Blues deserve more credit, says Malouda
CHELSEA (4) vs BLACKPOOL (0)
FLORENT MALOUDA insists ruthless Chelsea deserve more credit for their 100 per cent start to the season.
The French winger scored twice as the Blues blitzed Blackpool with a blistering first-half show at Stamford Bridge yesterday.
It sent them four points clear at the top of the Premier League table with maximum points and 21 goals from their opening five games.
But they are yet to convince everyone of their title-winning credentials having been thrown a less-than-difficult start against sides in the lower reaches of the table.
All that changes on Saturday when Chelsea make the trip to Manchester City, but man-of-the-match Malouda is frustrated that his side’s achievements to date are being underestimated.
“We’re not focused on Manchester City,” he said. “We have to play all the teams. People are thinking about Manchester City because they are not giving us credit for what we’ve done until now. But we have to stay focused. We know, as we did last year, we can achieve great performances against big teams, it’s not a problem for us.”
Having hit seven or more goals on four occasions last season and six twice already this campaign, many feared for Blackpool here – and the Blues wasted no time in asserting their superiority.
Just 71 seconds had passed when Salomon Kalou opened the floodgates when tapping home unmarked from a corner. Malouda made 2-0 from Didier Drogba’s centre on 10 minutes before Drogba himself found the net on the half-hour with a deflected strike.
Malouda then bagged his second and Chelsea’s fourth, but that was it, as the Seasiders produced a spirited display after the break.