Villa Vanquished : Chelsea 7 Aston Villa 1

Frank Lampard grabbed four as Chelsea demolished Aston Villa 7-1 to soar back to the top of the Premier League table for a couple of hours.
Lampard's quartet made him third-highest scorer in the club's history, eclipsing legends Roy Bentley and Peter Osgood, with 151 goals.
Lampard was assisted by a double from Florent Malouda and another from substitute Salomon Kalou as Carlo Ancelotti's side smashed in 12 goals in four days.
The Blues have now scored 82 goals so far this season and apart from John Carew's first-half equaliser, were in cruise control for long periods.
Chelsea, who left 30-goal top scorer Didier Drogba on the bench, started brightly enough with Deco finding Nicolas Anelka inside the Villa penalty area in the third minute.
But the France international, given the task of leading the attack in place of Drogba, shot into the arms of Brad Friedel at his near post.
Drogba, who scored twice in the 5-0 midweek demolition of Portsmouth, was rested according to Ray Wilkins.
Lampard tried to surprise Friedel in the 14th minute with a low drive from 30 yards but the American goalkeeper was untroubled by the bounce.
But Chelsea went ahead a minute later when Malouda's low cross was turned home at the far post by Lampard.
It was the England midfielder's 18th goal of the season in all competitions.
Villa's Stephen Warnock required treatment to a head injury after a collision with Joe Cole in the 23rd minute.
Controversy erupted in the 27th minute when John Mikel Obi appeared to elbow James Milner.
But referee Peter Walton booked Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov for protesting about Mikel's challenge and took no action against the Chelsea midfielder.
However, Villa were jubilant in the 29th minute when they equalised through Carew.
He converted a superb curling cross from Ashley Young at the far post to score his ninth goal in eight games.
Moments later Yuri Zhirkov, who was clearly at fault for allowing Carew to ghost into space at the far post for Villa's goal, was booked for a foul Gabriel Agbonlahor.
Deco followed his Chelsea team-mate in the book moments later for a foul on Milner in the 40th minute.
But Chelsea restored their lead in the 44th minute through a Lampard penalty.
Referee Walton adjudged Zhirkov had been fouled by Villa defender James Collins as he burst into the penalty area and Lampard converted the spot-kick with ease.
Chelsea went 3-1 up in the 57th minute when Malouda finished off a sweeping move by the hosts.
Deco's clever ball inside the full-back found Zhirkov in space and his cross was met perfectly by Malouda for the France international to score his 12th of the season.
Chelsea gave away a dangerous free-kick on the edge of the penalty area seconds later when Paulo Ferreira fouled Agbonlahor.
But Milner's effort was straight into the defensive wall much to the dismay of the Villa fans.
Chelsea made Villa pay in the 62nd minute when Lampard grabbed his hat-trick, and his 20th of the season, with his second penalty of the game.
Zhirkov was again fouled, this time by Richard Dunne, and Lampard beat Friedel to become the joint third-highest scorer in the club's history.
It was a game of landmarks for the Blues with John Terry becoming the club's all-time record captain. His 325th appearance eclipsed former great Ron Harris and it was also Terry's 450th outing for the club.
In the 68th minute, rampant Chelsea made it 5-1 when Ferreira and Lampard combined to set-up Malouda for his second of the game and his 13th of the season.
In the 82nd minute substitute Kalou sent a curling shot around Friedel's right-hand post but he found the target a minute later when he drilled the ball past Friedel from 18 yards after an unselfish pass from Anelka.
Lampard then made it 7-1 with his fourth of the game in added time as Villa's 10-match unbeaten run came to a crashing halt.
It also made the midfielder the third-highest scorer in the club's history with 151 goals - only Kerry Dixon and Bobby Tambling are now ahead of him.

