Carlo Ancelotti acclaimed Michael Essien as one of the best midfielders in the world after his two-goal super show against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge. The Ghanaian scored twice inside ten minutes after Florent Malouda had put the Blues ahead in the fifth minute.

England midfielder Joe Cole completed the rout with his first goal for over a year, as Chelsea set a new club record of 12 consecutive home wins. Victory also strengthened their position at the top of the Premier League, and Ancelotti was delighted with his side's performance in the light of being without Deco, Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba.

Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho nicknamed Essien 'The Train', but Ancelotti is not one for off-the-cuff monikers. Asked if he had his own personal pet name for Essien, the Italian replied: "No, his name is Michael.

I think Essien is one of the most important players in midfield in the world. He is very strong but he also has a lot of quality.
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti on Michael Essien

"I think Essien is one of the most important players in midfield in the world. He can play everywhere in midfield with the same result. He has shown a lot of consistency this season and maintained a good physical condition. He is very strong but he also has a lot of quality."

Ancelotti also claimed that the emergence of youngsters like Gael Kakuta, Fabio Borini and Nemanja Matic could prevent him from having to do any business in the January transfer market. "This match showed we are in a very good condition because we had a lot of injuries before this game," he said.

"But our play was just the same. We put some young players in this team and in January if we maintain this condition, it is not necessary to buy other players. They are very good young players and I will use them in the future this season."

Kakuta made his debut and looked completely at home in the top flight after replacing Nicolas Anelka in the second half. "Kakuta has a lot of talent and he showed that in 30 minutes," said Ancelotti. "He is young and he has to improve and work."

McCarthy upbeat in defeat
Wolves manager Mick McCarthy told his players they may as well get used to being in a relegation dogfight after their defeat. "We were happy to get nil at the end," said McCarthy. "I thought we had some good chances, including the best chance at the start of the game. But we made mistakes.

"Malouda's was a wonderful strike and we should have done better when they scored from the corner for the second. At 2-0 down it was a done deal then. But I saw enough about the players, the endeavour, work-rate and spirit, and this won't knock the spirit out of us. We were not expected to get anything here.

Chelsea are as good as anything I've seen, although Manchester United and Arsenal will argue about it.
Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Mick McCarthy

"I really hoped we would get something out of the game but reality was that we were expected to be in the bottom three still. We are in a relegation fight now, I've said that to the lads. We might as well understand that now. No bones about it.

"We won't be judged on today's game. I don't doubt our team spirit and fight they have in them. I reckon we had five good chances in the first half, but they had eight chances and were 3-0 up. Chelsea are as good as anything I've seen, although Manchester United and Arsenal will argue about it."