Manchester City 1-3 Chelsea: Robinho's Debut Goal Not Enough

Robinho's debut goal proved in vain, as Ricardo Carvalho, Frank Lampard, and Nicolas Anelka struck to earn Chelsea a 3-1 win at Manchester City.

Robinho's career at Man City couldn't have started any sweeter when he powered in a 13th minute freekick and his much-hyped City debut was up and running.

I remember thinking, "Here we go."

But sure enough, when you least expect, Carvalho comes in and boots the ball like his life depended on it in to the top corner.

I loved the passion on his face; he was obviously pumped.

City's lead lasted barely three minutes.

Chelsea then took the lead in the 53rd minute when Lampard skipped past Richard Dunne and fired low into the corner.

This was Lampard showing that he had more to him than just "deflected goals and rebounds."

Anelka put the result beyond doubt in the 69th minute, though, when he side-footed home from Joe Cole's pass to finish a stunning move by the visitors.

3-1 and no way back for Manchester City.

There was some horrendous refereeing throughout the match. Halsey got it wrong all the time today; he had a shocking game.

The freekick from which Robinho scored was a soft freekick to say the least; there was minimal contact.

Anelka then had a stone-wall penalty turned down when Richards fouled him in the box.

Some more inept decisions by him before he tops it all off by sending off Terry with a red when it should have been a yellow.

It was a cynical foul. Yes, but he wasn't the last man on the occasion. Halsey has to answer some questions about that shocking refereeing.

It was nice to see Robinho showcase some of his talent and show just why Chelsea were after him in the first place. He's a truly gifted player. We're gonna see a lot more from him.

A pity that he scored though! I have nothing against him, but I just didn't want him scoring today, after all the talking he's been doing about how he'll show Chelsea what they're missing.

Shaun Wright Phillips never played like that for us! I understand he was passionate today also, and he wanted to prove a point, but that could have been done in a Chelsea shirt.

Having watched Manchester United lose earlier today, this turned out to be a fantastic weekend for Chelsea. They've got to put as many points possible between themselves and United.  

Malouda still needs to improve, but we saw some signs of improvement there with him getting into some good positions. He wasn't giving away possession so easily as before.

Joe Cole had another of his anonymous games, except for the assist for the third goal.

Drogba's return is obviously a boost, but he didn't seem up to full pace when he did get the ball. Maybe he needs a couple of more weeks to fully recover.

Very good performances by Lampard, Carvalho, and Ashley Cole today. Cech had a good game, too, whenever he was called into action.

All in all, a very satisfying performance by Chelsea and we look ahead to next weeks big clash with United, with huge confidence.