03/10/2004  Chelsea 1 Liverpool 0

With an acute sense of timing, Joe Cole earned three points and made another, scoring the winner against Liverpool that pressed his claims for a starting role for England against Wales.
 
Cole has never previously started a competitive game for his country, with his career having so far largely been one of unfulfilled promise and a lack of end product to match his exquisite skills.

However, if ever he could have chosen a better moment to shine at Stamford Bridge, it would have been hard to imagine one.

Coming on as a first-half substitute for the injured Didier Drogba, Cole was one of the few sparks on display on a damp squib of an afternoon.

His sweetly-taken strike on 62 minutes gave Chelsea only their eighth goal in eight league games as excitement continued to be in scant domestic supply at Stamford Bridge.

Moreover, Sven-Goran Eriksson surely cannot have failed to be influenced by the midfielder's impact, especially with Kieron Dyer and Wayne Bridge ruled out of the Wales clash through injury.

With a gaping hole on the left side of his midfield, Eriksson needed Cole, who was left out of the starting line-up for the third consecutive game, to prove his sharpness. He did not disappoint.

Chelsea, meanwhile, took one further step, albeit another unconvincing one, forward in their bid to keep pace with free-scoring Arsenal.

It is just as well their defence seems to have a bus parked full-time in front of their own goal though, for their creative spark seems to be reserved for the Champions League.

Liverpool keeper Chris Kirkland, who was handed his first start of the season as boss Rafael Benitez made five changes, had some work to do but he will have busier afternoons away from home.

Kirkland, who has been plagued by injury problems, was hurt again just two minutes into the game as Jamie Carragher slid in to block Damien Duff's cross.

And while the Liverpool keeper was able to play on, albeit limping for several minutes afterwards, it was by no means the last time that Carragher was called upon to come to his side's  For Liverpool seemed addicted to tamely squandering possession early on, even if Chelsea failed to exact full punishment for the visitors' sloppy start.

Drogba and Frank Lampard both scuffed shots wide and it was actually Djibril Cisse who gave Chelsea cause for concern with a header planted wide and a curling effort deflected just past the far post.

Chelsea continued to push forward without ever quite looking the finished article, with Lampard seeing a snap-shot skim wide of the far post.

Indeed, Mourinho's plans were disrupted when Drogba was forced off through injury with 38 minutes gone and, with Mateja Kezman not on the bench, Cole was brought onto the right flank.

He made an immediate impact, setting Paulo Ferreira down the right flank to cut inside and produce a pinpoint cross only for Lampard to send his diving header well wide.

That, however, was just about it for anything approaching entertainment in a dull first-half and thankfully Cole continued to make his presence felt after the restart.

Having hit the side-netting as he latched onto Ferreira's pass, he struck a half-volley from the edge of the area that Kirkland managed to take the pace off before Harry Kewell headed off the line.

However, Cole was not to be denied and finally managed to bring the match to life on 62 minutes.

In what appeared an expertly-planned routine, Lampard played a delightful low free-kick for the midfielder to burst ahead of his marker and clip the ball first-time past Kirkland.

Cole toyed with the idea of removing his shirt in celebration but thankfully thought better of it and soon came close to a second goal only to be flagged offside as Kirkland clawed his lob past the post.

Liverpool badly needed some inspiration and Benitez reacted by bringing on Milan Baros to partner Cisse, with Josemi being removed as John Arne Riise moved to full-back and Kewell switched to the wing.

However, even with Dietmar Hamann and Steve Finnan also introduced, they continued to labour as Chelsea's tight-knit defence held firm yet again.

Keeper Petr Cech had to make an important late save from Finnan, while Gudjohnsen and Cole also came close in the final stages.

But once again, it was "one-nil to the Chelsea" - a refrain that may yet be heard several times more this season.