Cole plays himself back into favour

Norwich City 1 Chelsea 3: Jose Mourinho had such misgivings about Joe Cole only a month ago that he did not even start the 23-year-old in Chelsea's first game after Arjen Robben got injured. As Cole sat on the bench against Manchester City and watched Mateja Kezman join Eidur Gudjohnsen and Damien Duff in attack, he may have wondered whether he would ever earn his manager's whole-hearted trust.

After impressing and scoring here as Chelsea eased closer to the title, Cole got the answer. He knows Mourinho does not dish out praise lightly, having been pilloried by the Portuguese for his lack of defensive work after getting the winner against Liverpool in October. Mourinho's latest comments acknowledged that Cole is responding to his demands.

The England international showed on Saturday that he can meld discipline, determination and some decisive attacking touches, and Mourinho must be delighted with Cole's performance and its timing. He could do with similar tomorrow against Barcelona: tightness will have to match incisiveness in such a match.

Cole, perhaps, thinks it is just his luck to run into form as Robben makes an unexpectedly swift return from a foot injury. Before long he could be an irregular again. But Robben is more likely to be a squad member than starter tomorrow, so Cole ought to get another big-match chance.

"I saw Joe doing fantastic things but sometimes disappearing a bit from the game," Mourinho said of Cole's contributions earlier in the season. "Today was maybe the most consistent performance. I think at the moment he's very confident, he's playing well, showing his talent and at the same time he's showing he is a team player, so I'm very happy."

There was one occasion when John Terry felt obliged to chide Cole for sloppiness, but Cole chased and tackled throughout, once dispossessing Darren Huckerby by a corner flag to launch a counter-attack.

His desire was demonstrated, too, when he rode two strong challenges before giving Chelsea the lead from 20 yards.

Mourinho noted that Cole no longer takes risks "in dangerous areas" and has benefited from an unusually lengthy run in the team. "He's learning from his experiences," he said. "I think he is understanding the game, the needs of the game and is improving a lot. He has been fantastic."

So has Frank Lampard, whose breadth of passing and involvement in so many of Chelsea's best moments edged him ahead of Cole as the game's best player. Norwich rarely got close enough to him or Claude Makelele to prevent them controlling proceedings.

Although Leon McKenzie headed Norwich level, becoming the first player to beat Petr Cech in 1,025 Premiership minutes, Mourinho and his players promptly responded. Chelsea raised the tempo and the manager brought on Gudjohnsen and Kezman, again changing a game with his substitutions.

Gudjohnsen played a vital role as Kezman restored Chelsea's lead, before Ricardo Carvalho was the beneficiary of more poor Norwich defending to head the third goal from a corner. If Norwich looked worryingly vulnerable, they have a centre-half of great promise in Jason Shackell.

Kezman has now scored two key goals in as many matches to help win the English League Cup and this match and is finding his touch at a vital time.

In the final stretch, Mourinho is using his know-how. "I try to show the players every day, every match - especially before every match - my experience and confidence," he said.