Chelsea-Manchester City Video

Sven hit for six by new-look Chelsea

The slumped shoulders and hangdog scowl of one first-half camera shot might not have suggested it, but Roman Abramovich received his first shot of the free-flowing entertainment he is demanding from his 'new way' Chelsea.

This was an exhilarating encounter: Chelsea powerful, coherent and swift in their attacking; Manchester City precise on the counter and real contenders for 45 minutes. If both defences were ragged and rarely capable of shutting opponents down, it only added to the enjoyment of a game that matched Avram Grant against form opposition for the first time since usurping Jose Mourinho last month.

That the Israeli triumphed so impressively could be attributed to the efforts of two of his predecessor's staunchest allies. Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba were immense again, the midfielder central to the first three of Chelsea's goals, the forward driving home numbers two and three. While some wondered whether the betrayal of Mourinho would have come so early in the season had this pair been fit from the start of it, this was undoubtedly a day for Abramovich and Grant to savour.

'I smiled,' said Grant. 'I enjoyed it for the winning and the way of the winning. I enjoyed that we are in the middle of a process and we continue to do it step-by-step. Maybe today it was two steps.

'We have concentrated on attacking football, on how to move right, on how to behave right, how to get the best from the players and how to make them better. That's what we want from them, but I think it's more important that they ask it from themselves.'

Sven-Goran Eriksson enjoyed not a minute of it. 'I'm very disappointed,' said the City manager. 'It's the first time in my life that I lose 6-0 and I'm sure it's the first time for most of my players. I was very kind to Avram today. I didn't want to be that kind. I'm sure he will do well, but we made him and Chelsea better than they should be today; we were awful defending. It is a wake-up call for all of us.'

Henk ten Cate had spent much of his first week of hands-on training delivering a wake-up call of his own to the Chelsea squad. The £40,000-a-week 'assistant first-team coach' began riling them on Monday when he halted his first full session to chastise some for laughing. Matters worsened on Thursday when the Dutchman put the team through a full programme of sprinting, box-to-box running and a 10-versus-10 half-pitch game the morning after their Champions League victory over Schalke. This is a radical departure from Mourinho's calibrated regime, in which players engaged only in light sessions post-match.

How much smoother the regime change at City, where Eriksson has turned over half his playing staff, established an economical counterattacking style and guided the club to long-forgotten heights. His men started the stronger here, filtering the ball to Elano at every opportunity. Like much of the Premier League before him, John Obi Mikel struggled with the quick-witted Brazilian, hacking him down twice in early breaks. One of the playmaker's deft chips put Stephen Ireland free on goal where a too-delicate header was parried away; a thunderous 35-yard free-kick was wonderfully clawed out of the top corner by Petr Cech.

Between those opportunities, though, possession and pressure was mostly Chelsea's, their power regularly taking them to the edge of Hart's penalty area. After 16 minutes, Mikel combined with Lampard to release Michael Essien, who strode onwards, collected himself and dragged the ball low across Hart and in. A similar sally into the space between Micah Richards and Javier Garrido all but allowed Drogba to add a second. It was only a postponement.

Richards ill-advisedly wound up Lampard in a tangle for possession and, after both had been booked, Chelsea's captain extracted beautiful revenge. Collecting possession from Salomon Kalou 40 yards out and with his back to goal, the midfielder turned and spun a pass of forensic precision behind the City defence. Unlike his opponents, Drogba saw it coming and cantered on to strike through Hart's legs.

The game was now stretched and Kalou almost extended Chelsea's advantage. At the other end, Ireland was a foot away from reducing it when teed up by Garrido and Michael Johnson's quick interplay.

It was only an interlude. As Thaksin Shinawatra, the City owner, took his turn at looking glum, Drogba and Kalou worked Lampard into a shooting position and though Hart parried that effort away, the ball fell to Drogba to carry back across the area and wallop past the City goalkeeper in the 56th minute.

Unused to such deficits, the visitors continued to push forward, leaving larger and larger gaps for their opponents to exploit. After an hour, Drogba nodded Joe Cole into a particularly broad one and the right-winger ramped up the volume again. Kalou took the total to five from one fine Essien pass, Andriy Shevchenko made it six with another.

'Boring, boring Chelsea,' sang a contented home support still not ready to put Grant's name into voice. A few more of these and they just might.

Man of the match: Frank Lampard (Chelsea)