Mark Asato's Blog

It is now 14 goals without reply from three games as the strong start continues.

The Blues were afforded the luxury of a missed Frank Lampard penalty beforeFlorent Malouda opened the scoring for the third game running, again with a right-foot finish. Chelsea then hit the bar, a feat also performed by Stoke with the score still 1-0.Didier Drogba sealed the win from the penalty spot with quarter-of-an-hour to go, followed soon after by a debut for Ramires.

This was never the fireworks of the last home game versus West Brom, or the second half at Wigan. Stoke showed limited ambition and kept players massed at the back. Kenywne Jones up front looked a man just back from injury. Carlo Ancelotti was able to field a settled side, just one change forced upon him by Branislav Ivanovic’s back injury. Paulo Ferreira came in. It was in fact the same side that started the first game of the season, here at the Bridge two weeks ago.

We’ve already seen John Mikel Obi create a goal with his long passing this season and he almost did so again on four minutes, sliding one out to a flyingAshley Cole who shot across goal and just wide. On seven minutes Stoke midfielder Dean Whitehead linked with Jones and shot powerfully at Petr Cech who gathered at the second attempt. Then Walters lobbed onto the roof of the net after Etherington had got the better of Ferreira and crossed. That was a genuine scare.

Nerves should have been settled three minutes later when Stoke skipper Shawcross brought down Malouda in the box but Lampard’s poor run from the penalty spot continued. He hit it low but too close to Sorensen who saved. That is three in a row spurned for club and country.

In fact Drogba tested the keeper more with a 30-yard free-kick soon after that was beaten away by Sorensen’s stinging fists. The Ivorian later couldn’t work the ball away from his feet for an effective shot after Michael Essien had played it through. Essien himself then headed over a corner.

Approaching the half-hour, Chelsea began to put pressure on, winning a succession of corners but the tall Stoke defence stood strong. They were finally ripped apart by Chelsea’s counter-attacking play 31 minutes in. The defence pounced as Jones tried to hold the ball up, Terry and Alex snapping into the challenge.

The captain snaffled up the loose ball and raced away before slipping the perfect pass on to Malouda for an emphatic finish.

Cole almost made it a rapid 2-0 when he swivelled on Drogba’s high ball in to rap the crossbar with a shot. Cole was then the recipient of a nasty sliding challenge which earned Whitehead a booking. Our left-back was forward again just before the break, almost teeing up Drogba, and when the ball was played back in by Anelka, Lampard volleyed over.

Etherington became the game’s second booking just before the interval for tripping a fast-breaking Anelka. Chelsea may have been the home side, but Stoke were looking vulnerable to us on the counter-attack.

Drogba was guilty of passing up a chance he normally buries just four minutes after the restart. Anelka looped a cross onto his forehead but from just eight yards out he nodded it straight at the keeper. There was better work from the man with the Golden Boot in his own penalty area soon after as he blocked an Etherington shot following Cech’s fist away.

Stoke by this time had made a change through injury, Glenn Whelan now on for Whitehead. The game fell into the doldrums. Chelsea’s tempo was slow and Terry took a bash sliding into a 50-50 in the Stoke half. He was clearly troubled as he played on. Whelan then hit the bar for Stoke having advanced into a big gap after Anelka lost the ball, the 25-yard effort rebounding back with Cech struggling. That was one strike of the woodwork each.

Salomon Kalou replaced Lampard on 71 minutes, Malouda dropping back into the deeper midfield role he played at the close of last season. On 75 minutes came the game-clinching foul. The Blues broke out once again through Anelka and as he beat Sorensen to the ball, the keeper brought him down. The Frenchman had been heading wide of the goal which saved Sorensen a card, and Lampard’s substitution saved a decision over whether he should take the penalty. Drogba powered it in.

Alex did his bit to preserve the season’s clean sheet with an excellent challenge in Chelsea’s area, met by a high-volume singing of the Brazilian’s name. Another Brazilian, Ramires, was met with an equally-loud cheer when he made his debut with seven minutes of the 90 left. Essien made way.

Sturridge had also come on for Anelka and shot across the face of goal before the end and also smashed one from distance into Sorensen’s midriff. Kalou should have made it 3-0 with normal time up having bustled through the challenge of the last defender but one-on-one with Sorensen, he couldn’t finish.

