The only thing that could have gone better for Wayne Bridge on his return to Chelsea was if he was able to nutmeg John Terry and unleash an unstoppable drive into the top-corner from 30 yards. But a 4-2 victory, with Terry being at fault for the first goal and three points in the bag will do just nicely.

Everything that happened from the moment Bridge refused the Chelsea captain’s offer of a handshake, to the left-back being whisked away from the Stamford Bridge spotlight in the 78th-minute, went very much according to plan. With the exception of Frank Lampard’s opener for the Blues, few could begrudge the former England international for feeling very pleased with himself.

 

Much will be made by Terry’s alarming drop in form in recent weeks. Of course the insinuation will be that his off-field behaviour is affecting his performances on the pitch – since the allegations about him came to light he played erratically at Hull, was given a torrid time by Louis Saha at Goodison and was at fault for Inter’s first goal in the San Siro. He was also to blame for Manchester City’s all-important equalizer on the stroke of half-time.

Roberto Mancini’s side had barely threatened up until the point when Terry misjudged Mikel’s poor header and allowed Carlos Tevez turn a half chance into a goal.

It could well be that the allegations, the stripping of his England captaincy and the impending international against Egypt, when some section of the home fans will almost certainly let their feelings known towards Terry, has nothing to do with his error-strewn displays and it might just be a coincidence.

But the central defender has not been himself and the type of soft goals he has been responsible for conceding aren’t normally associated with a player who has been a leader and a towering influence over the years for Chelsea.

The scrutiny surrounding their clash with City was heightened by Bridge’s announcement that he will go into a self-imposed exile from internationals just a day prior and while Terry is probably relieved he doesn’t have to line-up alongside his former team-mate, there are murmurs that not everyone in the England camp are entirely happy with his conduct.

If the discontent by sections of the crowd is mirrored by some players then it could be a problem.

 
Credit has to go to Bridge for having the courage to forfeit his World Cup dream for the sake of his sanity. Spending four or five weeks with somebody who has betrayed you would be a hindrance to himself and the team. Maybe if it was a goalkeeper and a striker it would be different, but a left-back and a centre-back spend the whole game in close proximity and have to communicate with each other.

It would be impossible so fair play for avoiding that awkward scenario that would undoubtedly cause a headache for Fabio Capello.

The general feeling is that Bridge isn’t as important as Terry anyway and won’t be a big loss. But if Terry carries his current form into the World Cup, then England could end up leaking goals just as Chelsea did on Saturday.