CHELSEA CAN CLAIM TO BE BEST BLUES SIDE EVER

RUNAWAY league leaders Chelsea can stake a claim for being the best Blues side ever.

After just 13 games, Carlo Ancelotti's march to the Premier League title is looking ominous.

Some thought Chelsea's time at the top was under threat this year with an ageing squad and the recession affecting owner Roman Abramovich's ability to finance major purchases.

But our evidence suggests his current crop of stars are in far better shape than in any of the previous seasons since he took over in 2003.

Their win percentage this term is 85 per cent, matched only by Jose Mourinho's 2006 champions at the same stage.

This team has scored the most goals after 13 games, with 33. Phil Scolari's team at the beginning of last season were just one goal behind but tailed off at this point, earning just one win in the five league fixtures that followed.

This season, Chelsea have dwarfed any other side under Ambramovich in terms of shots on goal, with 230 compared to Claudio Ranieri's meagre tally of 155 in 2003-04.

Rather than becoming brittle, Chelsea's ageing stars are flourishing.

Ancelotti is no stranger to nurturing an older squad and his insistence that the key players in his team had not yet reached their peak would appear to be spot-on.

Frank Lampard, 31, has been singled out for not having as much impact as previous seasons but, with four league goals so far, he has only scored one less than he had after 12 games in the previous three seasons.

Lampard whips more than four times as many crosses into the box - 79 - than he did in his last season with Ranieri (19).

And in terms of creating chances, his tally of 39 after 12 games is the best he has achieved in seven seasons.

Didier Drogba, 31, has shown the most dramatic improvement.

His nine goals so far is his best effort at Chelsea, and his 32 shots on target and 27 off target blow away last season's efforts of six and eight.

Michael Ballack, 33, has also done more this season than ever before.

With three goals already, he's only one behind his best ever start at Chelsea - but it's his passing game that has shown the most dramatic improvement.

He has passed the ball nearly 100 times more than at the same time in any previous season.

• ANCELOTTI SURPRISED BY ANELKA
• ASHLEY COLE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

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