(sportal.co.nz)

Pompey Pacified : Portsmouth 0 Chelsea 5

The Blues cut Manchester United's lead at the top of the Premier League to one point with an impressive 5-0 hammering of crisis club Portsmouth at Fratton Park.
A David James howler allowed Didier Drogba to tap into an empty net for Chelsea's opener before Florent Malouda grabbed two second-half goals in 10 minutes.
Drogba's neat finish and Lampard's late goal sealed the win against a Portsmouth side now one step closer to almost certain relegation.
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti handed Daniel Sturridge a surprise start as the Blues looked to close the gap on United and atone for their Champions League exit to Inter Milan last week.
Sturridge replaced Nicolas Anelka in Ancelotti's starting XI, which also included Petr Cech and Ricardo Carvalho, who have both been out through injury for a month. Deco was handed his first start since February 2 while Yury Zhirkov came in for the injured Branislav Ivanovic.
Portsmouth manager Avram Grant replaced Quincy Owusu-Abeyie and Nadir Belhadj with Steve Finnan and Richard Hughes, while there was no place for Aruna Dindane due to a clause in his loan agreement which would require Pompey to pay 4million pounds to Lens if he played another game for the club.
Ancelotti described the match as a ‘must win’ against Grant, who spent eight months at the helm at Stamford Bridge in the 2007-08 season.
Financially-stricken Portsmouth, who learned before kickoff they would be allowed to sell players outside the transfer window, lined up in a defensive 4-3-2-1 formation at a rain-soaked Fratton Park.
Chelsea were the most dominant team in the early exchanges and Deco combined well with Drogba before the Ivory Coast striker fired a weak shot wide.
Drogba was in the thick of the action again soon after but he wasted a good chance by volleying well over the bar from inside the box.
Lampard thought he had put Chelsea ahead in the 10th minute but James scrambled across his line to tip the midfielder's 30-yard strike around the post.
James was once again on hand to save another Lampard shot moments later from a similar distance.
Pompey started to get a foothold on the game as the pitch cut up under the rain but found themselves 1-0 down thanks to a James howler in the 32nd minute.
The England keeper raced out of his box to make a routine clearance after Deco tried to play Drogba through but James completely missed the ball, leaving the Ivory Coast man to tap into an empty net.
James was left with his hands on his hips as the Chelsea fans ridiculed the stopper for his mistake.
Ancelotti was forced into a change soon after when he brought on Alex for Carvalho, who went off clutching his ankle.
The game came close to boiling point soon after when Pompey full back Ricardo Rocha had to be carried off after colliding with Malouda.
Malouda then squared up to Hermann Hreidarsson, who claimed the Frenchman had used his elbow in the challenge, before being booked by referee Lee Mason.
Rocha, meanwhile, was carried off on a stretcher after a four-minute stoppage while wearing an oxygen mask.
Pompey's troubles worsened when Tommy Smith hobbled off after the half-time whistle.
Smith failed to emerge after half time and was replaced by Quincy, whose clever ball into the box failed to find a team-mate soon after the break.
After his booking, Malouda was booed every time he touched the ball but he soon plunged the Pompey fans into further misery when he picked up Lampard's pass and beat James from a tight angle to make it 2-0.
Joe Cole, who had voiced his frustration at his lack of first-team action earlier this week, replaced the ineffective Sturridge in the 53rd minute.
The midfielder made an immediate impact, drawing a good save from James after a clever through ball from Lampard.
Malouda then scored his second of the night when he reacted first to James' save from Lampard's shot to coolly slot the ball home to make it 3-0.
James then pulled off a flying save to deny Lampard from 20 yards as Chelsea looked to turn the screw.
Kanu replaced Mokoena with 15 minutes left in a desperate attempt to inject some life into the Pompey attack, who were being well marshalled by John Terry and Alex.
Drogba was then played in by John Obi Mikel and the striker held his nerve to slot past James from inside the box to make it 4-0.
Portsmouth then had a golden chance to pull one back but Hughes somehow put a free header from five yards out wide.
Frederic Piquionne then beat two Chelsea defenders down the right but Kanu blazed over from eight yards out.
Second half substitute Patrick Van Aanholt then squared the ball to Drogba but he just missed out on his third by firing over.
Lampard completed Pompey's misery when he finished from Drogba's knock down in the third minute of injury time to make it 5-0. (sportal.co.nz)

