Chelsea provide a master-class

How good were Chelsea yesterday? I know Sunderland aren’t very good at the moment and they didn’t have their first choice back four on the pitch but they are still a mid-table Premier League side.

Class

Chelsea absolutely blew Sunderland away with a performance of pace, power, class, flair and finishing. Make no mistake, Chelsea could easily have scored double figures and it would not have flattered them.

I expect that Carlo Ancelotti will be disappointed at the sloppy defending that led to his team conceding two unnecessary goals, but his pride and excitement at the level of football they played going forward will surely out-weigh that.

Effective

Many critics, myself included, have said that Chelsea are a fine side but are the least entertaining of the so-called big four in England. They are regarded as being effective and efficient, but playing with a control and simple method that gets results but fails to entertain.

When compared to the fast, free-flowing, pass and move football played by Arsenal or the lightening counter-attack football of Manchester United, Chelsea are often felt to look a little a pedestrian and boring.

Accurate

Watching Chelsea play yesterday I saw pass and move football, I saw crisp accurate passing and exquisite movement. I saw a fluid and flexible team whose players popped up all over the pitch. I saw a team who played short, intricate passes and long direct ones. I saw a team who got the ball wide and got crosses into the box and a team who passed the ball through the middle of the pitch to engineer chances with one-touch football.

In fact, I saw what I think was one of the most complete performances I have seen by any side in the Premier League. At times it was a master-class in how to play football.

Finest

Let us not forget that Michael Essien and Didier Drogba, two of the finest players in the English game were not even there. Oh how Rafa Benitez must wish his Liverpool team could perform like that when they are without a certain midfielder and striker! Actually, he would settle for playing like that when they are there!

The performance has sent a very strong message to the other title hopefuls. The message is, “Don’t bother, we’re going to win the title this season.”

Faltering

Chelsea sit at the top of the table, potentially four points clear if they win their game in hand on Manchester United. They have maintained that position despite suffering a poor run of form of late. In their faltering 2-1 wins over Fulham and Portsmouth and their draws with Everton, West Ham and Birmingham they have looked anything but likely champions.

Now they have shown that when they play well, they are the best team in England. There is definitely not a team in the Premier League who could live with Chelsea when they play like they did yesterday.

Interesting

It would be interesting to see Chelsea play that style of football against Barcelona rather than the defensive way they did in the Champions League last season. I’m not sure they would win but it would be one hell of a game.

If this is a turning point in the season and Chelsea have come out of their slight stutter, then they must be red hot favourites to win the title. For the first time in a while, they have played in a way that makes them not only the most effective team in England but also the best to watch.

Transform

Whatever Ancelotti has done he has managed to transform Lampard, Ballack and Malouda back into the great players they used to be. He has somehow turned Ivanovic into a world class right back and restored Ashley Cole to his full potential. He has made Anelka look as though he is actually enjoying playing football and slowly but surely he is coaxing Petr Cech into becoming a goalkeeper again.

If yesterday was a sign of things to come then the Chelsea fans are going to be in for a treat.