Essien makes happy return

Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien scored the decisive goal on his return to action after six months out with a knee problem as the Premier League champions won 1-0 in this afternoon's friendly at Crystal Palace.

The 27-year-old, forced to sit out Ghana's 2010 FIFA World Cup™ campaign due to the injury, slotted home on the hour to give Carlo Ancelotti's side a winning start to their pre-season games.

"It was an important return," Ancelotti told www.chelseafc.com. "He came back very well and played very well. He is a fantastic player. We missed him last season and we hope he can do the best for this season."

Essien was joined in an otherwise youthful starting XI by fellow first-teamers Petr Cech, Alex and John Obi Mikel Obi. "We had a good performance and played good football," the Italian continued. "We had the possibility to see young players from our academy and this is a good thing for us and also for them to be involved in the first team."

Liverpool's friendly against Al-Hilal in Switzerland was called off after the pitch was deemed unplayable following heavy rain. It means new Reds boss Roy Hodgson will have to wait until Wednesday, when they face Swiss side Grasshoppers, for his first game since taking over from Rafael Benitez on July 1.