MALOUDA: A GREAT RESPONSE

Chelsea were back to winning ways last night as Felipe Scolari's men romped to a 3-0 win against Hull.

It took just over two minutes for the Blues to open the scoring, when Frank Lampard sent a sensational chip over Boaz Myhill from 18 yards out, scoring his 99th Premier League goal in the process.

French duo Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda then increased Chelsea's lead in the second half, Anelka with a sneaky snatch of the ball while Malouda tapped home a Ricardo Carvalho cross.

'Hull City were still dangerous and they were trying to keep us under pressure,' said Malouda.

'So Nicolas' goal was really important because he gave us more time and more freedom, and with that we were able to play on and get the third goal.'

But it took several attempts before Malouda finally found the net, after skimming past the post and shooting high with previous chances.

'I was really unlucky, I tried a lot and I missed a lot of chances, but I could score the last goal and that was the important thing,' said the Frenchman.

Yesterday's result was the perfect response to Sunday's 1-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool, who beat Portsmouth to maintain their top-spot in the Barclays Premier League last night.

'After the Liverpool game it was important to have a good reaction and I think that is the best reaction we could have,' explained Malouda.

'We started the game very well, with a good mentality, and the goal Frank Lampard scored was a very good thing for us.

'We were really frustrated about Sunday's result, but the Premier League is a long competition.

'We have lost three points at home so we have to get them away from home, which we have done, and now we have to build on that against Sunderland on Saturday.'

After last season's settling in, Malouda has secured his place in the team, something that shows with the number 15's recent performances, and with four goals in this campaign so far, he has already equalled his tally from last season.

'It is my second year here, I have the confidence of my coach and my team mates and that is the most important thing and you can see it on the pitch.

'I have the stability of the club and the team is winning, so I feel good in this team and I hope this year we can win something.'