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Ferreira , Alex, Terry (c), Cole; Essien (Ramires 83), Mikel, Lampard (Kalou 71); Anelka (Sturridge 80), Drogba, Malouda.

Scorers Malouda 31, Drogba pen 76.
Unused subs Turnbull, Van Aanholt, Zhirkov , Benayoun, Kalou.

Stoke (4-4-2): Sorensen; Huth, Shawcross (c), Ab Faye, Collins; Wilkinson, Delap (Pugh 83), Whitehead, (Whelan 50), Etherington; Walters, Jones (Fuller 67).
Unused subs Begovic, Higginbotham, Tonge, Tuncay.
Booked Whitehead 36, Etherington 44.

Referee Martin Atkinson
Crowd 40,931

Shots on Chelsea 6 Stoke 3
Corners Chelsea 6 Stoke 1
Fouls Chelsea 5 Stoke 10
Offsides Chelsea 2 Stoke 1

TALKING POINTS
It is no surprise when one of the best teams in a club’s history lays down markers for posterity, but the regularity with which the current Chelsea team is achieving new highs is quite remarkable.

Last weekend the Double champions inflicted on Wigan Athletic the biggest home defeat in their 32-year league history. Curiously no corners were recorded for either side – the first occasion for any top flight match for 79 years when Newcastle United held Pompey 0-0. The 6-0 margin was Chelsea’s best away day in the top flight since August 1997 at Barnsley, when popular Italian Gianluca Vialli bagged four.

It is also the first occasion we have ever scored six in two successive league games. On November 16 1960 we beat Doncaster away 7-0 (Peter Brabrook 2, Bobby Tambling 2, Frank Blunstone 2, John Sillett) then three days later at Stamford Bridge defeated Man City 6-3 in Division One (Jimmy Greaves 3, Bobby Tambling, Ron Tindall 2). The win over Donny, however, was in the League Cup 3rd round.

The recent goals tally is formidable: 29 in five, and 20 in the last three – the highest since Wolves’ 19 in three matches back in 1955/56.

Six different Chelsea players have already scored this season, while the clean sheets are also mounting up. Such extremes won’t last forever, but let’s enjoy them while they last. Some individuals naturally stand out in this run. Florent Malouda is arguably in the form of his life, stitching together so much of the Blues’ attacking play and hitting three goals in two games.

In-form Didier Drogba has scored six and assisted on three in the most recent trio of league games. Those pondering his status among the great strikers of the world might ponder that despite injury the Ivorian has netted 10 goals since Rooney last did, and nine over the course of Fernando Torres’ barren spell. Curiously Chelsea are the only team to have a 100 per cent record after just two Premier League games and the next visitors will be all too aware that they conceded 11 in all competitions against the Blues, including a 7-0 victory that must still be fresh in the minds of many of their players.

The Potters have lost both their games so far, although they must count themselves unlucky that a Jon Walters ‘goal’ against Spurs was not awarded, despite clearly crossing the line. Sports pages often highlight the unrest in the dressing room and even a manager of Tony Pulis’s experience must find it hard these days to keep a big squad happy, focused and motivated. This summer the Potters withdrew from the Premier League’s new arrangements for reserves and promised to arrange fixtures against similarly non-aligned sides. No fixtures have yet appeared on the club website.

Reserve games generally feature a loose amalgam of youngsters, players in rehab and fringe first-teamers. They may not be ideal but they do provide a competitive environment to improve match-readiness and be seen by management and supporters. Others who opted out are Fulham, Birmingham and Spurs. Harry Redknapp made it clear that with extra pressure on his Champions League-qualified squad, he wanted a more flexible roster. ‘It gives you the option of fixing up a game where and whenever you want rather than being tied to a fixture schedule which can sometimes prove difficult around first-team games,’ he explained.

Without competitive games ambitious players, or those returning from injury, may have to arrange a loan move or simply rely on the usual daily training to attain ‘match fitness’. Last March Stoke’s no.2 goalkeeper Asmir Begovic played alongside other first team aspirants Amdy Faye, Andy Wilkinson and Louis Moult against the reserves of the club he quit in January, Portsmouth.

