Chelsea 2 - 0 Arsenal

What looked like a difficult tie against a so called resurgent Arsenal, whose boss was convinced their thumping by Man U was just an aberration - see more comments below, turned into another thumping albeit without much possession.

The Blues stated with Drogba and Anelka in front of a Lamps, Ballack and Jedi diamond with Ricky joining JT at the back. In a week that saw way too much written about JT's off field situation, it was, as ever, the returning Drog that did the damage in a 25min spell of clinical finishing and sweeping counter attacks. That Arsenal had almost 65% of subsequent possession was of little consequence as the Blues could have had three with Drogba clattered the crossbar with a second half free kick. Havinng promised not tweet as this was supposed to be a nail biter, I soon scummed so here are the in match items

• 16:10 The Blues are ahead in 7mins. Inevitably its JT who connects with a corner from Malouda and his goal bound header is tapped home by the Drog
• 16:30 Arsenal have responded well with plenty of possession as you'd expect but in a sweeping Blues counter attack Lamps find the Drog for 2-0
• 16:50 Again Arsenal have responded with lots of possession (a lot of it being given away by Ballack tho) but the half ends with the Blues ahead.
• 17: 35 The rain is teaming down & Arsenal are having a real go as the Blues sit back too deep. With 20mins to go Arsenal thro on Eboue & Rosicy
• 17:55 Joe Cole is on for the last 5mins & Kalou joins him for added time. A new front 2 but its the Blues back 4 who won this today. It ends 2-0

As often happens, the post match Daily Bung in the Telegraph captured the mood of on Mr Wenger perfectly ..

"....yet despite seeing his side once again defend with all the intelligence of a Tony Cascarino column ghostwritten by George W. Bush, Wenger insisted he was "completely happy" with the performance at Stamford Bridge.

Really Arsene? Were you completely happy with Gael Clichy, who moved off the far post and shuffled nervously along the goal line for Drogba's first goal like a toddler who has just wet themselves and is trying to avoid showing their parents? Were you completely happy with Manuel Almunia, who did a marvellous impression of a waxwork figure as he stared ahead with the cold, dead eyes of a bedraggled sniper as Drogba fired past him for the second goal?

Wenger also found the time to have a dig at Carlo Ancelotti's table-topping side, for apparently not winning with the requisite flair. Shame on them, that successful, winning team: they must learn to pass, rather than shoot, ad infinitum. The bounders.

"You have to congratulate Chelsea but we didn't get a demonstration of football," the Frenchman screeched haughtily. "We had 70 per cent possession of the ball. We were not running after the ball. They [Chelsea] did not dominate.

"We were always in an attacking position. We were always risking everything going forward and they were good on counter-attacks. We were a bit uncertain at the start, but when we got into it we were completely dominant (one problem Arsene: at that point you were two goals down and playing against a confident, powerful team that do not like to hand goals to their opponents on a plate, all without the help of a recognised striker on the pitch. Still at least you dominated possession)."

When asked about his opposite number's comments, Ancelotti could barely disguise his confusion. After all, for all these years he has been labouring under the misapprehension that football is about winning matches. Silly sausage.

"Maybe Arsenal had more possession than us, but that is not football," he said. "Football is about results. I think we deserved to win. When you speak about a match, you can't speak only about possession of the ball. No. You have to control the attack and defence.

"When we went ahead, it was very important to play on the counter-attack. Our second goal was an unbelievable goal. Fantastic movement, fantastic pass and a fantastic shot from Didier. This is football."

That's you told, Arsene.

Hull 1 - 1 Chelsea

The Blues travelled to the KC stadium buoyed by a good though hard fought result on Saturday however we came up against a resolute and hard working Hull side that ultimately frustrated us on the night and put a dent in the title challenge.

The in game tweets went

• 20:16 Away to Hull for our game in hand but the Blues, even with the returning Drog, are behind inside 30mins from another set piece disaster as Mouyokolo heads home
• 20:30 The Blues have upped the tempo and Anelka's brought down on the edge of the box. The Drog takes the free kick and scores. Its 1-1 & game on.
• 21:00 Its a lively start to the 2nd half with chances at both ends but with an hour gone its still 1-1
• 21: 25 Into the last 20mins & this could go either way. Joe Cole is on for the ineffective Ballack but as we enter the final 10mins its still 1-1
• 21:33 Carlo brings on Ash & Sturridge in a last throw of the dice but Hull hold on for a vital point and put a dent in the Blues title challenge

So the lead is down to 2 points when it could have been 4 and now Sundays home game to Arsenal takes on even greater significance

Burnely 1 - 2 Chelsea

Its away to Burnley today to try and build on Wednesdays return to the top of the league after beating Birmingham. Carlo brings in Alex and Zhirkov for Deco and Ricky respectively with Malouda and Anelka up top so it looks like Ballack will be asked to hold. The Drog and Kalou are back but rested after their return from the African Nations

Its a bright start for the Blues with Anelka and Lamps combining well and the first chance comes on 8mins from a nice interchange between them but Lamps fires over the bar. New boy Leon Cort is having a good game in the Burnley defence with 3 timely blocks but he can do nothing when on 26mins a sweeping Blues break sees Joe Cole float a peach of a cross that Malouda knocks down for Anelka to tap home. The Blues have gone to sleep a bit after the goal with Ballack, Anelka and Cole all guilty of careless passing but the half still ends 0-1

No changes at half time but within 2mins Burnley are level as Alex fails to clear a through ball and Fletcher peels off him to drive past Cech. There's a suspicion of hand ball and Alex really should have done better but now its game on. Chelsea have been stung into life and Joe Cole has the ball in the net on 55mins but is ruled offside. Its all Chelsea but Burnley are looking to strike on the counter so with 20mins to go Carlo brings on Sturridege for Joe Cole. Ash breaks into the box but his shot is blocked and he takes a bad turm of the ankle as well so he's replaced by Deco - Zirkov drops to left back. Into the last 10mins and Lamps finds Sturridge who turns brilliantly in the box but his shot is cleared for a corner. Lamps takes it and JT rises on the penalty spot to head down and home to put the Blues back in front. Chelsea continue to press forward but without any further score so it ends 1-2 to the mighty Blues and that opens up a 4 point lead at the top.

