It was the Drogs Ballacks once again as Drogba scored a serious contender for goal of the season and Ballack sees Red as 10 man Chelsea gain a hard fought victory over arch rivals Liverpool


This game was full of contentious incidents and close calls which could have totally changed the outcome of the game - the "what if's" that make football such a great subject for debate over a few pints of beer. What if Kuyt had not hit the bar - what if Sissoko had been sent off - what if Chelsea had been awarded a penalty for the sandwich on Robben in the second half - what if Gerrard had been a bit sharper on his close range shot - "what if". Any number of different permutations.


At the end of the day Chelsea got the three points after a glorious goal from Drogba - who I still claim is benefitting from the extra attention given to Shevchenko. Essien, "The Bison", was again a tower of strength and his forward surges were excellent. Robben after his introduction caused general mayhem and Petr Cech was the man mountain of calm at the heart of the defensive wall.

Follow up:

Liverpool played well enough - with Jermaine Jenas especially effective on the Liverpool right using the huge swathes of space left by Cole defending deep and a seemingly missing left midfield (oh yes - we were missing Ballack who got sent off - and Lampard reverted to a more central position.) Gerrard played well and must be kicking himself for shooting straight at Petr Cech. Bahlarouz "The Cannibal" was exposed by the speed of the wing play and it was good to see Fereirra coming on to close down the wing play.


At the end of the day the "what if" Chelsea had eleven players on the field then Liverpool may not have looked as good and if they had only ten players had Sissoko been sent off then it may have been another drubbing for the scousers.


Footnote:
It was good to read that Ballack apologised personally for his foul on Sissoko - and good to see Benitez and Mourinho take the high ground both before and after the game in the media by not taking swipes at each other and also by shaking hands visibly before and after the game.


Anyway we'll take the three points and with Man Utd deservedly losing to Arsenal we're only one point off the pace behind Portsmouth - and I'll bet their fans are glad of an owner with a few dollars, too.