It was a rare outing for him, and a few weeks later he was forced into action in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge, with the score at 0-2 and Steve Sorenson hobbling off. It ended up a 7-0 win for the Blues and ring-rust may have played a part.

These are only a few pictures I had a chance to take of Transformers 3 shooting downtown Chicago.  This is all being shot right outside of my train station. I will be taking more pictures tomorrow!

The UEFA Champions League comprises three qualifying rounds, a play-off round, a group stage and four knockout rounds.

Qualifying
In matches in the three qualifying rounds and the play-off stage, clubs play two matches against each other on a home-and-away basis. The club which scores the greater aggregate of goals qualifies for the next round, with away goals and then penalties used to determine the winner in the event of a draw.

Group stage
The ten winners in the play-off round ties – five from the best-placed path and five from the champions path – join 22 automatic entrants in the 32-team group stage. The clubs are split into eight groups of four teams, who play home and away against each of their pool opponents between September and December to decide which two teams from each section advance to the first knockout round. The third-place finishers in each group enter the UEFA Europa League round of 32.

Knockout phase
From the last 16 until the semi-finals, clubs play two matches against each other on a home-and-away basis with the same rules as the qualifying and play-off rounds applied. In the last 16, group winners play runners-up other than teams from their own pool or nation, while from the quarter-finals on the draw is free.

Final
The final is decided by a single match, which this season will be played at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 28 May.

Just a few minutes ago, the UEFA Champions League Group Stage Draw happened and the fates of European clubs have be decided.  Below are the Groups and the clubs that are in each group.  The first two teams will play each other first, then the third and fourth teams will play each other first.

Group A

Inter (ITA)

Bremen (GER)

Tottenham (ENG)

Twente (NED)

Group B

Lyon (FRA)

Benfica  (POR)

Schalke (GER)

H. Tel-Aviv (ISR)

Group C

Man. United (ENG)

Valencia (ESP)

Rangers (SCO)

Bursapor (TUR)

Group D

Barcelona (ESP)

Panathinaikos (GRE)

Kobenhaven (DEN)

Rubin (RUS)

Group E

Bayern (GER)

Roma (ITA)

Bassel (SUI)

CFR Cluj (ROU)

Group F

CHELSEA FC (ENG)

Marseille (FRA)

Spartak Moskva (RUS)

Zilina (SVK)

Group G

Milan (ITA)

Real Madrid (ESP)

Ajax (NED)

Auxerre (FRA)

Group H

Arsenal (ENG)

Shaktar Donetsk (UKR)

Braga (POR)

Partizan (SRB)
The group stage matches will begin on the weekend of September 14-15. Followed by:

Matchday 2 – September 28 and 29

Matchday 3 – October 19 and 20

Matchday 4 – November 2 and 3

Matchday 5 – November 23 and 24

Matchday 6 – December 7 and 8

All the teams Chelsea can face in the group stage of the Champions League are now known following Wednesday night’s final qualifiers. The draw is at 5pm UK time today (Thursday).

Carlo Ancelotti’s side are once again among the eight teams with highest ranking based on past performance in Europe by club and other teams from the same country. Therefore we will be in Pot 1 and cannot be drawn with any of the other seven names in it, who are Champions League winners from the past two seasons, Inter and Barcelona, plus English pair Manchester United and Arsenal, AC Milan, Lyon and last season’s runners-up Bayern Munich.

We will face one of the eight sides in Pot 2. Among the names contained in there are teams managed by two former Chelsea managers – Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid and Claudio Ranieri’s Roma. Making it two teams from Spain are Valencia who have been Chelsea’s opponents twice in recent years but sold David Villa and David Silva in the summer.

There could be an early return to Benfica for Ramires and a draw against Marseille would pit us against our former player Didier Deschamps who managed l’OM to the French title last season. From the east of the continent, Ukraine champions Shakhtar Donetsk or Greek champions Panathinaikos would be new opposition. Werder Bremen however played Chelsea four years ago. Claudio Pizarro continues to score regularly for the northern German side.

Tottenham, who are in Pot 3, can’t face Chelsea until the quarter-final stage but there are six teams we can play from that pot including Rangers and Ajax. Portuguese runners up Braga are making their Champions League group stage debut having knocked out Celtic and Sevilla in qualification.

