Chelsea 4 Real Betis 0: A refreshingly different attitude could not spare Real Betis from going exactly the same way as all other visitors. Chelsea, after coming through a turbulent period, eventually assumed complete command. The victors now top Group G in the Champions League and felt relaxed enough to give the youngster Lassana Diarra his debut as a substitute. Nonetheless, Chelsea's approach to a game of potential difficulties had been eccentric.
Carlo Cudicini between the posts? Surely the impeccable Jose Mourinho had not got this match confused with a League Cup tie. Heads reeled in the effort to come up with a proper explanation. It could not possibly be that Petr Cech had been sentenced to a night in the confinement of the dugout, with the other substitutes, just because he had failed to record a clean sheet in Saturday's 5-1 win over Bolton Wanderers.
It seemed he was merely being rested, even if no one could tell why he should need respite so early in the season. Cudicini would have been as puzzled as he was gratified to feature in the Champions League match. The Italian could be sure only of the absolute faith Mourinho has in him because this was no night to dawdle in his goalmouth.
His manager had warned that the visitors aimed, in exactly this manner, to dictate the tone of the match, with their natural attacking impulses strengthened all the more because they have to make up for a poor start to the group when Liverpool won in Seville. The opening goal from Drogba, in the 24th minute, actually ended a prolonged period of pressure by Betis.
No team in the Premiership comes to Stamford Bridge with such bold intentions and Cudicini must have blinked at the odd scene. In the fourth minute a Joaquin free-kick flew wide after a deflection off Frank Lampard and, from the corner, Claude Makelele needed to kick away Juanito's header at the far post.
Betis flowed in open play as well but Chelsea, admittedly with more concern than usual, protected themselves. They had even kept calm enough to spot some opportunities of their own when they made an early survey of the visitors.
Shaun Wright-Phillips kept his place in the line-up as Mourinho avoided restoring Arjen Robben prematurely after his hamstring injury and he had taken a pass from Cole in the second minute to move away from Oscar Lopez and rip a drive wide from the wing. Cole himself, again from the right, would strike a low shot that, with a hint of the frailty to come, cannoned back off the goalkeeper, Antonio Doblas.
Having absorbed the Betis pressure uneasily, Chelsea scored economically after the Spanish side had lost possession in midfield after 24 minutes. Essien was instantly incisive, releasing Didier Drogba to slip home his finish after a bad pass was intercepted in midfield.
The Ivorian has turned into a major factor in Chelsea's ascendancy, risking and suffering the kind of challenge that brought a booking for David Rivas after 41 minutes. That injury ensured Drogba's substitution at the interval.
Three minutes before half-time, Betis's plight had become virtually irrecoverable. Frank Lampard meant to test the goalkeeper with his inswinging free-kick from the left but must have been astounded by the way Doblas flunked the exam, dropping the ball so that Carvalho, virtually standing on the line, could be certain of only the second goal of his Chelsea career.
After 59 minutes, Chelsea's football was rewarded with a third. Makelele snapped in to seize the ball and passed through the middle for Drogba's replacement Hernan Crespo. He laid it off to Essien, who in turn set up Cole to plant a measured finish into the net.
Five minutes later, Lampard lofted the ball to the right and Wright-Phillips, crossing perfectly on the run, invited Crespo to finish with a strong header.
CHELSEA: Cudicini; Ricardo Carvalho, Terry, Gallas, Del Horno, Makelele (Diarra 76), Wright-Phillips (Gudjohnsen 66), Lampard, Essien, Joe Cole, Drogba (Crespo 45). Subs not used: Cech, Geremi, Paulo Ferreira, Huth. Booked: Wright-Phillips, Gallas. Goals: Drogba 24, Ricardo Carvalho 44, Joe Cole 59, Crespo 64.
REAL BETIS: Doblas; Melli, Juanito, Rivas, Oscar Lopez (Xisco 45), Varela, Miguel Angel (Assuncao 56), Rivera, Edu, Oliveira, Joaquin. Subs not used: Contreras, Dani, Arzu, Capi, Nano. Booked: Rivas, Varela, Joaquin, Xisco, Rivera.
Referee: Terje Hauge (Norway).
