BigIzz

It's a fair point - I may not have worded that as clearly as I should have. While he played very well, Kalou had the opportunity to do a few really special things in this match but he couldn't put the final touches on them. I'm not begrudging him as much as I am everyone else because no one else really stood out for me. I don't like to reward attacking players for being dangerous or creating chances, for me it's more about their production. Everyone else was rather bland today (save for Alex who had a few nice moments, Lampard and Drogba who scored, and Gerrard with his lovely through ball :D )

Begrudgingly picked Kalou. No one else stood out and he did play well. However while he wasn't the "old" Kalou he was still a lot of sizzle and not a lot of steak.

1-0 will do but it will make for a loooooong 90 minutes

It won't be easy but I think we come to play and pummel them.

Three points are three points at this juncture. Just do it again next week

I'd make a few changes. Let's not let one great match from Kalou cloud our judgment as to what he really is. That said, he'd be one of my first guys off the bench. Id probably play Cole in his spot - not sure why I just have a good feeling about him for this one. I'd keep the midfield of Malouda-Lampard-Ballack intact. Obviously JT returns to defense and Ivan slides to RB.

No idea where to go with this one.... Picked Kalou though. None of this chances were particularly difficult to convert but he still did the business and also drew a penalty. Since his goal scoring record is usually a little shaky, he's my choice.

Yeah, let's save a couple for next week

Super Frank! Wow what a goal. What was better the cross or the finish?

Great half of football. Maybe not the best I've ever seen Chelsea play but the determination is evident. The entire squad is playing well and it's clear that they want it more than Stoke does. Best of all they've kept Stoke from a lot of annoying and gimmicky long throws. Put together another 225 minutes like this and I like our chances.

I dot understand why an injured hand requires someone to be stretchered off?

You had to figure Kalou would be good for a brace today, at the very least :)

Our finishing hasn't been great but we've come to play today. Hope we can keep the energy and determination for the whole ninety minutes.

So true. Espically about today's fixture. Champions win must win games against Stoke at home.

There are only so many ways to slightly change the same blue shirt every years I don't this is so bad. Maybe they were inspired by Zhirkov the other night? Lets just be happy there is no zipper.

What a great result. Carlo got it right today for sure. I thought he was foolish not to start Drogba but we were great in the first half and he was brought on at just the perfect time. Joey Cole played well but swapping him for Kalou worked pretty well even though it was injury related. Ballack for Deco was also a great change at the time to help stabilize things and put the match away. Amazingly no one really stood out as a star for us today. The team as a whole was the star. Great job by the Chelsea fans too you could hear them singing the entire match. surprise, surprise - United are bland and lifeless without Rooney. I'm sure they were counting on a much bigger contribution by Own Goal today in his absence but he just didn't show up. This game just makes Chelsea all the more frustrating. There is absolutely no doubt that they are the best team in the Premier League and matches like this just make all the dropped points to mediocre opposition even more maddening.

Great first half, were playing as if we have an extra man out there. Keep up this great defensive organization and get a second. Kudos to Mike Dean as well. Sure both teams could have had penalties but I'd prefer this Mike Dean to the penalty happy version.

Malouda

The injury is a real shame - Ivan has been the best player on the squad this season, week in and week out. Still he even tried to gut it out and made it back to the pitch when a lesser man would have asked to be subbed or at least waited for halftime.

Its the players wearing the jersey

I'll be shocked if Arsenal or Man Utd is able to run the table from here on out the way this season has gone. If either of them or Chelsea win out, then they deserve it. But this title race should be in the bag by now (although I suppose United could think the same about themselves). I bet there are still a few twists and turns in this one.

I honestly couldn't pick one. Drogba scored the goal but I am often left with the feeling he could have done more, even when he scored. Kalou played well, epically relative to the way he usually plays, but still didn't do a whole lot. I thought Deco played well but he wasn't on the pitch long. I was tempted to give it to Ivan for his gutty performance but he didn't actually contribute much. I abstain

Lampard isn't really having any influence on games whatsoever. The only usefulness he has had of late is that he still has finishing ability so if he finds himself at the right place he can put away a chance. That is the sort of contribution you expect from a streaky striker, not someone who is supposed to be the midfield general.

The frustrating part of this match, along with so many others this season, is the way Chelsea are able to dominate for stretches against "lesser" opponents yet not do enough to put the match away. There are stretches - 10 minutes here, 5 minutes here, 15 minutes at the end once the match is equalized - where they look great but the rest of the match is lackluster. When the team has beaten Arsenal twice and Man Utd this wasn't really the case so it must be a lack of focus against the lesser teams that prevents them from turning 0 points into 1 point and 1 point into 3 points. Whose fault is this? Ancellotti / the players / some combination of both?