Subdued Scousers : Liverpool 0 Chelsea 2

Chelsea edged closer to the Premier League title with a crucial 2-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield.
An error by Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard handed Didier Drogba a simple opening goal in the first half and Frank Lampard added a second after the break.
The result ensured Chelsea remained in pole position to win their first championship for four years but also finally put paid to the Merseysiders' hopes of securing Champions League football next season.
With Manchester United a point behind before kick-off and playing later in the day, Carlo Ancelotti's side knew anything less than a win would hand the initiative to their rival.
And with next week's final weekend seeing United host Stoke - Chelsea are at home to Wigan - there was no margin for error.
Chelsea were undoubtedly the better side but the match may have turned out differently had they not been gifted a 33rd-minute lead.
The conspiracy theorists would certainly have had a field day.
Some fans had been suggesting all week they would rather Chelsea win an Anfield than beat the Stamford Bridge side and hand United the chance to eclipse the club's tally of 18 league titles.
However, even they could not have prophesied the manner of Chelsea's goal.
Gerrard failed to notice Drogba when he passed back to Jose Reina and the Ivory Coast international nipped in to round the goalkeeper and tuck the ball home.
Prior to that, the early exchanges had been open. Lampard shot wide and Nicolas Anelka forced Reina into a low save while Liverpool's Maxi Rodriguez and Javier Mascherano, standing in at right-back because of Glen Johnson's calf injury, saw shots deflected wide.
There were also three penalty claims in what was a bustling first half.
Two for Chelsea involved Salomon Kalou. His first was an ambitious dive in the ninth minute under Mascherano's challenge but referee Alan Wiley allowed that to go unpunished.
In added time at the end of the first half the same player was through on goal - with Lucas Leiva in close attendance - and managed to trip himself up.
Despite fierce Chelsea protests Wiley again made the correct decision.
Whether he got Alberto Aquilani's 26th-minute penalty shout right was open to debate after the Italy international went down under Branislav Ivanovic's challenge. As he raced on to Rodriguez's chipped pass the defender's contact with the ball was inconclusive.
The loss of Rodriguez to injury just before half-time, when he was replaced by Ryan Babel, was a blow to Liverpool.
Six minutes into the second half Kalou muscled his way past Mascherano to drill a cross into the six-yard area, where Anelka failed to get the touch which would certainly have brought a second Chelsea goal.
But the Frenchman played a more influential role in the 54th minute when his cross picked out Lampard who bundled home from close range.
If that was not bad enough for Liverpool, they then lost Carragher to injury which meant 19-year-old Daniel Ayala was thrust into the action.
A forlorn-looking Fernando Torres, whose season was prematurely ended by a second knee operation in three months, could only watch on despondently from the stands.
It would have been 3-0 in the 67th minute had it not been for Reina's one-handed save from Florent Malouda's low shot.
David Ngog replaced Aquilani for the final 15 minutes but Liverpool were a spent force with only Reina keeping Chelsea at bay, punching away Michael Ballack's 25-yard free-kick and then producing a smart double save from Anelka and then Kalou.
The defeat meant Liverpool will finish the season with their lowest points total in five years, since accruing 58 in Rafael Benitez's first campaign in charge back in 2004-05.
Whether the Spaniard, strongly linked with Juventus, is around next season to rectify that remains in doubt.

Potters Punished : