Hornets Humbled : Chelsea 5 Watford 0

Two goals from Daniel Sturridge inspired Chelsea to a thrashing of Watford as the FA Cup holders moved into the fourth round, reports espnstar.com.
Sturridge started and finished the scoring as Chelsea produced a five-star showing against their Coca-Cola Championship opponents.
An own goal from John Eustace, a deflected effort from Florent Malouda and a thunderous finish from Frank Lampard were sandwiched in between Sturridge's brace as Chelsea dominated from the start.
Sturridge, handed the task of replacing Didier Drogba while he is away on international duty in the African Nations Cup, put the home side in front in the fifth minute with his first goal for the club.
A corner from Lampard was headed down by Alex for John Terry to fire the ball into the six-yard box, where Sturridge pounced to score.
Sturridge was in fine form and almost added a second moments later but saw his 20-yard shot just flash past Scott Loach's left-hand upright.
But Chelsea went two goals in front in the 14th minute thanks to a comedy of errors from the Championship side.
Malouda's cross was hit back into the six-yard box by Joe Cole, only for the ball to cannon off Jay Demerit. The Watford captain watched in horror as the ball then slammed against Lampard before Eustace turned it into his own net as he tried to clear.
Chelsea were completely on top and moments later Loach made a superb one-handed save to stop a thumping header from Alex finding the net.
In the 19th minute Juliano Belletti was inches away from a third when he hit Lampard's corner first time from 20 yards out.
But Chelsea made it 3-0 in the 21st minute when a 20-yard shot from Yury Zhirkov deflected off Malouda and sent Loach the wrong way.
Another superb Chelsea move in the 37th minute almost brought the home side a fourth.
This time captain Terry joined the attack and his superb through-ball gave Sturridge the chance to score his second - but the striker sent his left-foot shot just wide of the far post.
Watford started the second half brightly and in the 52nd minute, Henri Lansbury saw a shot deflected for a corner as Chelsea's defence failed to clear.
Seconds later Demerit tested Chelsea goalkeeper Hilario with a firm header from the resultant corner.
But Chelsea soon got back on top of the game and in the 55th minute Ashley Cole was a yard wide with an angled drive.
The England-full-back then lifted the ball on to the roof of the net in the 60th minute as the Blues continued to dominate.
Sturridge then raced clear of the Watford defence but was foiled by a fine save from Loach as he attempted to lift the ball over his head and into the net.
But Chelsea made it 4-0 in the 64th minute with a superb Lampard strike.
The England midfielder was given time and space some 25 yards out and sent a thunderous rising drive into the roof of the net. It was a fabulous finish from the Chelsea midfielder who had been at the centre of all the home side's best moves.
Four minutes later it was 5-0 after Ashley Cole and Zhirkov combined superbly on the left wing. Cole's run into the penalty box was followed by a clever cross to the waiting Sturridge, who controlled the ball and slipped it beyond the helpless Loach.
However, the striker's hopes of a hat-trick were ended soon after when he was replaced by Fabio Borini, although he left the field to a standing ovation from the home fans.
In the 85th minute Joe Cole almost got himself on the scoresheet but his shot on the turn was just too high.
Chelsea continued push for a sixth and Lampard was inches away from getting a touch to a cross from Branislav Ivanovic in the 90th minute.

Fulham Floored : Chelsea 2 Fulham 1

Chelsea came from behind to spare their blushes against west London neighbours Fulham and restore their five-point lead at the Premier League summit, reports sportal.co.nz.
Zoltan Gera gave Roy Hodgson's side a fairytale start at Stamford Bridge when he struck after just three minutes and Fulham looked comfortable for the first hour.
But then Chelsea moved through the gears and was rewarded with two goals in two minutes with Didier Drogba notching the equaliser before the pressure forced defender Chris Smalling to concede an own goal.
It was a cruel blow for Fulham who defended heroically until the Blues' onslaught began to take its toll.
The 20-year-old Smalling, deputising for the injured Brede Hangeland, will feel particularly aggrieved after making a fine full debut - until he turned the ball into his own net.
Chelsea's unconvincing performance, which was one-dimensional and lacked imagination, will have given its title rivals further encouragement that the championship race is far from over.
Jose Mourinho, watching from the stands in preparation for Inter Milan's Champions League clash against his former club, will also have been encouraged by what he saw.
Carlo Ancelotti reacted to Chelsea's run of just one victory in five matches by making six changes.
Only John Terry remained from the back four that started the goalless draw against Birmingham with Ricardo Carvalho, Yury Zhirkov and Paulo Ferreira joining him.
Midfielders Joe Cole and Michael Ballack also returned, while Drogba and Salomon Kalou played their last matches in club colours before heading off to the African Nations Cup.
But despite the shake-up Chelsea suffered from an abysmal lack of penetration in the final third where vast reams of possession were wasted amid a flurry of mis-hit shots.
In contrast, Fulham was able to unpick its opponent as early as the third minute.
Paul Konchesky found acres of space on the left before launching a cross that deceived Terry and the England skipper watched in horror as Bobby Zamora, stationed six yards out, found Gera.
The Hungarian was stood at point blank range but still had work to do as he controlled the ball, turned and planted his shot beyond Petr Cech.
Gera celebrated with a back flip but whatever the scoreline said it was all Chelsea with Fulham struggling to string more than a couple of passes together.
Only resolute defending was keeping the blue horde at bay with Konchesky executing a well-timed tackle on Lampard as the England midfielder weaved his way into the area.
For all their possession, however, Chelsea were failing to create any chances and were becoming less of a threat as the match progressed.
Cech had to palm a shot by Clint Dempsey over the crossbar after the American had been expertly set up by Zamora, whose physical presence was causing Chelsea problems.
Referee Andre Marriner told captains Danny Murphy and Terry to speak with John Pantsil and Drogba in response to the African rivals' running battle.
It was then Schwarzer's turn to talk to Drogba following his challenge on Pantsil and moments later the Ivorian was floored by a kick from his nemesis after his thunderbolt had been blocked.
Chelsea enjoyed a lucky escape seconds after the interval when a poorly-judged backpass by Carvalho was intercepted by Zamora, whose shot cannoned off the leg of the advancing Cech.
Schwarzer was pressed into action on the hour when he made a fine stop of Drogba's curling effort from the edge of the area.
Fulham's defence was finally starting to creak but two poor shots by Kalou and Lampard let them off the hook.
Chelsea replaced Mikel with Daniel Sturridge and Fulham brought on Andy Johnson for Gera as the match entered the final 20 minutes.
The equaliser finally arrived in the 73rd minute, substitute Branislav Ivanovic picking out Drogba who rose above Chris Baird at the far post to nod home.
And two minutes later Chelsea stormed ahead when Smalling, attempting to clear Schwarzer's save of Sturridge's shot, turned the ball into his own net for the winner.

