Didier Drogba believes Chelsea's win over Liverpool has proved they have learned from the mistakes of last season and are now on track to take the Premier League title back to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea's 2-0 victory yesterday saw Carlo Ancelotti's team move two points clear of Manchester United at the top of the table and put them six points ahead of Rafael Benitez's Reds, who now look like title outsiders.
Last season the Blues picked up just four points from a possible 18 against United, Liverpool and Arsenal, and were beaten at home by the latter two, but after passing their biggest test of the campaign so far, Drogba believes Chelsea will go from strength to strength.
"We have learned that a big part of our losing the title last year was our results against the big teams," said Drogba (pictured celebrating with Michael Ballack after Florent Malouda made it 2-0).
"We drew at home against Manchester United, and we lost here against Liverpool and Arsenal, so we wanted to change that trend this season. We want to be the team who wins these games against the big teams, and be at the top of the league.
"It's only the first game against a top-four team, but it was important to win it to show that we really want to be champions. We will be there. If the other teams want to win the title this season, they will have to fight us hard."
This triumph put Chelsea back on track after a tricky patch which saw them suffer a shock 3-1 defeat at Wigan last weekend and gain an unconvincing 1-0 away win against Apoel Nicosia in the Champions League. Had they lost yesterday, comparisons would have been drawn with the regime of Luiz Felipe Scolari, which tailed off spectacularly after Liverpool won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in October last year. But although the defeat at Wigan still rankles, Drogba is confident that it could prove a blessing in disguise, as it gave the Blues the wake-up call they needed after six straight victories in the League.
He said: "Wigan was a disappointment, because if you want to win the league, you can't afford to lose many games like this. The good thing is that we reacted. The main thing was a change in the attitude, which was much better against Liverpool."
