The realities of the Premier League quickly caught up with Barnsley at Oakwell yesterday and eventually overwhelmed them. At home, Danny Wilson's team perform to the accompaniment of a samba band. Chelsea gave them a lesson in rhythm and blues.
Gianluca Vialli, preferred to Mark Hughes by Ruud Gullit yesterday, scored four times as the FA Cup holders won 6-0.
The previous player to do that for Chelsea was Kerry Dixon, whose four goals had arrived at Stamford Bridge on April Fools' Day in 1989. Barnsley, it almost goes without saying, were also their opponents on that occasion.
Shaking off the disappointment of their 3-2 defeat at Coventry City on the opening day, Chelsea confirmed Alex Ferguson's impression of them last season as the most inventive team Manchester United encountered. Whether they have true championship potential will only be seen if they repeat this sort of display against more obvious rivals.
Certainly it was all too much for Barnsley's defence, who were set up for Vialli's voracious finishing by the wiles of Gianfranco Zola and, increasingly the vision and passing of Dan Petrescu, Roberto Di Matteo and Dennis Wise.
Barnsley's performance was less a case of R and B than country and western; that is to say they bore uncomfortable echoes of Swindon Town, who in their one season of Premier League football four years ago scored freely but conceded goals by the bucketful.
Yesterday Barnsley should have found the net at least twice before Chelsea took the lead. With Frank Leboeuf suffering from a stomach upset Gullit played Steve Clarke and Andy Myers in the middle of an orthodox back four and saw his team defend like wooden soldiers.
During this opening period Barnsley showed much of the inventiveness and imagination which had distinguished their promotion. Yet Neil Redfearn (twice) and Darren Barnard both missed the sort of opportunities which at Premier League level have to be put away if the Barnsleys are to cause teams with Chelsea's present pedigree serious concern.
Had Barnard not tried to place the ball past Ed De Goey, having burst between two converging defenders on the quarter-hour, the afternoon might have produced more of a contest.
The huge Dutch goalkeeper having made the save Oakwell probably sensed that Barnsley's best opportunities had already come and gone. The rest was a celebration of Chelsea's multinational footballing calisthenics.
The opening goal, after 25 minutes, offered Barnsley a timely demonstration of how to snap up the sudden half-chance. Wise's centre was misheaded first by Nicky Eaden and then Arjan De Zeeuw and the ball ended up with Petrescu whose shot went in off the inside of a post.
In the 37th minute Wise created space for Frank Sinclair on the right and the defender's centre found Gustavo Poyet in an embarrassing amount of space. David Watson bravely blocked the Uruguayan's downward header but Poyet forced in the rebound.
The rest belonged to Vialli and the Premier League will do well to produce a better goal this season than the one he scored two minutes from half-time.
From De Goey's hard, flat throw Petrescu placed the ball unerringly on to Vialli's right foot as he strode past Adie Moses and Watson barely saw the Italian's shot.
Thirteen minutes into the second half Vialli nodded in his second goal at the second attempt, Watson having again made an initial save.
Five minutes later Poyet and Wise set up a neat third for Vialli. His fourth, nine minutes from the end, was another header at the second try and followed Watson's weak punch at a corner.
There was a point last season when, with Hughes and Zola combining so well, Vialli's future at Chelsea appeared in doubt. At the very least yesterday's goals will have put the issue on hold, even if half of them did amount to taking the pasta.
Gullit was happy for Vialli. "He's stopped smoking," said the Chelsea manager, "he is looking a lot sharper now and he has the determination to do well. I think we shall see a different Vialli this season."
"They were toying with us at times," Wilson admitted.
Guardian Service
Barnsley: Watson, Eaden, Sheridan (Marcelle 45), Moses, De Zeeuw, Hendrie (Liddell 60), Redfearn, Wilkinson (Hristov 45), Bullock, Tinkler, Barnard. Subs Not Used: Appleby, Leese.
Chelsea: De Goey, Petrescu (Granville 72), Clarke, Poyet (Nicholls 70), Vialli, Wise, Le Saux, Di Matteo, Myers, Sinclair, Zola (Flo 55). Subs Not Used: Hughes, Hitchcock. Booked: Wise. Goals: Petrescu 25, Poyet 38, Vialli 44, 57, 65, 82. Referee: G Poll (Tring).
