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A brave new era dawned at Stamford Bridge yesterday. José Mourinho, tired of the constant sniping from the style police, unveiled his plan for entertainment instead of containment and the result was not only a Chelsea victory but also, more surprisingly, an all-action goalfest.

It was not quite thrill-a-minute — Mourinho could never be accused of throwing caution completely to the wind — and Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, was pictured gloomily resting his chin in his hands near the end. Yet if this is the way forward for Chelsea, with Mourinho’s midfield diamond abandoned in favour of marauding wingers and will-o’-the-wisp forwards, the chase for the Barclays Premier League title could take on a more vibrant tone this season. A less predictable Chelsea could prove an exceptionally dangerous Chelsea.

Praised afterwards for his fresh and attractive approach, the Chelsea manager introduced a note of caution. “It was too much, too much,” Mourinho said, laughing. Maybe his players had taken him too literally and will be advised to ease back on the pedal when they make the short trip to Reading on Wednesday night.

Whatever the instructions, it made for an absorbing spectacle. Birmingham City did their bit, too, showing little fear on their return from the Coca-Cola Championship and contributing significantly to the thrust and counter-thrust.

Colin Doyle, the Birmingham goalkeeper, played a role he would rather forget, conceding Chelsea’s first and third goals when stronger hands might have kept out the efforts of Claudio Pizarro and Michael Essien. Still, it all added to the colourful mix, a welcome change from some of the sterile offerings at the Bridge last season.

“I would have preferred it if we had scored five or six goals and won in a different way,” Mourinho said. “But we played great attacking football and Birmingham were good as well. They came with spirit, they came to play. They scored two and could have had three or four – we scored three and could have had six or seven. And the wingers produced incredible football.”

Those wingers held the key. Shaun Wright-Phillips, reborn after two in-and-out seasons, sped along the right flank and Florent Malouda, the £13.5 million buy from Lyons, did the same on the left. With Pizarro — on his debut, like Malouda — and Salomon Kalou flitting everywhere up front, the effect was mesmerising.

Not that Chelsea were perfect and nor will they be until John Terry, their captain and rock, returns to the heart of their defence. Had Terry been on hand in the fifteenth minute, Liam Ridgewell might not have been allowed to flick on Gary McSheffrey’s free kick or Mikael Forssell, the former Chelsea striker, given space to glance in a header.

Pizarro equalised three minutes later, with help from Doyle, while Malouda started and finished the move that led to Chelsea going ahead. The first half reached an explosive conclusion when Olivier Kapo almost burst the net with his equaliser.

“We gave it a go,” Steve Bruce, the Birmingham manager, said. “We were determined to do that. I was just disappointed at conceding some soft goals. You need your goalkeeper to be your best player when you come here but, unfortunately, Colin had one of those days.” Doyle erred again shortly after half-time, failing to palm away Essien’s drive, and Chelsea had chances to increase their winning margin.

For Mourinho, not only plaudits but also another record. It was Chelsea’s 64th successive league match at home without defeat, beating the sequence set by Bob Paisley’s Liverpool from February 1978 to December 1980. With Chelsea and FC Porto, his previous club, Mourinho has gone 96 home league games without defeat, although the Portuguese was getting a little ahead of himself when wrongly adding three to the figure in his programme notes.

Bring on the century? “I would love to arrive on 100,” Mourinho said. More to the point, bring on fancy football. Welcome to the new Pleasuredome of the Premier League. At this rate, Chelsea could get themselves a good reputation.

How they rated

Chelsea 4-1-3-2

P Cech 5
G Johnson 3
T Ben Haim 4
R Carvalho Y 5
A Cole 5
M Essien Y 7
S Wright-Phillips 8
F Lampard 6
F Malouda 8
C Pizarro 6
S Kalou 6

Substitutes D Drogba 6 (for Pizarro, 64min), J O Mikel 6 (Essien, 69), S Sidwell (Malouda, 82) Not used C Cudicini, J Cole

Birmingham 4-4-1-1

C Doyle 3
S Kelly 5
J Djourou 5
L Ridgewell 5
F Queudrue 3
S Larsson Y 6
F Muamba 5
M Nafti 6
G McSheffrey 6
O Kapo 7
M Forssell 6

Substitutes S Parnaby 4 (for Queudrue, 51min), C Jerome 5 (McSheffrey, 69), D de Ridder (Nafti, 75) Not used Maik Taylor, G O’Connor