Plenty of smiles on and off the pitch for what was billed a danger fixture. Here are some thoughts why.

It's been hard for After The Whistle to decide what was the more enjoyable about

yesterday's sparkling win over Aston Villa.

Was it the pure visual pleasure of the football played, especially in the first half, proving that even without Deco, the team is capable to passing and movement that any side in the world would find difficult to live with.

Or was it the thought of the many pundits who had predicted this could be the end of the four-years-and-counting home league run, tearing up their betting slips well before the final whistle.

You could barely look at a newspaper or turn on a football broadcast on the morning of the game and not be warned this could be the day.

Villa, according to the number of defeat forecasts, were a greater threat to Fortress Stamford Bridge than Manchester United two weeks earlier (the Chelsea side that started on Sunday was just one player different from the one that had begun the draw against the reigning champions - Ivanovic rather than Carvalho).

It is hard to imagine such predictions failing to fire up the home dressing room before the match and from the first whistle, they played like a team with something to prove.

During the game, did we see a good example of how full-backs attacking can even help the defence?

Martin O'Neill's decision to change at one stage from 4-4-2 to match Chelsea's 4-1-4-1, Gabriel Agbonlahor moving to the right of midfield with Ashley Young remaining on the left, pitted his quickest attackers against Chelsea's quickest defenders.

It might have been inspired by the success Spurs had in thwarting the Blues by mirroring the formation back in August (how long ago must that seem up in London N17), or was it an attempt to persuade Ashley Cole and José Bosingwa to think about staying back a bit - our full-backs spending as many opening minutes in the opposing half as any Villa forward.

Indicating he had been giving our full-backs some thought, O'Neill said after the game: 'Ashley Cole's back to playing at his very best again and he has licence to go forward because he is confident in the knowledge that when the ball is played square into midfield, they are going to control it and put it in.

'Bosingwa has given them a new dimension which has helped, but the great stalwarts of the side for a number of years are still brilliant.'

Villa would later reverted to two-up front and all credit to Branislav Ivanovic for a cool home debut - looking every inch a central defender who has 14 caps for a Serbia side currently sitting second in their World Cup qualification group.

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Here's another thought about the full-back play. It has much to do with Florent Malouda currently catching the eye in the way he did when he first arrived last season.

That's certainly the view of Philippe Auclair, the English-based correspondent of famous magazine France Football to whom After the Whistle spoke following Sunday's game.

Auclair believes Felipe Scolari may have succeeded in his declared aim of rediscovering the Malouda of Lyon.

'Lyon always played a 4-3-3 and at the time, Florent was playing the best football of his career,' Auclair said. 'He was linking on the left-hand side with Eric Abidal, who has since gone to Barcelona.

'Florent really had licence to go forward because he knew there would be protection behind him, and on the other hand, he could do some work tracking back. It was a really good partnership.

'At the beginning of last season he had some good performances and then he went off the boil a little and there were problems.

'Ashley Cole didn't have the same freedom he has been given under Scolari. Now they are working exceptionally well together and seem to have the understanding of when to go forward, when to track back.

'And because Cole is almost playing like a winger at times, naturally Florent would tend to go back inside and there were a couple of occasions on Sunday when he found himself in the pure number 9 position with Anelka having dropped into the hole.

'It is great to see because the team is all about movement and combinations and circulating the ball as quick as possible and for Malouda, that is perfect because that is the kind of player he is.'

Auclair explains further:

'He is a tidy player. He is a not a miracle worker, he doesn't make you jump from your seat but he has a simple way of going past defenders which is one thing he lost a little last year. It's what I call the Pires dribble because you don't think he has gone past but he has and it is very effective.

'You just have to see the smile he had on his face when he was substituted to understand he is enjoying himself at Chelsea at the moment. He is back to his level at Lyon but with even better team-mates.'

Malouda himself shared a few thoughts on the Villa game and his performance.

'We start the first half very well with quick passes and the strikers worked well for us.

'I have the experience of last year, and because of that, I am getting good in the beginning of this season, and with Frank and Ash we can find the spaces to move and that is what we enjoy.

'Last season, sometimes Ash was injured and I was injured during some games, so with the experience and the games we have played together, I hope the best is still to come.'

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Injury apart, it was a good day for our Les Bleus with Nicolas Anelka netting his fifth goal on his ninth appearance - or as Felipe Scolari is quick to point out, 11 in 14 if you include the pre-season games that marked the start of their time working together.

Ahead of the game, Scolari gave a little glimpse into the man-management underway and the personality involved, marking Anelka out as a man who on the outside, treats triumph and disaster just the same.

Some of the words have been widely reported, some haven't.

'Anelka is one of the best players in the world but he is a man that is very quiet, in the warm-up, in the dressing room, in the life.' the manager explained.

'He is not a man that something shocks him. It's not [the case that] he makes a goal and he's happy. It's he make a goal and it's normal. It's play very well, okay; it's not play very well, okay. He is cool.'

Describing the striker as one who is quick, strong, dribbles well, shoots right-foot, left-foot and with good control, Scolari believes regular words are needed to bring out the best.

'He is a player I have to say things to before a game, or at half time in a game - some philosophy or some ideas, but not just for Anelka, for other players as well.

'It is not a problem, but he is a player that maybe if I say some different words, he improves.

'He is more confident than before and it is a challenge for us. If we win together it is very good. He has done well for us but I believe that Anelka can move up one step more.'

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Any Scolari songs catching on yet?

Though the Shed 100 was in action at the Villa game and there had been three congregations of the away support since the previous home match, new ones have yet to reach After The Whistle's ears.

We are thankful to Theresa Magee, aka Blue Baby of the Bog End of the So Bar who mailed in a few weeks ago to tell us she'd made the following words scan to the tune of the Addams Family song, but is it being sung?

Luis Felipe Scolari

Luis Felipe Scolari

Luis Felipe Scolari

He manages Chelsea!

(diddly dees optional)

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A quick closing glance over to Europe, and the weekend was not a good one for our next Champions League opponents Roma who travel to London in a fortnight.

A 1-0 Serie A defeat away to Siena leaves the team from the Eternal City in 14^th place out of 20 clubs, their chances of overcoming a goal on the stroke of half-time hardly helped by second-half red cards for defenders Philippe Mexès and Christian Panucci, he of the unremarkable loan spell here eight years' ago.

Last week's win in Bordeaux was the only time Roma have avoided defeat away from their home ground where their one game before they meet Chelsea is against Inter, whose Chelsea connection does not need repeating here.

Cluj drew again, this time away from home. They are fifth in the Romanian league after a 1-1 score against Oţelul, midfielder Gabriel Muresan the scorer.

Bordeaux's struggles in Europe were put behind them for a 2-1 away win against Lorient. They too are now in fifth place, just below former Didier Drogba teams Marseille and Le Mans. Midfielder Fernando bagged a pair.

afterthewhistle@chelseafc.com