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Blues couldn't really have got off to a worse start, falling behind after just 3 minutes. Chelsea had started brightly, and following a neat Zola backheel, Eidur Gudjohnsen was able to finish well with a right footed shot across Nico Vaesen into the far corner.
Blues gradually got themselves back into the game, and had a glorious opportunity to draw level when Paul Devlin beat the Chelsea offside trap and was through one on one with Carlo Cudicini. Devlin had more time than he anticipated, and whilst he rushed a left footed effort across the face of the goal, he may have been better placed to cut back onto his right foot and curl a shot around Cudicini. He didn't though. Neither did Stern John finish either of his two good chances, and neither did Clinton Morrison hit the target with a volley from out on the right.
On the half hour mark, Chelsea once again punished Blues' wasteful finishing as they doubled their lead. Again, Zola was the architect, playing a through ball for Icelandic international Gudjohnsen to run onto, and to finish in a similar manner to his first.
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Minutes before half-time, this third goal prompted Steve Bruce to withdraw Powell from the action, and replace him with Lazaridis. Whilst Powell was not particularly at fault for any of the problems that Blues had encountered, I cannot help but think that when you play a team such as Chelsea, to pick a more defensive team than usual is just murder. You simply cannot attempt to sit back and soak up 90 minutes of pressure against such teams. You need players that are capable of easing the pressure, and offering some sort of threat themselves, and as frustrating as Lazaridis can be at times, he does offer such qualities, and presently a lot more than the once again disappointing Devlin. Dropping a winger for a defensive midfielder does nothing but send out all the wrong signals, and encourages the opposition to attack a team that appears to have been picked for 90 minutes of defending. I'm not claiming that Lazaridis' inclusion from the start would have prevented the defeat, but it may have resulted in more of a contest.
The second half was less eventful than the first. Emmanuel Petit hit the crossbar for Chelsea, for whom Zola, William Gallas and Graeme Le Saux also went close. John missed another good opportunity for Blues, whilst Devline finally beat his man in the 91st minute. The only real moment of interest from a Blues perspective was when substitute Geoff Horsfield outfought Marcel Desailly - no easy task - and then went down under the challenge of Desailly when through on goal. Personally I viewed it as two big, aggressive players fighting for the ball, but in the current climate, and following the bookings Blues fans have seen recently for Tebily and Riccardo Gardner (against Blues), then perhaps they were justified in calling for the Frenchman to be disciplined - especially considering he was already on a caution. Either way, it wouldn't have made much difference.
Games like this highlight the deficencies in the Blues game. Chelsea created a lot of chances, and put a reasonable percentage of them away. Blues created a fair few chances, and failed to put any of them away. The likes of John and Morrison are managing to get the odd chance, but really need to start putting them away, or games like this will be over before we start. Still, along with games at the likes of Highbury, Old Trafford and Anfield, this was one that you write off before the match, and if you get anything it's a bonus (such as Anfield). We're not even trying to compete with the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal, and our results against the likes of Bolton, Villa, Albion and West Ham have been good so far. Such results need to continue in the next fortnight against Fulham and Sunderland, as when comprehensive defeats like today's set in against those teams, you need to really worry.
PLAYER RATINGS:
Vaesen - Average
Tebily - Looked decent going forward
Kenna - Out of position and it showed
Purse - Excellent
Cunningham - Adequate
Devlin - Disappointing
Powell - Tried his best
Savage - Not at his best
Cisse - Competed
Morrison - Lacked service
John - Missed a couple of chances
SUBS:
Lazaridis - Worked hard
Horsfield - Aggression caused problems for Desailly
Hughes - Showed some nice touches; better