A group including Schalke would send us to Germany to face a side we played three years ago and there are possible matches against Swiss or Danish opposition. Basel were the Double winners in Switzerland last season while 33 year-old Jesper Gronkjaer is a member of the FC Copenhagen squad. Should we draw Spartak Moscow from Pot 3 then we will return to the venue of the 2008 Final.

Russian champions Rubin Kazan await among the lowest seeds. Kazan lies 400 miles east of Moscow. Romanian champions Cluj, Israel’s top dogs Hapoel Tel-Aviv and Slovakia’s title winners Zilina have all crossed Chelsea’s path in European competition previously, unlike the remaining four sides in Pot 4. They are FC Twente who have seen the departure of Steve McClaren since winning the league in Holland, Partizan Belgrade, Auxerre who were third in France and Bursaspor, group stage debutants from Turkey’s fourth largest city.

Pot 1
Inter
Barcelona
Manchester United
Chelsea
Arsenal
Bayern Munich
Milan
Lyon

Pot 2
Werder Bremen
Real Madrid
Roma
Shakhtar Donetsk
Benfica
Valencia
Marseille
Panathinaikos

Pot 3
Tottenham
Rangers
Ajax
Schalke
Basel
Braga
Copenhagen
Spartak Moscow

Pot 4
Hapoel Tel-Aviv
FC Twente
Rubin Kazan
Auxerre
Cluj
Partizan Belgrade
Zilina
Bursaspor

Chelsea continued our emphatic start to the season with a 6-0 away win, but we didn’t have it all our own way at the DW Stadium.

It took half an hour for the Blues to even register a shot on target, but as soon as Florent Malouda swept home Frank Lampard’s parried effort, there was only going to be one winner, and five second half goals was the mark of a much improved showing from Carlo Ancelotti’s men. Nicolas Anelka claimed the first two, sub Salomon Kalou the next pair beforeYossi Benayoun netted his first Chelsea goal in injury time.

It was a harsh lesson for Wigan, who for long periods in the opening half had dominated possession and stopped Carlo Ancelotti’s men playing the football they so enjoy, but there will be no complaints that it was a deserved three points. Chelsea’s only change to the starting line-up was at right-back, where Branislav Ivanovic, now fully fit, replaced Paulo Ferreira who dropped to the bench.

Our last meeting with Wigan may have yielded eight goals, three points and a Barclays Premier League title, but Carlo Ancelotti was right to recall his first visit to the DW Stadium in September last year, when we were beaten 3-1 and eventually down to nine men. It was the Italian’s first defeat as Chelsea manager, but after last week’s 6-0 win against West Brom and today’s hosts’ 4-0 home drubbing by Blackpool, he will have been confident of avoiding a repeat.

The Wigan side that started this game though looked a far more accomplished outfit than the one which appeared a week ago, and they were the more impressive side in the game’s opening minutes. Left-back Maynor Figueroa tested Petr Cech’s alertness with a long-range drive, and Hugo Rodallega then curled a free-kick at the goalkeeper in the 24th minute, both efforts before Chelsea had registered anything meaningful.

The Colombian sent another shot into the goalkeeper’s arms shortly afterwards as the home side sought to convert possession and territory into goals before the inevitable Chelsea improvement, but they were out of luck. On 33 minutes Chelsea put together the best move of the game as an intricate passing move eventually saw the ball come to Cole on the left, and when he pulled back to Lampard it looked as though the midfielder would score, but Chris Kirkland in the Wigan goal parried the ball back into play with a smart save.

On hand to tap in the rebound, however, was Florent Malouda, who netted his third Premier League goal in two games and gave the Blues a lead we hardly deserved.

Two minutes after half-time the advantage was doubled, and in sensational fashion.

Possession was well retained inside the Chelsea area, with Cole and Lampard working the ball to Mikel, who sent a 50-yard diagonal pass into the right channel for Nicolas Anelka to chase. With the ball slowing as he approached, Anelka opted to shoot first time, and hammered it low into the far corner across Kirkland for his first of the season, and to more than likely put this game beyond Wigan’s reach.