Come on U Blues !!

Chelsea 3 - 0 Birmingham.

A chilly, and what we initially thought would be a nervous, night at the Bridge ended in a comprehensive 3-0 victory for the mighty Blues. Better still we go back to the top of the league by virtue of points and goals as Arsenal could only manage a 0-0 draw away to the Villa

In truth it should have been more as Birmingham, on the back of a 15 game unbeaten streak, were comprehensively outplayed and dismantled in the first half. Goals from Malouda and Lamps punctuated the half but there should have been more from Cole and Anelka The Blues almost let the Brummies back into the game during a sloppy 10mins in the second half but the tempo was raised and Lamps raced half the length of the pitch to turn from provider to finisher to add a 3rd goal in the final minute.

Top of the league and having a laugh ? Oh yes !!

Chelsea 7 - 2 Sunderland

Back to the premiership for the visit of Sunderland. It's our first game without the "African Nations 4" so Carlo goes with Anelka, Malouda and Joe Cole up top with Beletti holding and Ballack in the Essien role.

Its a really bright start from the Blues with 3 chances going begging in the first 5mins to Ashley and Joe Cole and finally a Carvaliho header. The misses may not prove costly though as within 2mins Ballack releases Anelka who dances round Fullop inn the Sunderland goal to make it 1-0. Another 10mins gone and its 2-0 as Malouda picks up the ball in the centre circle beats 2 challenges, conjures up a couple of step overs and then drill home a right foot drive - quite brilliant. The shooting boots are on today as its 3-0 with just 20mins gone as a beautiful through ball from JT in brought down in the box by Ashley Cole who drags the ball back to evade a diving tackle from Cana before expertly poking the ball home. Ash is running riot down the left and its 4-0 inside 34mins as he floats in another cross that Lamps slides in to volley home. The half ends with no further goals but Chelsea have been totally dominant.

The second half is underway with Zirkov and Alex on for JT and Ashley Cole while Sunderland bring on Zenden for Steed Malbranque. Its more of the same though as Anelka hits a spectacular drive on 49mins which draws an equally spectacular save from Fulop. Its only temporary respite as Joe Cole puts in a superb cross that is headed home by Ballack - that's 5-0. The Blues take their foot off the gas and get punished as Jones knocks a header down to Zenden who slots home past Cech. Carlo looks furious. The smile is back on his face though as Zirkov sends in a cross that Fulop flaps at only for the ball to fall to Anelka who easily slots home to bring up the half dozen with 25mins still to play. Even a 6-1 Cech can still cause a flutter as he comes out too far and only prods away unconvincingly a ball that Alex and Ricky had well covered. Chelsea are just unstoppable and on 75mins Anelka would have had his httrick but for another splendid save from Fulop. Alex thunders a deflected free kick with 5mins to go that reaches Belletti and the Joe Cole who heads against the post. With a minute of normal time to go its 7-1 as Anelka drives in a cross that Lamps heads home and, even though a late lapse in concentration gifts Sunderland a consolation, it ends in a comprehensive 7-2 victory for the mighty Blues.

Hughes, Bonamassa and Bonham - wow

You know that I've been blogging and tweeting about Joe Bonamassa and how I love his fusion of rock and blues.

Well both he and Glenn Hughes (the self proclaimed "Voice of Rock - though who would argue?) have themselves been tweeting about sessions with a new band having played together at the recent King of Blues Jam at the Guitar Centre in LA. Following that show, Joe and Glenn turned up again at a tribute to John Bonham playing alongside his son Jason.

Here's a little reminder of Glenns vocals






So it wasn't a big surprise to hear about the birth of a new project called "Black Country". The news broke on Joe's twitter feed and the details were in Guitar Noise on Friday.

Taking its name from the West Midlands area where Bonham and Hughes both come from its gonna be interesting to see what comes from this new outfit that has Jason Bonham on drums, Derek Sherinian on keyboards, Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals and Joe Bonamassa on guitar and vocals.

Chelsea 5 - 0 Watford

The FA Cup campaign kicks off the new year with the visit of Watford to the Bridge as we start the defence of what has become our trophy of the noughties. Once again, I'm at the game so here are the in game tweets and the link to the BBC match report.

• 3:10 - 4mins gone and Sturridge gets on the end of a JT knock down to score his 1st Chelsea goal. Its 1-0 to the Blues
• 3:18 - Its 2-0 within 10min as a Joe Cole shot causes chaos in the Watford defence and the ball pinballs into the net. Will go down as an own goal
• 3:25 - All Chelsea - First Alex draws a cracking save from Loach & Belletti hits a volley just over before Malouda deflects a Zirkov shot for 3-0
• 4:23 - Just over an hour gone and Lamps makes it 4 with a superb drive from the edge of the box.
• 4:28 - Its becoming a rout as Sturridge makes it 5-0 in his last action of the half. He's replaced by Fabio Borini

So a cruise through into the 4th round is complete and the day is an even bigger celebration as Man U lost to Leeds Utd earlier in the day. An away tie with Preston beckons

Come on you BLUES !!