A little more than a fortnight ago, Chelsea lost 2-1 away to Aston Villa. It was their second defeat in three matches in the Barclays Premier League and it hurt. Words needed exchanging, opinions had to be aired. In the privacy of the club’s training ground in Cobham, the players let rip.

Even by Chelsea’s lofty standards, the response has been remarkable — four successive victories in the league, Champions League and Carling Cup, 17 goals scored, none conceded. The spark, the hunger and the strut, are emphatically back.

The three second-half goals that ended the dogged resistance of Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday would have graced any occasion, glittering jewels in a half-hour exhibition that bordered on fantasy football.

Deco’s cutback from a pass by Nicolas Anelka and his cool finish deserved accolades; the shimmy of Ricardo Carvalho, a centre back, past Kevin Davies and cross with the outside of his right foot, which the hapless Zat Knight deflected into his own net, had extreme technical merit, too.

Yet Chelsea saved the best till last. Anelka chipped the ball into the crowded Bolton area, Deco chested it down, Frank Lampard flicked it on with an outrageous back-heel and Didier Drogba guided it in. Genius, perfection.

“We made some mistakes against Villa but it was a good lesson for us,” Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea manager, said. “There is a good feeling among the players. We have players who push up, we want to do this. This team was born to attack.”

At the moment, attack, attack is the mantra. Ancelotti may opt for a touch more conservatism against Atlético Madrid in the Champions League in Spain tomorrow night and against Manchester United in the top-of-the-table meeting at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, but do not bet on it.

Anelka and Drogba are in such rude health — they were denied a mind-boggling total of nine times by Jussi Jaaskelainen, the Bolton goalkeeper, with a variety of saves — that at times they seemed an irresistible force.

“Didier’s one of the best strikers in the world and the best I have ever played with,” Lampard said. “And we’re fortunate to have another in Nico. He’s been fantastic all season and the way he runs at people, he puts the fear in them.”

Drogba does have his faults. He goes down too easily, a tactic that allowed Chelsea to take the lead shortly before half-time. Jlloyd Samuel provided the merest contact, Drogba fell theatrically and Peter Walton, the referee, upheld the spot-kick appeals.

Samuel was sent off and Lampard tucked home the penalty, despite the off-putting gyrations of the furry home mascots behind the goal. For Bolton, it was the start of the unfolding of a Hallowe’en horror, a repeat of their 4-0 defeat in the Carling Cup in West London three days earlier.

Gary Megson, the Bolton manager, offered Drogba grudging respect. “It was very clever, football clever,” he said. “The way that Didier took the ball from his right foot on to his left. Jlloyd had nowhere to go. It was not cheating or trying to con people, it was just well engineered.”

For all Chelsea’s weaving of pretty patterns and lethal finishing, they remain unconvincing at the back. Bolton, after weathering the early barrage, could have gone in front when Kevin Davies latched on to Johan Elmander’s header. With only Petr Cech to beat, he drilled his shot wide.

Bolton’s limpet-like marking in midfield also disrupted Chelsea’s rhythm. Yet with Samuel departed and the penalty dispatched, Chelsea had free rein. Had Jaaskelainen not been so acrobatic or Lampard not struck the crossbar with a 25-yard drive, after another move of glowing ingenuity, the margin of victory could have been gruesome. That “chat” in Cobham has proved inspirational.

Bolton (4-3-1-2): J Jaaskelainen 8 S Ricketts 5 G Cahill 5 Z Knight 4 J Samuel 3 C Basham 5 T Cohen 6 F Muamba 6 Lee Chung Yong6 J Elmander 7 K Davies 7 Substitutes: R Gardner 7 (for Basham, 46min), P Robinson 5 (for Lee, 46), M Davies 6 (for Muamba, 65). Not used: A Al Habsi, A O’Brien, M Taylor, G Steinsson. Next: Aston Villa (a).

Chelsea (4-1-2-1-2): P Cech 5 B Ivanovic 7 R Carvalho 7 J Terry 6 P Ferreira 6 M Essien 6 M Ballack 5 F Lampard 7 Deco 6 N Anelka 7 D Drogba 7 Substitutes not used: R Turnbull, J Cole, F Malouda, D Sturridge, Alex, J Belletti, F Borini. Next: Manchester United (h).

Referee: P Walton Attendance: 22,680