Rovers Resilient : Blackburn Rovers 1 Chelsea 1

Chelsea suffered a stumble in the title race that could yet prove fatal to their chances of taking the Premier League crown to round off a week of bitter disappointment for Carlo Ancelotti's side.
A match that seemed there for the taking after Didier Drogba's early goal somehow drifted out of Chelsea's grasp.
El Hadji Diouf headed a superb equaliser as Blackburn put in such a powerful second-half performance that keeper Jason Brown was barely tested.
For Chelsea, whose record in its past nine matches is now four wins, four defeats and one draw, this was hardly a display of title-winning credentials and they are now four points behind Manchester United and two behind Arsenal, though with a game in hand.
This was underlined by the fact that the clear man of the match was none other than Rovers' 18-year-old central defender Phil Jones, making his league debut and up against Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.
Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce had gambled on him in the absence of Ryan Nelsen and Gael Givet.
That gamble may have lookrd rash as Drogba carved out an early chance for himself, dinking a neat curling shot just wide of the post despite being surrounded by a posse of defenders.
That was just a foretaste of what was to come as the Ivory Coast striker opened the scoring in the sixth minute with almost effortless simplicity.
Anelka burst down the right, cut inside Jones and laid the ball back for Drogba to wrong-foot the entire Rovers defence and keeper Jason Brown with a neat left-footed finish back into the opposite corner.
Kalou threatened to further emphasise Chelsea's early dominance with a header from a corner that flew over the crossbar but from then on it was downhill for the visitors.
David Dunn won a free-kick in Morten Gamst Pedersen range after being halted by an agricultural challenge by Alex, but although the Norwegian was on target Chelsea keeper Ross Turnbull turned his effort behind.
Pedersen had another sight of goal but was wildly off-target with his volley, while Jones drew the loudest cheers from the Rovers fans so far with a series of crunching - but legal - challenges as Blackburn did their best to out-power the visitors.
Florent Malouda let fly from 20 yards out with a stinging drive but Brown managed to parry the shot, if somewhat unconvincingly.
Ancelotti was then forced to make a change just before the break with Branislav Ivanovic, who appeared to have been stood on unintentionally by El Hadji Diouf, limped off to be replaced by Zhirkov.
Blackburn, as if scenting that Chelsea may have missed a trick by scoring just a single goal in the first half, upped the tempo in the second.
Zhirkov's first involvement for Chelsea, right at the start of the second half was to head off the line after Chris Samba had beaten the flapping Turnbull to Pedersen's long throw.
Pedersen was then left cursing again when given space to shoot from 25 yards out but missing the target by some margin.
Frank Lampard, who had been having a quiet game by his standards, was much closer with a rising effort from the same range that was a whisker away from the top right-hand corner.
The suspicion that Chelsea had seemed over-confident in settling for a 1-0 win had been growing the longer the second half went on, and in the 70th minute Diouf made them pay.
The Senegal international hung in the air above Ferreira to meet Michel Salgado's cross with a superb header down into the corner.
Chelsea, stung into action, became more direct themselves and Alex struck a piledriver from a 30-yard free-kick over the bar.
With time running down, Drogba was denied a fine winner by a good block, then Jones crowned a magnificent debut with an intercepting header to keep out John Terry.
Rovers celebrated as though they had won the Premier League. Chelsea looked as though they had just lost it. (sportal.co.nz)

Sorry to keep banging on about referee's decisions but while watching this game there were several occasions when we didn't get decisions that I feel sure the likes of Man. Utd. and Arsenal would have.

You only have to look at the penalty Man. Utd. got against Liverpool the day before.

It's difficult enough for us to get a penalty when the offence is comitted inside the box let alone 10 yards outside.

We always seem to get results in spite of the officials, not because of them.

