Grand Slam Sunday: Didier Drogba Banishes Chelsea's Blues

There was a certain inevitability about the biggest Sunday of the Premier League season so far, for me anyway.

Manchester United proving they are THE team to beat in England, Liverpool showed us once again they haven’t really got the stomach fora title fight, and Arsenal highlighted to us all that whilst their football is easy on the eye, it won’t win you the title. We've seen it all before.

Liverpool legend Bill Shankly once said the “a football team is like a piano, you need eight men to carry it and three who can play the damn thing.”

Maybe this is Arsenal’s problem: too many players, not enough workers. Of course they also lack experience. Their starting eleven on Sunday contained only one man who had ever won the Premier League, William Gallas, and he won the prize with Chelsea.

Speaking of the Blues it was refreshing to see the return of Didier Drogba: the match winner on Sunday. It’s been a long time since Drogba caused two centre backs so many problems. Chelsea, and Drogba in particular showed the sort of fight that has been missing recently, and fired themselves back into the title race.

The worries over Avram Grant’s tactical management were banished as he changed the system and reaped the reward.

I hold my hands up and say I was one of those questioningGrant’s tactics during the game, but it didn’t take long to get an answer.

Nicholas Anelka was crucial in the build up to both goals,and from the moment he came on for Makelele, his movement was too much for Gallas and Toure, and his flick set-up Drogba for the winner.

Surely now Avram Grant will have to play both his front men,even though up to now he’s been against it, only playing them in a 4-3-3 with Anelka out of position on the left in the Carling Cup final.

But justification for the Israeli had been coming. Sunday was the third time Grant had faced another of the ‘Big Four’, and going into the game he had failed to impress on the previous two occasions.

This, along with two unconvincing performances against Tottenham meant Grant was due a victory in a big game, and the chance to prove he did know what he was doing.

I’m not sure if it is enough to get the fans completely off his back, but Chelsea fans now have renewed belief for the rest of the season.

Once Chelsea equalised on Sunday it felt inevitable that a winner was coming. It was also ironic that following the substitutions the name of Jose Mourinho had rung around Stamford Bridge, and in the end the performance echoed of the days of the Portuguese, Plenty of fight and the right result.

So, if Grant and his side can replicate this performance,trophies may still end up at Stamford Bridge come the end of the season, and it will all be down to some controversial substitutions in a game against a side from North London. Football comes full circle.