Joe Cole’s on fire as he steers Chelsea back into top spot

It has taken just one week for Chelsea to return to the top of the Premier League and their demolition of Birmingham will have cheered two Italian coaches.

Naturally one of these is the man in charge at Stamford Bridge, Carlo Ancelotti, who has ignored the inconvenience of losing four players to the Africa Cup of Nations to guide his side to four emphatic League victories in a row.

The other is England coach Fabio Capello because, as the World Cup looms, Joe Cole is closing in on his best form. A year ago the midfielder had to rely on crutches to get around after suffering a knee ligament injury against Southend but last night it was the Birmingham defenders who looked to be the ones impaired.

The visitors couldn't have come into the game in a more confident mood due to their 15-game unbeaten run and the knowledge they are the only side to hold Chelsea goalless this season.

It seemed certain Ancelotti's side would have another struggle on their hands only for Cole to demonstrate the kind of skill and movement that made him arguably England's best player at the last World Cup.

Those sitting in the home end seemed to be prepared for another war of attrition against the stingy Birmingham backline only for Cole to break through the visiting defence at what seemed to be his first real attempt.

A sublime dribble on the right wing which left defenders in his wake was followed by a measured cross to Florent Malouda, who headed home for his seventh goal of the season and Chelsea were 1-0 up after just five minutes. It was the kind of creativity England will be desperate for in South Africa and he continued to spark Chelsea's attack in and around the penalty area as well as from out wide.

Until recently, the 28-year-old's place in Capello's squad has been far from certain because he hasn't played for England since he came back from his knee injury in September and his performances in a Chelsea shirt before Christmas were inconsistent.

Yet a regular run in the side has breathed new life into the player and his timing couldn't be better with an England friendly against Egypt just five weeks away.

It will be one of the last opportunities for a player to impress, with Capello having to name his 23-man squad for the World Cup in May.

Chelsea and England team-mate Frank Lampard believes Cole should be given a chance against Egypt to force his way into contention.

He said: "I hope Joe gets called up by England — he deserves it for the hard work he's put in. The England manager knows how good a player he is, like everyone at Chelsea does. If Joe keeps playing the way he is for Chelsea, he will have a great chance.

"He's getting sharper and sharper. Joe's that one player who injects that bit of brilliance where he can beat a man out of nowhere. He had a very bad injury and people expected him to come straight back in but it's not possible. He has worked ha rder than anyone and now we're seeing the benefits of it. He's only going to get better."

The same could be said for Chelsea, who have handed Arsenal and Manchester United a significant psychological blow by going back on top of the table before star striker Didier Drogba returns to the team.

His departure a month ago for the Africa Cup of Nations seemed to hand Chelsea's rivals a chance to exploit a weakness but they have responded by scoring 17 goals in four games.

Victories against Burnley and Hull in the next six days, where Drogba will be available, could see Ancelotti's men claim a six-point lead.

Lampard said: "If we open up that gap again it'll be great. Those little mental things are great during the season.

"It's a great to be back on top. We knew we had games in hand but we didn't like to see ourselves down in third place. Arsenal were on a good run but it's a marathon not a sprint.

"We didn't say we'd struggle this month, everyone else did. We have a lot of belief. I just think the loss of Didier was talked about too much.

"Didier is a big loss but the way Nicolas Anelka plays, he's one of the best out there as well.
We've got the players who can come in. Maybe some needed to step up and everyone has done.

"We have gone up another gear this month. We had a bad run in December, dropped some points and we've worked hard to get that back."

The ease in which Chelsea swept Birmingham aside provided more evidence that the blip they suffered in December is firmly in the past.

To make matters worse for their nearest challengers, Lampard has rediscovered his goal-scoring touch as he made it five goals from his last four games with a sublime strike in each half.

Lampard now has 13 for the season and is looking to finish the campaign with 20 goals to move alongside

Chelsea legends Peter Osgood and Roy Bentley in the record books. He needs seven more to match their feat of 150 goals for the club and he added: "If I can get up there with them this season that would be great."

Ancelotti hailed Lampard but was keen to credit the whole squad for their performances of late. He said: "We use all the pitch to attack and so Frank is able to run into the box to score. He's the best running midfielder in the world. He has this fantastic quality to time his run into the box.

"I want to thank my players who did a fantastic job without the African players. We could have had some problems without them but we did very well."