Chelsea are very much in the Premier League title mix – that is the view of Blues coach Andre Villas-Boas after he watched his side shake off their Stamford Bridge curse to beat Manchester City 2-1.

 

Villas-Boas’ men have struggled at home against their rivals, with Arsenal leaving Stamford Bridge with a 5-3 win, while Liverpool also left London with three points.

 

But after watching his team brush aside Manchester City, Villas-Boas believes the Blues are back on track.

 

City dominated the opening exchanges, but could only score once through Mario Balotelli. Importantly this allowed Chelsea to regroup and an equaliser came through Portuguese midfielder Raul Meireles before half time.

 

And when Gael Clichy saw red for City in the second half, Chelsea began to take control, ultimately grabbing the winner from the penalty spot as Frank Lampard slotted the ball home.

 

For Villas-Boas, it was a sign Chelsea are now back.

 

"It was a good win and it changes our challenge for the Premier League", said the Portuguese.

 

"Seven points, in this Premier League with so many teams competing for the title, is nothing. A lot of games have to be played yet.

 

"For our title challenge to still be alive we have to be competent through the December fixtures.

 

"I think we need to build on what we are doing. After our bad run we found confidence which grew game after game and we put on a very good show against the record-breaking league leaders."

 

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