Zhirkov scores the winner against AC Milan on his debut

Chelsea met Carlo Ancelotti’s old team in front of 70,000 fans in Baltimore, with Yuri Zhirkov starting his first game for the Blues on the left side of the new diamond formation, and with Drogba and Anelka in attack.

Chelsea started the game in a lively fashion, and Drogba had the crowd on their feet after just seven minutes when he belted the ball in from outside the area.

Milan took some time to find their feet but with the class on show the team gradually came together to pose a threat to the Chelsea goal. Pirlo made Cech struggle to stop him scoring and Seedorf hit the bar with a chip before the Dutchman finally managed to get past Cech from 15 yards out.

The lively Ronaldinho also smashed the bar from a brilliant freekick, but soon afterwards the so-called “Russian Ronaldinho”, Yuri Zhirkov, made his mark on the game by scoring the winner from 20 yards out, after Lampard and Shevchenko had had their attempts blocked

Ancelotti was pleased with Zhirkov’s performance, but he said he still has a bit to learn about the new formation.

“It wasn’t a surprise,” said Ancelotti. “He is a very good player, but he found it difficult on the pitch in the position he was in. That’s normal. You have to work with the team. It was important for him to score a goal.”

So Chelsea’s 100% record continues, and we have a new potential star in the side. Once he improves his English and can understand what his team-mates are saying, perhaps everything else will fall into place!