Chelsea keep goal in sight

SOCCER/Chelsea - 1 Liverpool - 0: Overcast afternoons can foster thoughts of conspiracy and this one might have had you brooding over the co-ordinated arrival on these shores of Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez, not to mention Tottenham Hotspur's Jacques Santini. Have they come to carry out a continental plot to drive down the value of the Premiership's worldwide TV rights?

Groggy with boredom, living-room viewers must have been letting the remotes slip from numb fingers yesterday. If there is any scheme at work, though, it is one of which Mourinho can boast.

Chelsea, with a single goal conceded, have made the best start defensively to a season since the introduction of the Premiership. He might be the prototype for the manager of the future but Mourinho also hints at a revival of old English ways. There are overtones, particularly since half of their eight league games have brought 1-0 wins, of George Graham's Arsenal. The same organisation and unflinching concentration apply.

Arsenal are playing at the furious pace set by their forwards but that will only add to Mourinho's satisfaction that his side, even so, are shadowing the Premiership champions. Chelsea are two points behind the leaders and it is conceivable they will track Arsenal down over the stretch from autumn to early summer.

Mourinho must find it easy to uphold the measured tread of his team when Manchester United, having faltered once more yesterday in the home draw with Middlesbrough, are seven points adrift of his side.

Chelsea are already establishing that, in adversity, they also have the resourcefulness required to win the title. With Adrian Mutu and Mateja Kezman injured, Didier Drogba went off with a groin strain here, exposing thinness in the attacking options.

Even so Chelsea indicated yesterday they can find a way to win. They saw off a subdued Liverpool at a free-kick and six of their last eight goals have come from set-pieces. Such impact at rehearsed manoeuvres illustrated the degree to which well-drilled players have learned to trust in their preparations.

After 64 minutes Frank Lampard clipped the ball in from the right and Joe Cole, Drogba's replacement, got in front of John Arne Riise and place the ball inside the near post, side-footing past Chris Kirkland.

Kirkland, in his first start of the season, was a little rusty and, when he got a hand to a drive by the Chelsea midfielder in the 57th minute, he only lifted the ball towards the top corner, requiring Harry Kewell to head off the line.

On other occasions Cole let fly unprofitably from an angle when a good pass might have devastated Liverpool but he did offer an intermittent brightness.

Someone, at present, seems always to crop up to resolve any trouble Chelsea are experiencing. For that reason, someone like Lampard does not have to brood over a slight loss of form. He headed yards wide when the impressive Paulo Ferreira crossed perfectly. It will be surely to Liverpool's concern, though, that they had no such disappointments.

Djibril Cisse, promising initially and eventually discouraged, saw an effort deflected narrowly past a post and Petr Cech, the Chelsea goalkeeper, comfortably beat away a drive from the right by Steve Finnan at the very end. There is no impetus to Liverpool in away matches.

Xabi Alonso, having hit yet another free-kick too long, pulled his shirt over his head in shame just before the final whistle. The Spanish midfielder did not really require such measures to hide. He and several other Liverpool players went unnoticed even as they were supposed to be going about their normal business.

Jamie Carragher was not to be overlooked and even if you had shut your eyes, you might still have heard him. Early in the match, a scream instructed Josemi not to try to mark Drogba by standing in front of him.

Josemi, with too little cover, floundered against Damien Duff. Lampard was unable to connect with one cross from the Irishman and another that left Kirkland stranded headed away from Cole by Carragher. Chelsea do not rue such incidents at present. They may not score many, but they are scoring enough.