James McCarthy toe-poked just wide in response before Anelka grabbed his second in four minutes, nodding home from a yard out after Drogba had pulled Malouda’s deep cross back across the face of goal. Rodallega jinked his way past half the Chelsea defence before seeing his shot blocked, and then Alex performed a superb tackle on Charles N’Zogbia before the Frenchman could get his effort away. Mauro Boselli’s follow-up after McCarthy’s deflected effort came back off the post was chalked off for offside, and then the Argentine headed straight at Cech when he should have netted.

Back on the attack Michael Essien forced Kirkland to save with his legs at his near post, and then Drogba dragged a shot wide moments after crashing a free-kick into the wall. The Ivorian’s next involvement was far more impressive, turning his man inside out and racing on towards goal, squaring for Kalou to tap home rather than trying to beat Kirkland himself as Chelsea made it 4-0 and 10 league goals for the season inside three hours.

With two minutes left Kalou was prevented from adding to his strike by a strong Emmerson Boyce tackle after showing skill inside the Wigan half, but a minute later he had his second of the game, flicking home Drogba’s excellent cross from the left. The scoring still wasn’t complete, as sub Yossi Benayoun secured his first Chelsea goal, stroking home into the far corner from 10 yards to make it our best ever away win against the Latics, after another sub, Paulo Ferreira had supplied the perfect pull-back.

So two games, six points, 12 goals for and none conceded. Starts do not get any better than this.

Wigan (4-3-3): Kirkland (c), Stam, Gohouri, Alcaraz, Figueroa (Boyce 83); Thomas, Diame (McArthur 79), McCarthy (Watson 78); N’ Zogbia, Boselli, Rodallega.

Chelsea (4-3-3):Cech; Ivanovic (Ferreira 62), Alex, Terry (c), Cole; Essien (Benayoun 78), Mikel, Lampard; Anelka, Drogba, Malouda (Kalou 69).
Scorers Malouda 33, Anelka 47, 51, Kalou 77, 89, Benayoun 90+3
Booked Ivanovic 36, Terry 60

Referee Mike Dean

Shots on Wigan 3 Chelsea 0
Corners Wigan 0 Chelsea 0
Fouls Wigan 9 Chelsea 7
Offside Wigan 0 Chelsea 3

TALKING POINTS
There was some symmetry in the two meetings between Chelsea and Wigan last season – up to a point at least. Both home sides were leading 1-0 when a key opponent – ‘keeper Petr Cech at the DW, defender Gary Caldwell at the Bridge – were shown a red card. Within minutes of both incidents the visitors had conceded two goals and were a man short.

The Latics clung on to their 2-1 lead against Chelsea’s increasingly desperate attack before stinging the Blues with a breakaway third to earn their first-ever victory over one of the Premier League’s ‘big four.’ In the return, Carlo Ancelotti’s men built extravagantly on their 2-0 foundation, running up an 8-0 tally on the last day of the season. Surely that will remain the most emphatic way the title was won for a long, long time.

The troubled Latics must be wary of further humiliation. Following last weekend’s action, on the two most recent league results, the Londoners had notched 14 goals without reply, whereas Wigan have scored none and conceded 12 – a disparity in goal differences, incredibly, of 26.

If football outcomes could easily be extracted from such figures, though, every team would have a mathematician on their bench. In reality, Wigan’s ground has never been an easy place for Chelsea to bring home the Premier League points. After the 6-0 home defeat of West Brom some football sages moved swiftly from grudgingly predicting that Chelsea would retain the title to pronouncing themselves bored of the inevitable outcome already. Chelsea’s management and players have remained unanimously unmoved by that hefty margin at the Bridge which, while welcome, flattered a Blues side that showed signs of early season rust either side of the break.

More to the point five of the six defeats – the most by any Premier League-winning side – in our last campaign came away from the Fulham Road, with this fixture a jarring reminder that accommodation can, unfortunately, be found for Mr Cockup. The 1-3 defeat – another slightly misleading scoreline – at the DW Stadium last season was one of those games where the Blues hit a lull, made sloppy errors and found it difficult to convert possession into clear chances.Wigan will seek to emulate that performance and improve their damaged morale.

