Fulham 0 Chelsea 2: Carlo's cruise - another easy ride for Blues' new boss

24 August 2009 10:27
Not every Chelsea team are having such an easy ride this season, if the events at their Cobham training ground are anything to go by. While the reserves found themselves caught up in a karate kicking scrap in midweek, the first team have so far encountered no meaningful resistance, brushing aside their nearest neighbours here in a Barclays Premier League contest that produced not a single booking. For Carlo Ancelotti, it has been a relatively gentle introduction to English football. He started with Hull, followed that with a trip to Sunderland and has now continued what amounts to a perfect start here at Craven Cottage. By the time Burnley have been to Stamford Bridge and he has sampled the delights of Stoke, the Italian might be wondering what all the fuss is about. The toughest league in the world? Not on the evidence that has been presented to the Italian. But here's the thing: the success Ancelotti has tasted to date is not just down to the obvious flaws in the opposition. It owes as much to the quality of a Chelsea side looking every bit as formidable as they were under Jose Mourinho. Chelsea have, of course, been here before. Luiz Felipe Scolari started with 20 points from a possible 24 last season before the team began to stutter and Roman Abramovich hit the panic button. But Ancelotti appears to have continued where Scolari's interim successor Guus Hiddink left off and turned Chelsea into a side who look capable of just about anything this season. They are a team boasting that deadly combination of fluency and athleticism which, in the words of Sir Alex Ferguson, made them so impressively consistent when they won consecutive titles under the self-anointed Special One. While we will get a more accurate measure of their ability when they meet Tottenham at Stamford Bridge next month, the echoes of their time under Mourinho were inescapable yesterday. They were so superior to their hosts. Strong, powerful and fast, they cut through Fulham's defence with terrific one-touch football and scored excellent goals from Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka. Can they play together? Definitely. Asked what Chelsea's secret is this season, John Terry noted the importance of keeping the core of the team together in a transfer window that has seen their main rivals haemorrhaging top players. 'Didier has been our best signing of the summer,' said the captain, and convincing Drogba to stay, when it seemed he was intent on leaving, and sign a new contract has been hugely important. As he again demonstrated yesterday, Drogba is still among the finest strikers in the world - an immense athlete and, as Terry knows only too well after encountering him a million times on the training pitch, 'unplayable' when he performs like this. His speed and his finishing ability enabled him to open the scoring six minutes before the interval, timing his run to perfection and beating Fulham's offside trap before guiding his shot past Mark Schwarzer. Anelka had provided the perfectly-weighted pass that allowed Drogba to score and he returned the favour in the 77th minute when Anelka put the points beyond Fulham's reach. It was a move that was breathtaking in its execution, started at one end of the field by Petr Cech and finished as quickly, seemingly, as it would have taken Usain Bolt to cover the distance. The balled moved from Cech to Ricardo Carvalho, Drogba, Michael Ballack, Drogba and then Anelka, who accelerated past Schwarzer before scoring into an empty net. Again the final ball was terrific, Anelka and Drogba showing Ancelotti just how effective a partnership they could become. Fulham offered little in response. The absence of Andy Johnson weakened their attack, while an injury to Danny Murphy midway through the second half made it that much more difficult for Roy Hodgson's side to cope with Chelsea's physically-imposing midfield, so dominant even without the rested Michael Essien. If Ancelotti left Craven Cottage with any concerns, they might have centred on his deployment of Frank Lampard. The England midfielder says he is comfortable playing in a more advanced role and he still had a decent game yesterday. But is he as influential as he has been in the deeper position he has occupied in previous seasons? So far it would seem not. The answer might be to play with less rigidity. Ancelotti will not want to make too many changes when his team has started so well. Even Florent Malouda is performing with consistency and emphasising the real strength in depth Chelsea now possess. Yesterday, as well as Essien, they had Deco, Salomon Kalou and Daniel Sturridge on the bench and they still have Yuri Zhirkov and Joe Cole to return from injury. No wonder Ancelotti remains calm about the club's failure to secure so many of their transfer targets.

Source: Daily_Mail