There you have it. I would have loved to win this match but now that we haven’t I’m not gonna throw a fit. Chelsea were certainly a bit rusty and lacked sharpness. It was pretty clear that Chelsea were about a week behind Manure in terms of fitness and match readiness. For all this, I was pretty pleased with how Chelsea played in attack. It was the defence that was a bit worrisome. In attack, we played very well for the first match of the season. I kept seeing van der Saar making diving saves while I didn’t get to see Hilario so much. We had more shots than Manure but they won the game. I wouldn’t take anything away from their performance but the scoreline was not a reflection of what happened on the pitch.

Last season, it was our left side that proved crucial in many matches. Today, both Ashley Cole and Malouda were off colour with the former being at fault for the first two manure goals. Not sure if Ashley Cole is tempted about a Madrid move. He was not his usual assured self in defence. You can never doubt his commitment but I wonder if was fully focussing on the game. He was a fraction late for every ball. He strayed out of position and didn’t mark his players well enough. Hopefully it’s just that he was as rusty and no ready as the team where not even Essien was an exception.

Sturridge was our man of the match. He created so much havoc in the short time that he played. He has loads of strength as well as skill. I’m just wondering what could be his ideal position on the pitch. He is a striker but he has a good dribble but he isn’t agile enough to be a winger. Even in the last season, he created a good impression with every single opportunity he was given. Benayoun made a decent debut – confident on the ball, making typical silky-smooth movements in key areas. I was a bit disappointed not to see Kakuta in the starting line-up only to realise he was not even on the bench. Remember, he is a trump card, a secret weapon that would be unleashed on our opponents this season.

We absolutely need Petr Cech back. The good news is he could be back for the first premier league match next weekend. We surely need to have options in strike force. Anelka on his own is not going to be too much of a threat for oppositions like manure. Drogba is not getting younger. We need a top striker to can lead the Chelsea attack in his absence. A striker with a strong presence and a constant threat.

So folks, don’t worry too much about this result. We played very well, we knew were we went wrong, we know the scoreline was harsh and more importantly we know what we need. We’ll start the premier league season in style.