Still, Carlo Ancelotti has emphasised the importance of a good start – pointing to the six-game winning sequence that kicked-off the Double year – and the West Brom game produced Chelsea’s biggest ever opening day victory in football’s top tier, eclipsing the 6-1 recorded over a ‘a smallish club somewhere north of the M25′ in August 1937. The Blues’ heftiest first-day salvo at any level was the famous 9-2 in 1906 when George ‘Gatling-gun’ Hilsdon fired in five on his debut. Also on Saturday fit-again Didier Drogba became only the fourth player to net hat-tricks in successive Premier League games.He will hope that is the platform for his third golden boot in England.

A second successive Saturday evening slot will not be popular with all Chelsea fans, despite the cheaper, sponsored travel, and Arsenal have the chance to edge ahead by seeing off buoyant freshers Blackpool. The Tangerines, though, have not won at Arsenal since 1958 and the days of Stanley Matthews. Sir Alex Ferguson faces one of his accommodating former pupils at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon, while big-spending City will hope to end a six-year drought without a home win when entertaining Liverpool.
Barclays Premier League fixtures
Saturday
Arsenal v Blackpool 3pm
Birmingham v Blackburn 3pm
Everton Wolverhampton 3pm
Stoke v Tottenham 3pm
West Brom v Sunderland 3pm
West Ham v Bolton 3pm
Wigan v Chelsea 5.15pm – Sky Sports
Sunday
Newcastle v Aston Villa 1.30pm – ESPN
Fulham v Man Utd 4pm – Sky Sports
Monday
Man City v Liverpool 8pm – ESPN

Here is the new release of The Devil Wears Prada’s promo video for their EP Zombie. Enjoy!

The Devil Wears Prada Zombie EP Promo Video

A Didier Drogba hat-trick, Frank Lampard among the goals, a mighty home win and Chelsea on top of the table. No it is not a reposting of the report from the final league game of last season, but happily the first one of this campaign. Just six minutes of league football was played by Chelsea since the final goal against Wigan back in May and Florent Malouda netting the first against West Brom at the Bridge today.

The dodgy pre-season results were quickly forgotten and although the rest of the play between that Malouda strike and Drogba’s first goal just before the interval was a little uninspiring, in the second half the Blues put the ragged Baggies to the sword, Drogba scoring a further two, Lampard opening his account for the season and Malouda wrapping up the match as he began it when he netted his second. The afternoon had begun with good news with Lampard declared over his injury suffered on duty with England and he was named in the starting line up, as were Petr Cech and Alex whose recoveries came just in time for the ‘big kick-off’.

Didier Drogba was also handed a start following his appearance off the bench in the Community Shield. Paulo Ferreira was rewarded for his pre-season form by retaining the right-back shirt so Branislav Ivanovic dropped to the bench. Salomon Kalou made space for Drogba in the front three with Nicolas Anelka moving wide right.

Before kick-off there was the expected and totally deserved warm reception for Chelsea cup final heroes Roberto Di Matteo and Eddie Newton (their manager in 1997, Ruud Gullit, was an on-pitch guest at half-time to similar applause). The first shot of the game was from Di Matteo’s team – sliced well wide by Morrison. Anelka was the first to let fly for Chelsea – his on target but straight at Carson.

That was on three minutes and less than two minutes later the former England keeper made a double save but still could not prevent Malouda from opening his account for 2010/11. It was the same Frenchman who initially won a free-kick in a central position when his run was blocked by Ibanez. Di Matteo’s hopes that his side could survive an early storm on the pitch as the rain poured down from above evaporated when Drogba’s attempt was pushed out to Mikel and although Carson intervened again, the ball fell to Malouda just two yards out. The chance was unmissable.

Cole, a persistent attacking presence in the early stages, flashed a dangerous ball across the area soon after before Cech made his first save to keep out Dorran’s deflected shot. Bednar had the ball in the net for West Brom on 18 minutes but the Baggies’ lone striker was offside when receiving the ball. The biggest supply of danger in the midway part of the first half was from the two keepers – both escaping when under-hitting clearances. Chelsea were failing to follow up strongly on the good start. With Malouda and Anelka tucked in behind Drogba – the shape looking more Yuletide decoration than genuine 4-3-3 - Stamford Bridge was looking a very congested pitch.

