Chelsea matchwinner Ashley Cole has stressed the psychological importance of establishing an early lead in the Premier League title race.
The 31-year-old, who had not previously scored since May 2010, poked home in the 85th minute at Stamford Bridge today to give the Blues a 1-0 win over Stoke City.
"It was a battle. Stoke are always physical and make it hard for us to play our football," said Cole. "They defend deep with 10 men, but for our goal, it was a great move and I took a chance to get into the box.
"I had a few shots in the first half and took too much time on the ball with them, but this time, the first thing that came into my brain was to dink it and I just did it.
"It's been two or three years since I scored. It is mentally good to get a lead in the league table, last season we didn't have a good time in the Premier League too often."
Next up for Chelsea is a home match against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the League Cup on Tuesday night.
Robert Summerscales
