The Stamford Bridge club began the season with a high defensive line, which appeared not to suit the likes of John Terry and was ditched for the victory over Valencia at the start of December. Returning to more accustomed, compact tactics appears to have suited Chelsea, but Villas-Boas also claims to have made another 'radical change' in the 1-1 draw at Tottenham last week. "Now that we have found our route, and at Spurs we played it to an extent that was massive, it was an honour and a privilege to see this team play football," he said in The Independent. "For me, it's all good signs. Irrespective of what the result was, I think this is a radical change in the way Chelsea play and I think it was fantastic to see that we could do that and have the ability to play this football." Ahead of hosting West London derby rivals Fulham on Boxing Day lunchtime, Chelsea sit 11 points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City. Villas-Boas said of his team: "If you look at the table, it's a record-breaking Manchester City that is making the difference. "If you look at the Premier League we are not far from championship-winning numbers in terms of past seasons."