On 34 minutes Cole showed he is far more than just an attacking instrument in a narrow game when he was back with a timely intervention when West Brom threatened a break with Bedner found quickly. Then the game became the Florent Malouda show for a four-minute period.

First he crashed a shot against the post as the flag was going up – a tight offside call. Then the number 15 was almost the beneficiary of an expertly-executed Lampard back heel but was strongly resisted by Jara’s challenge. Then Drogba was dumped to the turf and this time Lampard stung Carson’s hands with a free-kick. It came Malouda’s way once more but this time the opening goalscorer headed over.

Right on the stroke of half-time came Chelsea’s third free-kick within shooting range. The rotation put Drogba back on strike and it was third time lucky for the Blues as West Brom’s wall let Carson down badly by letting the ball straight through, giving the keeper no chance of making it. The ball flew just inside the right-hand post at the Shed End. Last season’s Golden Boot winner was off and running.

There was a spot of good fortune six minutes into the second half when Dorrans’ deflected shot dropped a couple of yards wide after Ferreira had been caught in possession. Cech would have struggled had it been on target.

Any chance of West Brom getting back into the game was ended soon after when Drogba netted his second, gobbling up his chance from inside the six-yard box when West Brom missed their chance to clear, a Terry header having been stopped on the line. That made it 3-0. With our run of good opening day results now certain to continue, Ancelotti began to change his team – Ivanovic coming on for Ferreira shortly after the right-back had collected the game’s only booking.

Benyoun would soon follow on to the pitch for his home debut but not before goal number four. A Chelsea hatful without a Lampard goal is always unlikely and this was not to be such an occasion. Lamps took Cole’s square pass after Anelka had made an incision and wrong-footed Carson before rolling the ball home. Drogba completed his hat-trick on 67 minutes when he both tried and received his luck with a shot from 25 yards out – the ball taking a heavy deflection off Tamas on its way into the net.

Now one of the major tasks remaining was to preserve a clean sheet that an all-round solid defensive display deserved. Alex did his bit with a headed deflection on a shot with five minutes remaining, and then substitute Cox shot wide when well placed. Then on 89 minutes at the other end a France combination ended the day – Malouda taking Anelka’s beautifully-judged pass on the right and finishing off the inside of the post.

Chelsea had recorded our biggest top-flight opening day win.

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Ferreira (Ivanovic 59), Alex, Terry (c), Cole; Essien, Mikel, Lampard (Benayoun 63); Anelka, Drogba (Kalou 69), Malouda.
Scorers Malouda 5, 89, Drogba 45, 55, 67, Lampard 61.
Booked Ferreira 57.

West Brom (4-2-3-1): Carson (c); Jara, Tamas, Ibanez, Cech; Mulumbu, Brunt; Morrison, Dorrans (Cox 67), Thomas (Barnes 83); Bednar (Miller 67).

Referee Mark Clattenburg

Shots on target Chelsea 13 West Brom 5
Corners Chelsea 3 West Brom 1
Fouls Chelsea 13 West Brom 10
Offsides Chelsea 2 West Brom 1

Missed the Match? Tune in to Chelsea TV at 6pm on Sunday for a full 90 minute replay!

Chelsea have won the last eight and 10 of the last 11 opening day games. The only blip being the 1-1 draw against Newcastle in 2001. Overall since the formation of the Premier League there have been 11 wins, three defeats and four draws. This is the fifth year in a row that we have played at Stamford Bridge on the opening day. Since the stoppage time Crespo winner at Wigan in 2005 we have beaten Man City 3-0 in 2006, Birmingham (2007) 3-2, Portsmouth (2008) 4-0 and Hull 2-1 last season. The Baggies have only won one of their last 12 opening day fixtures, against Hull in 2006. They have had to travel in all but two of their last ten first games of the season.

In the days since Chelsea have had a large multinational contingent returning after their labours at the mondiale(1998), post-World Cup campaigns have not especially stood out. There were no finals or silverware in 1999 and 2003, though 2007 brought a League and FA Cup double. However, in each case the league campaign appeared to falter through fatigue at key moments in winter and spring – especially so in 2006/7, following a sensational start. We might reasonably expect closest rivals United to experience the same lull though.

