London: Chelsea could not quite match its previous goalscoring feats but still cantered to a 2-0 victory against Stoke in the Premier League on Saturday.
Carlo Ancelotti's defending champions made sure they will be top of the Premier League heading into the international break after maintaining their 100 percent record for the season.
Chelsea has scored 31 goals in its last six league games stretching back into last season, and conceded none.
"I was happy because we won but we didn't have a good, high tempo. It was not our best performance," Ancelotti said. "The tempo was not continuous but we didn't concede. We kept another clean sheet and stayed top of the table.
"We worked very hard this week. The players had a very strong week and so they were not so sharp."
Having handed West Brom and Wigan 6-0 thrashings in its first two games of the season, Chelsea looked on course for another handsome win when Ryan Shawcross fouled Didier Drogba to concede a penalty.
However, Stoke 'keeper Thomas Sorensen easily saved Frank Lampard's weak spot-kick and the hosts had to wait until the 32nd to take the lead, Florent Malouda latching onto John Terry's pass and slotting in his fourth goal of the season.
Ashley Cole hit the bar with a volley before half time and Sorensen was forced into a smart save from Drogba's header just after the break as Chelsea pressed for a second.
But Stoke, unlike Wigan and West Brom, refused to cave in and might even have scored an unlikely equalizer when Glenn Whelan hammered a 25-yard (meter) shot onto the bar.
The visitors' resistance was finally broken in the 77th minute when Drogba scored from the spot after Sorensen had brought down Nicolas Anelka.
"We had our moments but overall Chelsea were the better team," Stoke manager Tony Pulis said. "They have some great players and had numerous opportunities but I give credit to our lads for the work they put in."
Lampard, Chelsea's regular penalty taker, had been substituted by the time Chelsea won its second spot kick, and the Press Association reported after the game that the England midfielder requires hernia surgery which will keep him out for two weeks.
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