Blues Brushed Aside : Chelsea 0 Internazionale 1

Jose Mourinho enjoyed a triumphant return to Stamford Bridge as his Inter Milan side sent Chelsea spinning out of the Champions League by repeating their first-leg victory with another win at Stamford Bridge.
The former Chelsea coach had, prior to the match, promised to forego any personal celebrations as a mark of respect to his old club, but was nevertheless left filled with pride as Inter did a very professional job in west London.
After efficiently soaking up a barrage of Chelsea pressure in the first half, Inter became increasingly menacing as the second half unfolded, and in truth deserved their victory, sealed by a brilliant finish by Cameroon international Samuel Eto'o 11 minutes from time.
Worse was to follow for deflated Chelsea when Didier Drogba was shown a straight red card after 87 minutes.Mourinho's public celebrations were muted as he disappeared quietly down the tunnel just as the referee blew for full-time, but he admitted he did allow himself to enjoy the result behind closed doors. He said: "I celebrated a lot in the dressing-room when the game was over. It was a big victory for my team."Mourinho felt his team were better than Chelsea in every aspect on the night. "I think everything was superior," he added. "I don't think it was tactics, it was attitude on the pitch."
They had reactions of frustration, of a team that felt the opposition was superior. Our team started the second half in an incredible way. We were the best team by far."
Mourinho set out his stall to be positive from the start, picking three forwards. Rather than 'parking the bus' in front of goal, as he once accused a Premier League manager of doing against his old club, Mourinho chose Eto'o, Diego Milito and Goran Pandev as Inter looked to protect their 2-1 lead from the first leg. Pandev coming in for Dejan Stankovic was the only change from the Milan leg for Mourinho, who signed autographs near the dug-out before kick-off.
With the pleasantries out of the way, Inter looked to extend their advantage, with Wesley Sneijder having a shot blocked by Alex, while Maicon raided down the right and fired over. Florent Malouda led the charge for the hosts. One of his mazy runs was stopped by Lucio in the penalty area and referee Wolfgang Stark deemed the tackle fair. Drogba, always first on the scene when trouble flared, then had his first sight of goal when the ball broke for him 20 yards out – but Maicon blocked bravely.
The crucial blow came with 12 minutes to go and it was Sneijder who provided the chance. His ball over the top went over Ivanovic's head and landed perfectly for Eto'o, who took the pass in his stride and stroked his finish past Ross Turnbull.
Drogba was given a red card after a clash that had Motta clutching his shin and Inter players accusing the Chelsea striker of kicking out. (thescotsman.com)
Again, after their winning goal went in, a lot of people left their seats and exited the stadium. I commented on this in the Man. City report. These people aren't supporters, they're just paying guests (prats).
I know I'm biased, but there really does seem to be some sort of directive to stop a) too many English teams progressing in this competition or b) Chelsea progressing in this competition.
There was one nailed on penalty decision in the first leg and three in the second that we didn't get. Add to this the debacle of the semi-final second leg last season and you can see why most Chelsea supporters believe that something smells fishy.

Hammers Hammered : Chelsea 4 West Ham 1

Chelsea went back to the top of the Premier League with a comfortable 4-1 win over West Ham at Stamford Bridge.
Brazilian defender Alex headed Chelsea in front in the 15th minute but Scott Parker levelled with a stunning volley on the half-hour mark.
Didier Drogba rose unmarked to restore Chelsea's lead in the 55th minute before Florent Malouda's 20-yard effort in the 76th minute and Drogba's second put Carlo Ancelotti's side one point clear of Manchester United at the summit.
Chelsea goalkeeper Ross Turnbull made his league debut for the club and looked confident enough ahead of Tuesday night's Champions League last-16 return leg against Inter Milan.
The keeper, third choice all season, will be asked to play against Inter, who lead 2-1 from the first leg, due to injuries to Petr Cech and Hilario.
Chelsea were given a sterner test than they would have wanted by a West Ham side that went in 1-1 at the interval.
Ancelotti's side had the better of the early exchanges but West Ham should have been ahead in the 13th minute.
Mido's low cross from the byline found Araujo Ilan unmarked just eight yards out but the West Ham striker blazed his effort over the crossbar.
The miss proved costly for West Ham as Chelsea went ahead two minutes later through Brazilian defender Alex.
The Hammers failed to clear a corner from Malouda and when the ball was returned to the France winger, his cross was headed home by the unmarked Alex.
It was the defender's first goal of the season but it could have been worse for the Hammers seconds later.
Another cross from Malouda caused panic in the West Ham defence and a deflection off Matthew Upson looked to be heading for his own net until goalkeeper Robert Green just managed to palm it away to safety.
In the 27th minute, Chelsea carved West Ham open again and Frank Lampard's curling cross found Drogba at the far post only for the Ivorian to miss the target.
But West Ham were level in the 29th minute when former Chelsea midfielder Parker sent a 25-yard volley over Turnbull and into the top corner.
Turnbull could do nothing about Parker's effort but once again Chelsea were guilty of failing to defend a throw-in.
The goal stunned Chelsea and their response was predictable and rapid. In the 35th minute, Green had to dive full-stretch to keep out a 20-yard low drive from Lampard.
Two minutes later, Nicolas Anelka tried his luck from 20 yards out but the ball was comfortably collected by Green.
Malouda was a constant threat to West Ham and five minutes before the break he sent over another dangerous cross but Paulo Ferreira could only direct his header into the arms of Green.
Chelsea almost restored their advantage when a 53rd minute cross from Malouda just eluded Michael Ballack at the far post.
But the home side was ahead again in the 55th minute and the driving force was captain John Terry.
The Chelsea defender surged forward to the edge of West Ham penalty area and allowed Drogba to lay the ball off to Malouda on the left wing.
The France winger delivered another pinpoint cross into the six-yard box and this time Drogba headed home from point-blank range for his 26th goal of the season - his 20th in the league.
The Chelsea fans began chanting 'There's only one England captain' as England coach Fabio Capello watched on from the West stand.
Moments later Chelsea were denied a third by a great save from Green who dived to his right to tip away a header from Alex.
In the 65th minute, Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole was given a chance to shine before Capello when he replaced Anelka.
Moments later there was a double substitution for the Hammers - Junior Stanislas replaced Kieron Dyer and Mido made way for Carlton Cole.
Malouda made it 3-1 to Chelsea in the 76th minute with a 20-yard shot into the bottom corner.
It was a fitting reward for the France winger who had set up both of Chelsea's earlier goals.
Chelsea were then denied a fourth in the 85th minute when Lampard's glancing shot hit the far post.
Drogba completed the scoring in the 89th minute with his 27th goal of the season - finishing off from close range after Green had palmed a Lampard shot into his path.
As a footnote I was very impressed with the West Ham fans who hardly stopped singing and chanting the whole 90 minutes, even when our fourth went in they were cheering and dancing about as if they had scored themselves.
Pity our fans in the East and West stands can't get behind the team in the same way.