It’s not all bad news, of course: the season after the 1954 World Cup brought Chelsea’s first ever title win (though Ken Armstrong was the Blues’ only representative and he was only on call in case of injury), and 1970 was followed by our first European title, the Uefa Cup-Winners’ Cup. Chelsea have won the last eight and 10 of the last 11 opening day games. The only blip being the 1-1 draw against Newcastle in 2001. Overall since the formation of the Premier League there have been 11 wins, three defeats and four draws.

This is the fifth year in a row that we have played at Stamford Bridge on the opening day. Since the stoppage time Hernan Crespo winner at Wigan in 2005 we have beaten Man City 3-0 in 2006, Birmingham (2007) 3-2, Portsmouth (2008) 4-0 and Hull 2-1 last season. The Baggies have only won one of their last 12 opening day fixtures, against Hull in 2006. They have had to travel in all but two of their last ten first games of the season. It is a day to welcome back Roberto Di Matteo and Eddie Newton, manager and assistant at the Hawthorns.

Di Matteo is one of the few players for whom the term football legend seems well placed. In six years at Stamford Bridge under managers Ruud Gullit and Gianluca Vialli he helped transform the club into a multiple prize-winning force at home and in Europe.

A highly prized mixture of creative, goalscoring midfielder and tough defensive enforcer, he was the first Italy international to arrive in English football in his prime. Robbie scored in three Wembley cup final wins for Chelsea, and his fastest-ever goal under the twin towers – one of several exhilarating long-range strikes for the Blues – put him up in the pantheon of gods at the old stadium. He was always down-to-earth and friendly in his time at the Bridge – although it is doubtful he ever again followedDennis Wise’s mischievous advice about what to write on a young fan’s cap after his debut at Southampton (they turned out to be English swear words, of course).

The premature end to Di Matteo’s career was brought about by a shameful tackle in Switzerland – by coincidence the country of his birth. The extensive bone fractures and soft tissue damage against which he bravely fought eventually closed the playing chapter of his story. Having run restaurants for several years he returned to football with MK Dons two years ago, adding popular former midfielder Eddie Newton to the Blues connections on his management team along the way. He won 27 of the 52 matches his side faced there, and at his latest club, West Brom, his record is even better at 30 in 53.

Those games were all at a lower level than the Premier League and when the top-flight fixtures were published, his joy at facing a club he loves in the opener would have been tempered by the knowledge that he as manager and many of his playing staff are novices at this level. And over the last two matches at Stamford Bridge last season Chelsea knocked in 15 goals without reply. Eddie Newton was a cult hero at Chelsea, a club he joined as a boy and helped rise to new levels starting under boss Glenn Hoddle, one of his childhood heroes. Eddie was a feature of the midfield that won silverware in the late 1990s, and scored in Chelsea’s League Cup 1998 win over Middlesbrough.

He’s equally fondly remembered for his stylish celebration after scoring a decisive penalty in the FA Cup shootout at the home of Newcastle United in January 1996. The two will receive a magnificent welcome from home supporters on Saturday evening. Visiting supporters will still be delighted that their management team stewarded the Baggies back to the top flight by earning ten points more in the Championship than Tony Mowbray had managed in 2008. They also conceded far fewer goals.

This is West Brom’s fourth spell in the Premier League. They are often described as the ‘ultimate yoyo club’ with their great escape from bottom at Christmas to survival in May 2005 something of an anomaly among the ups and downs. In recent seasons, though, newly-promoted clubs have bucked the bookies’ odds by avoiding the instant drop. Fellow Midlanders Wolves and Birmingham were promoted and survived last season, and Albion themselves were the sole victims the year before. In fact, 26 of the 50 teams promoted to the Premier League since 1993/4 have survived.

The opening weekend offers some intriguing fixtures, not least the battle of the unpredictables when Spurs host big spenders Manchester City. Sunday matches up two transitional sides desperate for long-awaited silverware in Arsenal and Liverpool, while league runners-up and Carling Cup-holders Man Utd welcome newly promoted Newcastle. The Toon earned a creditable 1-1 on their most recent visit in 2008, but have not won at Old Trafford for 60 years.