Essien Keeps Blues On Top  (Sky Sports)

Chelsea 1 Fulham 0

Chelsea cemented their spot at the top of the Premier League table as Michael Essien's header edged out Fulham 1-0 on Wednesday evening.

The Blues are unbeaten and yet to concede a goal at Stamford Bridge in the league this season after keeping another clean sheet at home to deny the Cottagers a share of the spoils.

Michael Essien snatched the only goal of the clash for Carlo Ancelotti's side as he made the most of a fantastic cross from Salomon Kalou to nod in past Mark Schwarzer from in front of the goal in the 30th minute.

But the midfielder's solid display was tainted as he was handed a straight red card in the dying seconds of stoppage-time for a nasty two-footed challenge on Clint Dempsey.

The victory sees the reigning champions maintain their lead in the standings despite a spirited display from the Cottagers at the Bridge, with Mark Hughes' side coming close on several occasions.

Chelsea were quickly on top in the opening exchanges as Fulham struggled to get the ball off their hosts. The Blues earned a succession of corners but failed to take advantage of their early superiority.

In the 17th minute, Dempsey tried his luck from the edge of the penalty area but the ball was partially blocked by Chelsea captain John Terry, which allowed Cech to make an easy save.

Response

Chelsea responded immediately but Kalou sent a cross straight into the arms of Mark Schwarzer as the Cottagers continued to frustrate the home side.

Fulham defender Matthew Briggs sent a low, 25-yard drive straight at Cech in the 22nd minute and then, moments later, Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel stung Schwarzer's hands with a rising drive from a similar distance.

Didier Drogba tested Schwarzer in the 28th minute with an angled 30-yard free-kick before Chelsea broke the deadlock on the half-hour when Kalou's cross was headed down and into the net by Essien.

The goal was scored while Drogba lay injured inside the penalty area and he required treatment before the game could restart.

Chelsea continued to threaten but the final ball was often poor, much to the consternation of coach Carlo Ancelotti on the touchline.

Five minutes before half-time Malouda brought a fine save from Schwarzer and then seconds later Kalou was just a foot wide of the target when he burst into the area.

Fulham left-back Briggs kept the visitors in the game when he cleared the ball off the toes of Kalou at the far post seconds before the interval.

Chelsea should have added a second in the 55th minute when Kalou waltzed through the Fulham defence only to see his shot half-saved by Schwarzer.

That did enough to take the pace off the ball and, as it rolled towards the net, Aaron Hughes ran back to clear off the line.

Fulham replaced Dickson Etuhu in the 62nd minute with striker Andrew Johnson as they looked for a way back into the game. Etuhu's last action had been to put his knee into the back of Essien, who required lengthy treatment before continuing.

Essien recovered sufficiently to fire a 25-yard shot high into the crowd in the 66th minute.

Mercy

Seconds later, Malouda nicked the ball off the toes of Schwarzer but Drogba's shot was cleared by Briggs with the goal at his mercy.

Chelsea continued to pile forward and Essien put Drogba clear but the Ivory Coast striker hesitated enough for Fulham to clear the danger.

Chelsea then had three successive chances to score. First Malouda's shot was saved by Schwarzer and then Mikel's shot on the rebound was again punched clear by the Fulham goalkeeper.

Finally, Branislav Ivanovic crossed for Hughes to clear as Drogba looked to score from six yards.

Fulham substitute Zoltan Gera was unlucky not to level the scores in the 82nd minute when his 20-yard volley had to be punched clear by Cech.

And Chelsea's evening was marred by a straight red for Essien for a two-footed lunge on Dempsey in the final minute of injury-time.

Chelsea	Team Statistics	Fulham
1	Goals	0
1	1st Half Goals	0
9	Shots on Target	3
9	Shots off Target	2
3	Blocked Shots	3
4	Corners	4
14	Fouls	15
2	Offsides	2
2	Yellow Cards	0
1	Red Cards	0
83.8	Passing Success	77.6
19	Tackles	23
94.7	Tackles Success	69.6
58.3	Possession	41.7
58.9	Territorial Advantage	41.1

Click Here for Official Teamsheet

Teams 

Chelsea  Cech, Bosingwa (Ferreira 88), Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Mikel, Essien, Zhirkov, Malouda (Ramires 77), Drogba, Kalou (Sturridge 85)
Subs Not Used  Turnbull, Bruma, Kakuta, McEachran
Booked  Essien, Cole
Sent Off  Essien
Goals  Essien 30

Fulham  Schwarzer, Hangeland, Hughes, Briggs (Gera 79), Kelly, Etuhu (A. Johnson 61), Murphy, Duff, Davies, Dembele, Dempsey
Subs Not Used  Dikgacoi, Greening, Stockdale, Pantsil, E. Johnson
Booked 
Goals 

Attendance  41,593

Referee  M. Atkinson