This was the headline that was screaming out from the back page of a newspaper in London. From having the meanest defence to conceding more than 10 goals in 4 matches including the three goals that Everton scored at Stamford bridge, thrice more than Chelsea have conceded at home all season! And majority of these goals have from set-pieces including the one on Wednesday.

So what has happened that has led to such abysmal defending. Chelsea have one of the tallest and strongest defence in the League and they shouldn't really be troubled by the ball in box. But that is exactly what is happening. One of the reasons that 'experts' have pointed out is that Chelsea are defending too close too their own goal which doesn't allow Cech to gather the ball properly(which he doesn't seem to want to anyway) and any sort of deflection created total pandemonium in the box. This i think is somewhat correct as holding a higher line forces the opponents to stay onside and gives a greater chance of clearing the ball.

Against Everton, Chelsea did not play that poorly. Except the second goal that Everton scored( what the hell was Carvalho doing sleeping on the floor?), the other two goals were quite lucky. Ancelotti appreciated the performance though not the result. But at the start of the day you would have expected Chelsea to get all three points at home. But then again, you would have banked on United to beat Villa in a fixture in which Villa had not won in 28 games, i think. So Chelsea still preserved their lead,however miniscule that is, which is very important . The silver lining in this dark cloud is undoubtedly the form of Drogba. He has been playing out of his skin this year and is well on his way to becoming the League's top scorer. I have no idea how bad his recent injury is but I hope that he can play the last of the games before he leaves for the African cup of nations.

On Wednesday, Chelsea beat Portsmouth 2-1 thanks to Anelka and Lampard but conceded another goal from a set piece. Lampard's return to his goal scoring spree is crucial especially when the chips are down. He has bailed Chelsea out on numerous such occasions and Wednesday was no different. And considering the fact that he missed his last penalty against City, the pressure on him must have been huge but he delivered when it mattered with a thumping spot kick. This leaves Chelsea at the top but not out of reach. The next few weeks will be very crucial and Chelsea have to start keeping clean sheets as this gives a team confidence and then can go on a run of 'no goals conceded' games. And as the Christmas season is considered to United's time, Chelsea will do well to not slip up.

For Chelsea, Essien's injury is going to costly as he has the ability to break down the attack as well score from long range. In his absence, Deco, Ballack and Joe Cole have to contribute some goals atleast as this will take the pressure off Drogba and Anelka.

Champion's League overview:With the draw on Friday, we could see some mouthwatering matchups. Personally i hope we avoid AC Milan and Bayern Munich as they got be potential spoilers. That's not to say that other teams are weak, it's just that these two teams are unpredictable. The best draw for Chelsea would be facing Olympiakos. So let's see how that goes.