Brummies Unbreached : Birmingham C 0 Chelsea 0

The Blues had to be content with a Boxing Day point at in form Birmingham as the two sides played out a scoreless draw, reports sportal.co.nz.
While Chelsea enjoyed the better chances, it was Birmingham who had the ball in the net at St Andrew's, Christian Benitez poking it over the line and apparently being played onside by an injured Didier Drogba only to see the flag raised against him.
The visitors, defending a four-point lead over second-placed Manchester United, had excellent chances to win it themselves as Branislav Ivanovic, Daniel Sturridge, Alex and Florent Malouda all went close. Malouda, meanwhile, was dismissed in the closing stages after receiving a second caution.
Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti handed Sturridge - whose father Michael and uncle Simon are former Birmingham players - his first Premier League start in the absence of the injured Nicolas Anelka.
Birmingham were unchanged for the seventh successive game as they attempted to build on a nine-match unbeaten run.
The home side carved out the first chance less than a minute into the match, Barry Ferguson catching Chelsea cold with a sweeping pass that Cameron Jerome brought under control only to fire off target.
Chelsea right-back Ivanovic came close to opening the scoring in the 11th minute when he rose to meet Malouda's corner but headed just over.
Frank Lampard scooped a 35-yard effort well over as Chelsea continued to push forward, while Juliano Belletti headed just wide from a tight angle in the 18th minute.
Drogba continued the assault when he met Ivanovic's cross from deep with a powerful volley that whistled wide, and soon afterwards Sturridge blasted a shot that Joe Hart did well to save.
Lampard's snap-shot forced another good save from Hart after good forward play by Drogba to create the opening.
Birmingham had the ball in the net in the 31st minute only for it to be ruled out somewhat harshly.
When the ball was fired back into the box after a free-kick, with Drogba lying injured, Liam Ridgewell directed the ball towards goal - only for Benitez, apparently in an offside position, to stab it over the line and see the goal ruled out by the assistant referee's flag. However, television replays suggested the home fans' frustration was justified, with Drogba playing the striker onside.
Chelsea hit back, with Alex's powerful free-kick from distance smashing into the crossbar with half-time approaching.
In added time, Sturridge had a glorious opportunity when Drogba crossed from the right but the youngster's volley at the far post was narrowly wide.
After a quiet opening to the second half in which Chelsea probed without making headway, City striker Benitez cut inside for a shot that Terry blocked well with his head in the 58th minute.
Livewire Benitez was Birmingham's dangerman and he forced Malouda to foul him and concede a yellow card on the hour following more determined dribbling.
From the resulting free-kick, Sebastian Larsson curled a trademark effort towards the top left-hand corner that Petr Cech did well to save, injuring himself against the post in the process but recovering quickly.
The visitors continued to press at the other end and Belletti and Lampard had half-chances, while Ancelotti replaced Sturridge with Salomon Kalou in the 67th minute.
Kalou nearly had an immediate impact as his cross from the right found Malouda, who miscued woefully in lots of space.
Hart produced another excellent save from Drogba's shot in the 71st minute before Lampard scuffed a first-time effort from the corner that followed.
Birmingham broke forward in the 74th minute after James McFadden fed Jerome but the striker could not provide an end product as he was smothered in the Chelsea box.
Malouda's nightmarish afternoon was complete when he received a second yellow card in the closing stages for an ill-judged challenge on Stephen Carr, while substitutes Keith Fahey and Damien Johnson both created half-chances for Birmingham during six minutes of added time.