Potters Sent Packing : Chelsea 2 Stoke City 0

Chelsea assistant coach Ray Wilkins described controversial captain John Terry's contribution as "superb" after his side overcame stubborn Stoke in their FA Cup quarter-final.
Goals from Frank Lampard and Terry gave Chelsea a place in the last four where they will meet Aston Villa at Wembley.

Lampard's opener came in the 35th minute when he fired a rising 20-yard shot into the net and Terry sealed victory 22 minutes from time with a firm header.

Terry was booed and abused all afternoon by Stoke fans who lambasted the defender for his alleged affair with Vanessa Perroncel, the former girlfriend of one-time Chelsea team-mate Wayne Bridge. Terry, stripped of the England captaincy by Fabio Capello because of the lurid headlines concerning his private life, celebrated his second half goal by running to the corner flag and pointing at his captain's armband.

When asked about the abuse, Wilkins replied: "It's happening and John's just getting on with the situation. I'm not too happy about it, but there's nothing I can do. He's dealing with the situation in the only way he can – committing himself to the cause. That was a superb performance from him."He's an exceptional captain and we're delighted to have him on board. He leads these players on the pitch in fantastic fashion and scored a great second goal.

"Terry paid tribute to the club for their support during a difficult period.

"The armband means a lot, of course," said Terry. "Chelsea have been very supportive, the players as well, but we wanted to show the fans how much it meant to us.

"We had a couple of days to work on their set plays but they can play as well. On a dodgy pitch I thought we played well and bounced back from last week," added Terry, in reference to the 4-2 defeat by Manchester City which opened up the Premiership title race once again.

Chelsea certainly did not have it all their own way, and in the 14th minute it required a clearance off the line from John Obi Mikel to prevent Stoke going ahead. Delap's long throw was punched clear by Hilario but only to Dean Whitehead on the edge of the penalty area. The Stoke midfielder's drilled shot was heading for the bottom corner until Mikel's timely intervention.

Chelsea squandered a great chance in the 29th minute when Whitehead was caught in possession inside the penalty area but Nicolas Anelka fired beyond the far post from six yards.

However, Chelsea won a succession of corners and one of them paid off in the 35th minute when Lampard fired them in front with the 18th FA Cup goal of his Stamford Bridge career. Florent Malouda's corner found Terry at the far post and the Chelsea captain laid the ball into the path of Lampard for the England midfielder to send a well-hit drive into the net for his 16th of the season. It was also his 146th career goal for the club and pushed him closer to Peter Osgood's tally of 150.

After Terry had made the game all but safe after 68 minutes, heading home another Malouda corner, Lampard almost grabbed a second in the 75th minute but his dipping 20-yard effort was well saved by Sorensen.

