Chelsea take their chances at Rovers

FA Premiership/ Blackburn Rovers 0 Chelsea 2: It is engrossing to watch Chelsea at the moment but the mesmeric power has nothing to do with the glamour in Jose Mourinho's squad. Particularly at away grounds the fascination lies in the sight of champions trying to rediscover their old selves. The penalty with which they opened the scoring was the first shot they had hit inside the Blackburn area.

August may not even be over but the Chelsea initially acted like men dreading a defeat that would have left them six points behind the Premiership leaders Manchester United. For the past couple of years it has been Chelsea who have made other clubs mutter to themselves.

That state of affairs might apply again in due course but Mourinho's side were mostly ineffectual yesterday and it was Andre Ooijer, in an unhappy debut for Blackburn following the £2 million move from PSV Eindhoven, who made the impact. For an international the Dutchman was remarkably rash in wrapping his arms round John Terry as Frank Lampard floated a free-kick into the area after 50 minutes.

Mark Clattenburg awarded a penalty and Lampard converted it. Blackburn manager Mark Hughes, whose side are bottom of the table, felt the official had been tricked, complaining that Terry "decided to collapse his knees" and fall down. Nonetheless, Ooijer had committed an offence as soon as he grasped the England captain.

In times gone by Chelsea would have smirked in anticipation of their exemplary defending for the remainder of the game. There was no such coolness in Blackburn. The players must have been conscious that they had led at Middlesbrough last Wednesday, to be beaten in injury-time.

Victory was only ensured in the 81st minute when Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Essien linked to release the dynamic substitute Didier Drogba, who pounded clear and rammed home. Ooijer was overpowered in the process. "The tempo of the game is a lot higher than he's used to," said Hughes. "He'll be a good player for us once he gets a number of games under his belt."

Before Drogba's intervention, anxieties would have stirred for Chelsea had Petr Cech not been so commanding, even though he had not appeared since undergoing shoulder surgery after the World Cup. Without him, Blackburn would have levelled in the 55th minute. David Bentley's delivery from the right was perfect, as was Benni McCarthy's chest control and shot, but Cech still blocked to his left.

Chelsea, with the match goalless, had also been denied a penalty after Lucas Neill barged into the back of Salomon Kalou.

When reviewing supposed wrongs, Mourinho spoke with most zest about the bizarre demand by France that Claude Makelele continue his international career despite having announced his retirement from that arena in the wake of the World Cup final. His national coach, Raymond Domenech, has named the midfielder in the squad for the Euro 2008 qualifiers with Georgia and Italy early next month.

Uefa are almost certain to investigate. Makelele could be suspended from two Chelsea matches for each of those international fixtures. It is unthinkable that the Premiership club would resign themselves to his absence. All Mourinho has been able to do is perfect his stinging disdain for France in this affair - "I think Makelele is not a football player. Makelele is a slave. He doesn't want to go but he has to go. In the national team of France they do not have the word liberté."

Skewering that particular irony is about that the only satisfaction Mourinho could enjoy. He could not endure a ban for Makelele, a holding player who is indispensable at present in holding Chelsea's midfield together. Michael Ballack, on his Premiership debut, had some good touches, but, as Mourinho argued, the balance of the line-up is wrong while the wingers Joe Cole and Arjen Robben are injured.

Although the manager proclaims Makelele's human rights he is not tolerant of another French dissenter. Questioned about William Gallas's absence, Mourinho said curtly: "Ask him." Whether the defender is unwilling to play or in no mental state to do so, it is obvious his resolve to leave is undiminished. Chelsea's determination to keep him, though, looks equally firm.

• Guardian Service