Roman legion given the thumbs up

No wonder he was beaming. When Premiership fare is as dramatic as this, what better playground could there be for a billionaire? And what better plaything than a team which even Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier was forced to concede — while unconvincingly suggesting that Liverpool deserved a draw — should be in contention for the title come May?

Of course, that may prove premature but when your team has the quality of investment to make light of its current unfamiliarity and still be good enough to eke out only Chelsea’s second League win in 68 years at Anfield, why shouldn’t there be a whiff of blue euphoria around?

Claudio Ranieri is an old hand at dampening down this stuff but was clearly buoyed by the vision of his new squad playing with the same sort of purpose as the one which downed Liverpool at the end of last season. “New and old players showed the same strong character. They played with heart and soul,” he said.

Even Juan Sebastian Veron, which is more than can be said of so many of his Old Trafford afternoons. Given licence to dictate in a five-man midfield and with his path eased by the diligence of Lampard and Geremi, the hit-and-miss Argentinian gave a few hints of why Ranieri believes he could yet be the consistent Premiership force that Sir Alex Ferguson always wanted him to be.

After Chelsea’s uneven start, when he looked quite lost, Veron’s sweeping 25th-minute strike from Jesper Gronkjaer’s low cross seemed to instill a confidence and swagger, and the sweetness of the visitors’ passing game became more striking.

One exquisite ball which put Eidur Gudjohnsen one-on-one with Jerzy Dudek only for the Icelander to fluff his lines, illustrated his class but just as impressive was Veron’s willingness to do his share of donkey work. Three times he chased back to rob Danny Murphy, twice, and Igor Biscan, typifying the team’s splendid workrate. It was Lampard who set the tone best, though.

Chelsea’s most influential midfielder last season, don’t bet against him maintaining his key role this season even with all the mega-money arrivals if he can maintain performances of such foraging diligence and skill.

If he was bettered by a team-mate, it could only have been Cudicini, still the best keeper in the league, or the towering John Terry at the back. And when has Gronkjaer looked busier or more dangerous down the flanks, even eclipsing Damien Duff ?

That is what must have encouraged Ranieri most; the early signs that his old guard may really have been inspired rather than cowed by the new competition.
As Terry put it: “Everyone wants to play well — and they know they can’t afford not to.”

Yet does the current squad need to be overloaded with any more competition? If Chelsea fans wanted to be even more spoiled, they might say they fancied a quality midfield shield in the Claude Makelele mould or a deadly striker like Christian Vieri. Who wouldn’t?

Yet Geremi did a decent holding job yesterday while up front, second half substitute Hasselbaink looked more purposeful than for ages — and we haven’t yet seen Adrian Mutu, hailed by one Italian colleague as the best thing in Serie A all last season.

Perhaps as he disappeared inside his silver Merc, Mr Abramovich was left pondering that, after the expected signing of his compatriot Alexei Smertin this week, it really will be time to dispense with the chequebook for a while. For Chelsea look ready and he looks hooked.