On Sunday January 11th of this year Chelsea traveled to play Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Premier League. By early evening Chelsea had been taken apart in a manner not seen for many a season.

The final score may have been 3-0 to United but the score line flattered Chelsea so resounding was the home team’s performance.

It was to be a game that marked the beginning of the end for Chelsea boss Luis Felipe Scolari. Chelsea struggled to beat Stoke the week after – needing two late goals from Belletti and Lampard – before another less than impressive display in dispatching relegation bound Middlesbrough.

A 2-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield made a parting of the ways close to inevitable while a scoreless draw at home to struggling Hull City sealed the Brazilian’s fate.

Two days after Scolari was sacked Guus Hiddink rolled into Stamford Bridge and invigorated the side albeit on a temporary basis. True to his word and original intentions Hiddink hardly had time to get the manager’s chair warm before returning from whence he came and the mantle was again passed, this time to Carlos Ancelotti.

Both managers have received ample praise for their work on a Chelsea side that had looked tired, placid and on some occasions past it. Answers to the why the change have ranged from the return of Didier Drogba (from both injury and sulking) to the spurious magic of the diamond formation and many in between.

Strangely absent has been the name Michael Essien. Hiddink did many things right but perhaps his greatest accomplishment – or in many peoples’ minds risk – was quickly he integrated Essien back into the first team line up.

Essien had suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury while representing Ghana in early September 2008. But than a month into his temporary role as Chelsea manager and with the return leg of a Champions League game against Juventus looming Hiddink gambled and brought the Ghanaian on as a substitute in a FA Cup match at Coventry.

Essien played less than forty five minutes but he showed enough to be a shock inclusion in the starting line-up against Juventus.  

Hiddink’s faith was repaid with interest as Essien scored a critical away goal (Chelsea had won the first leg 1-0 at Stamford Bridge) that provided Chelsea with some breathing space. Te second leg would finish in a 2-2 draw with Chelsea progressing 3-2 on aggregate.

However that was far from the end of Champions League heroics for Essien as he also scored with a stunning left foot volley against Barcelona in a semi final. On that night Chelsea would come within seconds of moving on to their second consecutive final appearance.

By the time Ancelotti arrived any concerns of Essien’s fitness had dissipated and it was not long before the new boss asked the multi-talented Essien to fulfill a new role – at the base of the midfield diamond.

Prior to the switch Chelsea bosses had essentially accepted that first Makelele and then his heir apparent John Obi Mikel held squatting rights to the position.

Of course that left only three other positions in midfield up for grabs and a number of very talented players battling for places. Ballack, Malouda, Lampard, Joe Cole (when fit), Deco as well as Essien had to be accommodated and inevitably a considerable amount of talent was left on the bench.

Ancelotti’s saw no reason why Essien could not play the Makelele/Mikel position and do so with more aggression, drive and attacking fervor. It is a move that has paid off in spades.

In days past the ball at the feet of Mikel would inevitably lead to the play stalling with the youngster almost always opting for the safe pass rather than taking the opportunity to spring a team mate making tracks to the opponent’s goal.

With Essien it is the opposite - Essien only resorts to a square ball when a forward penetrating pass isn’t on; Mikel would only play the penetrating pass when a square ball wasn’t on.

A look at the overall statistics also lends support to the importance of Essien in the starting eleven. During Essien’s spell out with injury Chelsea had a winning percentage of 68% - not bad – but since he returned in March that percentage has risen to a little under 74%.

So what does 6% translate into? Over a Premier League season that would amount to between 6 and 7 points.

When you consider that Chelsea finished third last season, seven points behind United, three behind Liverpool and took only a single point from their efforts against the top two a case could be made that a fit Essien might well have been the difference. Will it be this season? We will find out a bit more on Sunday.

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Manchester United also has a key midfield player and that is Darren Fletcher. The link between Fletcher and United’s performances over the last season and a bit is intriguing.

During that spell United have lost eight matches and Fletcher has only played in one of them. Overall he has appeared in over forty games and the only loss was a 2-0 defeat at Craven Cottage to Fulham in March of this year.

Fletcher has also gained a reputation as a player who may not score a lot of goals but many of his efforts are kept for the big occasions. The genesis likely goes back almost four years to the day.

On November 6, 2005 Sir Alex Ferguson surprised everyone when he started the young Scotsman at Old Trafford against, what at the time was, a rampant Mourinho led Chelsea side.

Fletcher scored the only goal of the game and although Chelsea would retain their title it was a game that in retrospect marked a turning point in United’s challenge to the Londoners.

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Who is hot and who is not…a weekly look at the form teams over the last five league games.

Premier League
Arsenal – 13 points
Wolverhampton Wanderers – 1 point

Ligue Une
Auxerre – 15 points
Grenoble – 0 points

Bundesliga
Werder Bremen – 13 points
Hertha Berlin – 1 point

Serie A
Inter – 15 points
Siena –  2 points

La Liga
Barcelona and Valencia – 11 points
Malaga – 1 point

SPL
Hibernian – 11 points
Falkirk – 2 points

Portugal
Braga – 13 points
Olhanense - 1 point