A closer game than it should have been, but still, job done.

An interesting game today, which was far closer than it should have been.

Chel$ea were without three of their most important players - Drogba, Essien and Carvahlo - while the players that make our team tick - Fab, Hleb and Flamini - all returned. Also, RvP lurked in the wings.

But it was a slow start to the match, and the returning players were clearly trying to find their feet. Of the three, Hleb was very quiet, shackled by Mikel and others in the Chelsea midfield. Fabregas did better, if his passing was a little off, and should have really scored at the death.

Flamini was absolutely excellent, (my Motm) flying into vital tackles across the pitch. His renaissance, more than perhaps any other player in the team, has been key to out current league position. Not only does he break up and restart play a lot more impressively and quickly than Gilberto, something which Cesc in particular benefits from, he is, for want of a better word, the team's enforcer. The first player into any fracas is Matthieu and he has embodied the new spirit within the team: never say die, and don't try and kick us off the pitch.

This was vital, as Chelsea attempted to do just that. Terry put in a series of poor, and deliberately spiteful, challenges, and the usual suspects also tried to put their foot in. It was no surprise to see Lampard try and rekindle his loving relationship with Cesc either.

I'm not a person who revels in the misfortune of others, but seeing Terry go off injured was blissful. My hope is that Capello will strip him of the England captaincy, but that is probably a dream too far.

His replacement, Ben-Haim, conspired with the usually infallible Cech to gift Billy G the easiest of goals. Gallas was immense today. He scored, defended well and was a true leader. Again, who now really thinks that not making Gilberto captain was an error?

The game started to open up in the second half and we should have finished them off. Seeing RvP return was blissful; suddenly, we began to have far more shots on goal and a real cutting-edge to our attack. He should have scored and had a goal disallowed. Not bad. Adebayor's goal could also have been given, if Ben-Haim hadn't fallen so easily.

Yet, in some ways it was a bit like last season. We didn't finish the game off when we could have, and Chelsea almost squirmed back into it. We fully deserved the three points and to have lost out to a last-minute equaliser would have been a travesty. Almunia helped us out on a number of occasions, but I'm still a little unsure about him.

Overall, if we couldn't beat them today, when they were missing almost all of their key players, it would seem unlikely that we would ever beat them in the foreseeable future. That we have shows just how serious we are as title contenders this year. It's looking increasingly likely, given Liverpool's crazy form, and Chelsea's odd year, that this is going to be a two-horse race between us and United. Whether we have the reserves to really edge them out will be thrilling to see; the game at Old Trafford will be absolutely huge, I'll say that already.

So, a good week all in all. Back on track, key players are back in the fold, and England finally have a world-class manager. After our recent travails on the road, all is again well.

ps, wasn't it a nice tackle by Cesc at the end?