parity with a calmly taken penalty before Roman Pavlyuchenko and Alan Hutton sealed the win with two late strikes. ____________________________________________ Player of the weekend - Dimitar Berbatov. The sort of form Berbatov is now showing at Old Trafford may be long-overdue, but with Wayne Rooney out-of-sorts, Manchester United will be happy that their Bulgarian striker has found his confidence once again. His hat-trick - including a simply stunning overhead kick - was sublime and if he continues to show the same sort of form in front of goal throughout the season, the Bulgarian may be the man who fires United into contention for the title. Team of the weekend - West Bromwich Albion. The Baggies were excellent in their 3-1 triumph over Birmingham; a victory that moves them up to tenth in the table and continues their excellent form at the Hawthorns this season. They found themselves unlucky to fall behind to their cross-city rivals, and Robert di Matteo's men showed great character to come back and secure three important points whilst playing free-flowing, entertaining football in the process. Moan of the weekend - Shirt-pulling. It's become a permanent fixture in Premier League football - but when will referees start punishing it? Florent Malouda was denied a clear penalty when his shirt was tugged inside the area at Stamford Bridge, but when Didier Drogba brushed against a Blackpool player's shirt, not only was a free-kick given, but the Ivorian was given a yellow card! Some consistency - and the award of a penalty of two - wouldn't go amiss. Goal of the weekend - Dimitar Berbatov (second). There were some excellent goals this weekend, with Villa Park seeing two of the best with Ashley Young's freekick and Bolton's wonderful team effort both classic in their execution. But the technique - and audacity - Berbatov showed was admirable and enough to make even his doubters applaud his effort. Game of the weekend - Manchester United 3-2 Liverpool. Though the first thirty minutes was dour, the game eventually became an instant classic. Liverpool showed great character to come back from 2-0 down to level the match, but United were not to be undone and their excellent team performance in the end warranted the win.

Have we really had 'an easy run' though? Everyone has to play the same fixtures, and you have to appreciate that in the corresponding games last season (1-1 with West Ham and 1-3 at Wigan) we dropped five points - meaning we've done very, very well.

Man City vs Chelsea 25 September 2010, 1245 KO - EPL, Eastlands MATCH CHAT HERE

That ref is a fucking cunt. First half was excellent, the second half was absolutely dreadful to watch. We were sloppy and lethargic. But beggars can't be choosers and I'll take 4-0 very happily!

Why, what happened in the 85 minutes of football that we saw at West Ham that was so bad?

Quote Paul Merson: I'm calling this as 7-0 to Chelsea. I can't see how Chelsea aren't going to create 15 or 16 chances and I feel they'll get lucky and put half of them away. That's why I think it will be such a heavy scoreline. Personally I can't see us getting more than three. We've not really even tried this season besides the Stoke game in my honest opinion.

Worrying... four times out of five Hilario's pretty reliable and very rarely has a bad game... but what worries me more is having Turnbull and Taylor as Cech's only cover until January if he is indeed hurt.

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