Wilkins said: "Stoke put you under a lot of pressure from dead balls and long throws but our concentration was fantastic." Of Chelsea's semi-final chances, he said: "Aston Villa are a very strong side and beat us earlier in the season. It will be another tough game in the semi-final."

England midfielder Joe Cole was again left out of the starting line-up by Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti, but Wilkins insists the player will get his chance."We have a superb squad of players and Carlo has a very difficult task in picking a side," he added. "Everyone merits a place in our team, but that was the side today. Joe's had a very traumatic time with his knee, and you get highs and lows. He'll play plenty of games for Chelsea."

Stoke manager Tony Pulis defended his supporters over their treatment of Terry and claimed that the Chelsea captain will come home a hero if England win the World Cup in South Africa this summer.

"Our fans are brilliant, different class," said Pulis. "John will have to accept he'll take stick. He took stick from England supporters the other night. If John does well in the World Cup and wins it, he'll come back a hero."

Pulis was sorry to see his side's cup run come to an end, but said: "We've knocked Arsenal and Man City out. To pull Chelsea out of the hat at Stamford Bridge was a difficult tie. The players were first class, we gave everything and had a right go

Chelsea 2 Man. City 4

Wayne Bridge made a point, then left with all three as Manchester City blew the Premier League title race wide open once more by hammering nine-man Chelsea 4-2 at Stamford Bridge.
All kinds of conspiracy theories had been raised about the pre-match handshake following revelations about John Terry's alleged affair with Vanessa Perroncel, the mother of Bridge's young son.
In the end, there was no mass boycott of the traditional pre-match handshake by City players, just an icy stare from Bridge as he refused to shake Terry's hand.
It was perhaps the most predictable part of a truly astonishing afternoon that exploded into life once Frank Lampard had put the hosts in front just before the break.
At about that point, Chelsea's world imploded.
Henrique Hilario gifted City goals either side of the interval, failing to make saves Petr Cech would regard as routine to keep out shots from Carlos Tevez and Craig Bellamy either side of the interval.
Then Juliano Belletti was red carded for a foul on Gareth Barry that allowed Tevez to fire home a third from the spot.
And the drama did not finish there as Michael Ballack was also sent off for two yellow cards before Bellamy added another.
A stoppage time Lampard penalty at least raised a cheer from a team whose lead over Manchester United remains a precarious single point.
The intrigue concerning Terry and Bridge had completely overshadowed what was a key encounter for both clubs.
After their midweek loss in Milan, Chelsea were eager to re-establish their four-point lead over Manchester United whilst for City, it was an opportunity to reinforce their top four credentials after a disappointing FA Cup exit at Stoke.
Indeed, it could be argued the Bridge issue has taken quite a lot of heat away from Roberto Mancini, who, after that short post-Christmas honeymoon period, has found his position already coming under scrutiny.
The Italian cannot have been too impressed with his side's early efforts either.
Although Chelsea were not at their best, they monopolised possession and could have been in front when Didier Drogba turned onto an off-target Lampard effort and fired a first-time shot over the bar from six yards.
An overworked Vincent Kompany also sliced a shot over his own bar, while, for their part, City barely emerged from their own half.
Given that backdrop, Chelsea could have been forgiven for thinking it was 'job done' when Lampard struck.
Joe Cole had cut a frustrated figure during the opening period and clearly remains some way below his best.
But he spotted Lampard's perfectly-timed run in a flash and once through, there was never any real doubt the midfielder would beat Given, which he did with a precise shot into the corner.
The home fans breathed a sigh of relief and went off to grab their half-time snacks, only for Tevez to jolt them out of their complacency and shine the light of responsibility on Hilario.
With Petr Cech out for a month with an calf injury, Chelsea are relying on Hilario at a crucial stage of the season and there could only be concerned frowns on the home bench as Tevez's shot rolled in.
It looked bad in real time. Replays were no kinder to Hilario after Tevez had turned Terry, then scuffed a shot that incredibly turned into his 20th goal of the season.
Within four minutes of the re-start, City had scored again, with Hilario again placed in the role of accused.
Although Chelsea had plenty of men forward when Craig Bellamy broke from halfway, John Obi Mikel appeared to do everything right.
He did not dive in and kept the Welshman to his outside, ensuring the angle was as tight as possible when the shot eventually came.
But yet again Hilario was not up to the task as Bellamy's shot flew under his body and into the far corner.
For a team that had not scored on this ground since 2000 and had offered so little in the opening 40 minutes, it was a quite astonishing change of fortunes.
But more was to come as the red cards started flying.
Belletti was shown his for a foul on Gareth Barry that allowed Tevez to tuck home a penalty.
Ballack followed for a tackle on Tevez that could easily have been a dismissal in itself. A second yellow was produced and he was gone too.
Bellamy took advantage of the huge holes now apparent in the Chelsea rearguard with his second of the game.
And while Lampard rounded off the scoring, it was City, and Bridge, who were laughing all the way back to Manchester.

