REACTION: ESSIEN IS VERY IMPORTANT

Stamford Bridge is a fortress once more as we achieved another home win today and Carlo Ancelotti was obviously pleased but there was one man who stood out.




Speaking after the 4-0 thrashing of Wolves, a final score that doesn't quite capture the dominance of our performance, the Chelsea manager was keen to express his delight in Michael Essien's display after the Ghanaian scored twice.



'Essien is one of the most important players in midfield in the world,' explained Ancelotti.



'He can play on the right and in the centre with the same results, he is very important to us.



'This season he has maintained a good physical condition, he is very strong, but he also has a lot of other qualities as a midfield player.'



Joe Cole scored Chelsea's fourth early in the second half, putting the Blues in a comfortable enough position to introduce two debutants to the game.



Gael Kakuta came on first, replacing Nicolas Anelka up front, before Florent Malouda made way for Nemanja Matic to make his debut as well.



The two youngsters were then joined by Fabio Borini and every one made an impression, with Kakuta producing two worthy attempts on goal.



'He has a lot of talent,' said Ancelotti. 'He showed for 30 minutes very good talent today and he is still very young.



'We also played Matic, we played Borini, they are very good, young players. We can use them all in the future.'



But there was one more player who made an impression on our Italian manager, a man who recently returned to first team action and has been progressing with every appearance.



'Joe Cole improves with every game.



'Every training session he improves. It is good for us because in that position he can do a good job.'



Despite missing five first team regulars from today's line up through injury, Chelsea were largely unaffected as the strength of our squad shone through.



'At the moment this match shows we are in good condition as a team,' added Ancelotti.



'We had a lot of injuries before this game, we played a lot of different players but our play was the same.



'This is good. Also the young players in this team were good. In January if we can maintain this condition, then we will be fine.'



One man who knew our injury woes wouldn't affect the performance too much was Mick McCarthy, who could only watch from the sidelines as the Blues dominated.



'When they put the team sheet out I thought aw, poor old Chelsea,' joked the Wolves manager. 'We were happy to get nil to be honest.



'We had some really good chances in the game but we made mistakes. The first goal we didn't clear properly and it was a wonderful strike.



'Petr Cech made a wonderful save but we had five good chances in the first half, Chelsea had about eight, but they put theirs away with better accuracy.



'At 2- 0 down it was over but we won't be judged on today,' added McCarthy.

TERRY: THE TIME IS NOW

ohn Terry believes we are in the perfect form to face Manchester United this afternoon, but is wary of the threat posed by our visitors' forward line.
The captain has seen his side go five games unbeaten while playing some breathtaking football, leaving him in confident mood going into the top of the table Premier League clash, which he is adamant arrives at a better time for us than it does United.
'I think it's good because of the form we are in. We concentrate on ourselves more than anyone else, and if we're in a difficult shape it will be difficult, but we're in good form at the moment,' Terry said.
'I think people are starting to see that and believe it themselves. We are back to where we want to be, defensively looking good and going forward we pose a real threat. Not only with the men on the pitch but the bench as well, we have players that can come on and change the game.'
He is convinced Didier Drogba could make the difference today, given that he has scored six goals in his last five games.
'Didier has started the season unbelievably, so credit to him,' said the 28-year-old. 'Chelsea fans and players never doubted Didier, his love for this club and the passion he shows is unbelievable. When we lose a game there is no one more disappointed than him. He shows his anger, shows his frustration, because he cares.
'You see him in the dressing room, in training motivating the players, he really cares, and it was great to see him with a new contract and he's paying them back.'
Terry though is well aware of what United's strikers can do, having played alongside both Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney for England, while Dimitar Berbatov has become a familiar adversary and is now in his fourth season in English football.
'The three of them are so different, Owen has shown a great threat when he comes on, Berbatov is quick and holds the ball up well, similar to Didier in that respect, and Wazza is always a constant threat, can run in behind, pull off, play others in,' assessed the centre-half.
'Wayne is the most difficult because when he pulls off you don't know whether to go with him. There are always wingers going in behind him so do you go with him or go with the runners?'
These are all questions Carlo Ancelotti will have been trying to answer in the last few days. All will become clear at 4pm this afternoon.