This was an exhilarating encounter: Chelsea, powerful, coherent and swift in their attacking; Manchester City, precise on the counter and resolute in their determination not to fold against an early home advantage. If both defences were ragged and never wholly capable of shutting opponents down, it only added to the enjoyment of a game that matched Avram Grant against incontestably in-form opposition for the first time since usurping Jose Mourinho last month.

Henk ten Cate had spent much of his first week of hands-on training at the club riling the players Abramovich expects him to get performing like Barcelona. The problems began on Monday when the £40,000-a-week 'assistant first-team coach' halted his first full session to reprimand his charges for laughing, warning them to take his their work more seriously. They intensified on Thursday when the Dutchman put the team through a full programme of sprinting, box-to-box running and a 10-versus-10 half-pitch game the morning after their Champions League's victory over Schalke.

How much calmer has been the change of stewardship at City, where Sven-Goran Eriksson has turned over half his playing staff, established an economical counter-attacking style, and guided the club to long-forgotten early-season heights.

One advantage Eriksson has had over Grant is continuity of selection. Yesterday there was an enforced change for the first time in four outings, but just the one - Georgios Samaras replacing the injured Emile Mpenza as solo striker. Grant has altered his line-up in every one of his eight matches in charge. Here Florent Malouda was lost to a thigh injury and Wayne Bridge suspended, while Claude Makelele dropped to the bench after facing Schalke.

Eriksson's men started more confidently, passing and breaking, while filtering the ball to Elano at every opportunity. Like much of the Premier League before him, John Obi Mikel struggled with the quick-witted Brazilian, hacking him down twice in early breaks. One of Elano's deft chips into the area placed Stephen Ireland free on goal where his slightly too delicate header was parried away. A thunderous Elano free-kick from all of 35 yards headed for the top corner where Petr Cech met it with a truly magnificent save.

Between these opportunities, however, the possession and pressure was predominantly Chelsea's, their power regularly taking them to the edge of Joe Hart's penalty area. Lampard, Michael Essien and Joe Cole's movement was excellent and from the latter's corner kick City were forced to clear an Alex header off their line.

That was a warning of worse to come. On 16 minutes, Mikel combined with Lampard to release Essien, who strode onwards, collected himself and pulled the ball low across Hart and in. A similar sortie into the space between Micah Richards and Javier Garrido all but allowed Drogba to add a second. That, though, was only a postponement.

Richards ill advisedly wound up Lampard in a tangle for possession and, after both had been booked for the scuffle, Chelsea's captain extracted beautiful revenge. Collecting possession from Salomon Kalou 40 yards from and with his back to goal, the midfielder spun round and spun a pass of forensic precision behind the entire City defence. Unlike his opponents, Drogba saw it coming and cantered on to strike through Hart's legs.

The game was now stretched and Kalou almost extended Chelsea's advantage. At the other end Ireland was a foot away from reducing it when teed up by Garrido and Michael Johnson's quick interplay. Kalou vainly appealed for a penalty after the striker had tumbled in front of the posts, while Martin Petrov drew another solid stop from Cech.

As Thaksin Shinawatra, the City owner, took his turn at looking glum, Drogba and Kalou worked Lampard into a shooting position. Though Hart parried that effort, the ball fell to Drogba to carry back across the area and wallop beyond the keeper in the 56th minute. City continued to push forward leaving larger gaps for their opponents to exploit. On the hour mark, Drogba nodded Cole into a particularly broad one and the right-winger ramped up the volume again. Kalou took the total to five from one fine Essien pass, Andriy Shevchenko made it six with another.

As the England manager receives the mother of all kicking's, seemingly from all corners, so his oft -criticised predecessor continues to mastermind a largely unexpected revolution in the blue half of Manchester. Played six, won six. That's Manchester City's home record in the Premier League since Sven-Goran Eriksson swept into town during the summer. 'Benfica, Gothenburg maybe, I don't remember,' was the Swede's response to a post-match question about whether he had ever enjoyed a similar run at club level before. 'But in England, no for sure,' he added, flashing the kind of smile last seen following the 5-1 away win over Germany during qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.

Their failure to see off stubborn Birmingham so nearly proved costly during the final quarter, when Joe Hart brilliantly denied Olivier Kapo from point -blank range before Micah Richards headed Rafael Schmitz's lob off the line.

'We could have scored some more goals, but they had some good chances as well,' said Eriksson. 'I don't know how Joe Hart saved one of them. I think it was with his shoulder. Anyhow, three points, that was very important.

'As you know we have had a lot of players away and it's always difficult to know what shape they will be in when they come back. Elano and Micah Richards, for example - they have done nothing until the warm up today, before the game, since the internationals. We looked tired, but we managed to take three points, even on a day when we were not perfect.' Cue a second smile.

Elano, for one, shook off the effects of turning out (and scoring) for Brazil against Ecuador, in Rio, last week to produce a match-winning performance. It was his goal, in the 37th minute, that ultimately separated the sides, Elano dispatching a low shot, from 15 yards out, that found the bottom corner of Maik Taylor's net. Did Michael Johnson win possession by fouling Wilson Palacios in the build-up to Elano's strike? Definitely, reckoned Birmingham manager Steve Bruce, whose protests at the time led to him being escorted back to the visiting team's bench by the fourth official. No, said referee Mike Dean, who awarded the goal with no qualms. I think Mike Dean had it right and Steve Bruce should take a leaf out of Sven's book and keep his cool.
'It's a foul man, you've all seen it,' said Bruce . 'I heard the contact from where I was (about 75 yards away). How can he [Dean] make that mistake? I'll leave it to you, otherwise I'll get fined. But we feel really harshly treated. - and the game has hinged on it. I didn't want the game to hinge on it. We could have quite easily got beat anyway, but we didn't deserve to get beat that way.'

Whether this result will have any negative consequences on Bruce's increasingly uncertain future at Birmingham is anyone's guess. The former Manchester United defender insists he is as much in the dark as anyone about what lies ahead as Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung prepares to take over the St Andrew's club .

'I'll be at work on Monday morning - I think,' said Bruce, insisting he was doing his utmost not to let the uncertainty affect his players. 'In all seriousness, it needs to be sorted because, every time press conferences come up, I'm speaking about it. But, unfortunately, at the minute it's not going away.'

Man City: Hart, Corluka, Richards, Dunne, Garrido, Ireland (Ball 80), Johnson, Hamann, Petrov, Mpenza (Samaras 65), Elano (Gelson 89).
Subs Not Used: Isaksson, Geovanni.

Booked: Corluka, Garrido, Johnson.

Goals: Elano 37.

Birmingham: Maik Taylor, Kelly, Schmitz (Danns 87), Ridgewell, Queudrue, McSheffrey (De Ridder 58), Palacios, Muamba, Nafti (O'Connor 76), Kapo, Jerome.
Subs Not Used: Kingson, Sadler.

Booked: Palacios, Ridgewell.

Att: 45,688

Ref: Mike Dean (Wirral).