Fulham 0-2 Chelsea | First Cleansheet, Yay!!!

Three in three then. We got our much expected cleansheet finally. I did predict a 2-0 but the only thing that was a surprise to me was Anelka’s goal. Chelsea were at ease and class in what was a traditionally tricky away match.

Carletto played his away formation 4-3-2-1 as he did against Sunderland. I think I’d conclude that it worked well. Especially if you look at the first goal, it was a direct product of the 4-3-2-1.

Now Chelsea has three wins in three matches and surprisingly Spurs also have the same record. For the last few seasons, they always had a good team and purely by squad strength they were worthy of a challenge for the fourth place. Only this time, it appears that they are confident of their abilities and they seem to have that piece of luck that eluded them.

Man City and Arsenal can also notch their third win but they will go on with this annoying "one-game-in-hand" situation. I simply hate this "one-game-in-hand" thingy.

Carletto keeps impressing me. He tries new things. He is not afraid to make changes when needed. He rotates the players with ease. He talks rather well. He knows what he’s doing/talking. His decision to rest Essien and pick Mikel was quite adventurous and it looked like it certainly inspired Mikel.

He had said why he thinks 4-3-2-1 would work against teams that are content to be in their own half. I thought he would start Deco but he did not. While Drogba was the lone striker, Lampard and Anelka were playing behind Drogba. I was surprised at Lampard’s role as only the last week Ancelotti said that Lampard would move to the left midfield.

I thought that playing in the hole does not look like Lampard’s ideal position. He must be better as one of the three midfielders than playing in the hole with another player. If Lampard is playing in that role let him be the only player in the hole, like in a 4-3-1-2.

Plus, I thought Anelka was not suited for the "playing behind the striker" role. He does not have the quick feet or quick mind to play like a No.10. A Deco or a Joe Cole or even a Salomon Kalou would be more suited while Anelka should be all about finishing the chances.

All said, the first goal was a beauty. Playing behind the striker, Lampard under pressure, played it to Anelka. he Frenchman smartly let the ball loose in space which was picked up by on-side Drogba and finished with power and style. This move in a way vindicated the formation and the choice of players in the roles. But I still feel neither Lampard nor Anelka is best suited for the two player combination behind the striker.

Drogba has said this a dozen times. He can play with Anelka and their combination will work really well. He’s at it again:

"

There’s no doubt that Nicolas and I can work together. We are intelligent people, so we know how to play together. We just needed some time and it’s taking effect now. This is the perfect start to the season, especially as we still have a lot of improve on. It’s good to start with three wins and we’ll try to improve more. I didn’t think I’d be flagged for offside, because I waited until the last moment. I knew where he [Anelka] was going to put the ball so I made the right run at the right time.

"

The second goal was even better. Drogba just returned the favour to Anelka with a well weighted pass. In a flash, you could see the best of Anelka. He moved in with some incredible speed and rounded the keeper before he finished it. That’s what he does best. If the opportunity of the second goal had come to Drogba, I don’t think he would have attempted to round off the keeper. He would have either blasted it or chipped it. The way Anelka moved and scored was his trademark.

Big plus is the fact we did not concede before we had to score, or we didn’t concede at all. I don’t think we were truly threatened by this team that beat Man Utd 2-0 during the title chase towards the end of last season. We were very solid at the back. Mikel and Ballack alternating and complementing each other. Even during the set piece situations our defence was very assured and confident and did not put you and me under pressure.

Good bunch of wins and a very good start to the season. I don’t want us to win big at this stage of the season. I don’t want us to peak too soon. While we are winning now, let’s do it the hard way rather than walloping teams and then have our weaknesses exposed by bigger teams. Next up, we have Burnley and Stoke City. All other things being equal, we should make it 5 in 5 by which time Man Utd would have played Arsenal at Old Trafford, Manchester City would have played Arsenal at City of Manchester stadium and Tottenham would have played Man Utd at White Hart Lane. Again, during this period, we would be playing Burnley and Stoke City.

So there is a big chance of Chelsea notching up the lead by mid-September. More good news as Joe Cole is training with the reserves and would be fit enough to start the match against Stoke city. He could very well be our marquee signing as we don’t seem to be even rumoured with any players. Forget transfers, just look at how we are doing on the pitch, just realise that Joe Cole and Zhirkov would join the party soon. Lots of reasons (fantasy premier league aside) to be cheerful. Cheers!