I was at the game as usual and I hope the people who left when we went 3-1 down with 15 minutes to go are suitably ashamed of themselves. You know who you are.

Typical of the Johnnie come lateleys that have arrived at the Bridge over the last few years, these are the people who regularly turn up five minutes after kick off, disappear downstairs five minutes before half-time, reappear five minutes after the second half has kicked off and then sod off home ten minutes before the final whistle to 'avoid the crush', each time disturbing the people who want to see the game.

They should be stopped on the way out, have their season tickets confiscated and given to people on the waiting list who actually want to support the club.

Effective Inter : Internazionale 2 Chelsea 1

Chelsea grabbed a vital away goal as former manager Jose Mourinho and his Inter Milan side came out on top in a pulsating Champions League first leg at the San Siro.
Chelsea, whose defeat was compounded by the loss of goalkeeper Petr Cech with a calf injury in the second half, were a goal down inside three minutes when striker Diego Milito put Inter ahead. Salomon Kalou equalised in the 51st minute but Mourinho's men restored their advantage four minutes later when Esteban Cambiasso drilled in the winner.

Kalou's goal may yet prove to be the pivotal moment of the tie when the two teams meet again in the return leg at Stamford Bridge next month.

A match that had been built-up as a contest between the two coaches – Blues manager Carlo Ancelotti was returning to his former home – was sparked into life inside three minutes. Thiago Motta's through ball found Milito inside the Chelsea area and when captain John Terry half-heartedly attempted to block Milito's progress, the Inter striker slammed the ball beyond Cech at the near post. Mourinho greeted the goal with an approving nod from his seat in the Inter dugout.

Chelsea won a free-kick some 35 yards out when Dejan Stankovic fouled Michael Ballack in the 15th minute and they were unlucky not to equalise. Didier Drogba's fierce attempt on goal cannoned back off the crossbar with Julio Cesar well beaten. In the 22nd minute goalscorer Milito was booked for diving after going down from an imaginary challenge by Ricardo Carvalho and Kalou followed him after a foul on Wesley Sneijder.

Apart from Milito's goal, Chelsea had looked untroubled in defence and had dominated possession. John Obi Mikel sent a rising drive into the arms of Cesar in the 29th minute as Chelsea continued to press for a leveller.

But Inter spurned a gilt-edged chance to increase the lead in the 34th minute when Sneijder's cross found Samuel Eto'o unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box. But instead of planting the ball past Cech, Eto'o missed his kick.

Chelsea should have been awarded a penalty seconds before the interval when Kalou went down under a challenge from Walter Samuel. But their claims were denied by referee Manuel Gonzalez. But in the 51st minute Chelsea were level through Kalou. Branislav Ivanovic created the opportunity when he ran unchallenged to the edge of the Inter area. The Chelsea right-back looked to have over-run the ball but managed to turn it into the path of Kalou, who curled it in from the edge of the box. Kalou and the rest of the Chelsea squad then ran to the dugout in a clear show of support for Ancelotti.

It took Inter just four minutes to re-establish their lead. Ivanovic blocked Cambiasso's first attempt but there was little anyone could do about the follow-up shot which flashed into the bottom corner beyond Cech from 18 yards.It got worse for Chelsea on the hour when goalkeeper Cech had to be stretchered off after rolling the ball out. There was nobody around the Czech Republic international when the incident occurred and Chelsea later confirmed Cech had suffered a calf injury, which will be monitored over the coming days, and he was replaced by Hilario.

Chelsea should have levelled in the 64th minute when Frank Lampard collected a cross from Anelka but saw his eight-yard shot saved by Cesar. Mikel summed up a night of frustration for the Blues when he sent a 20-yard shot into the stands in the 88th minute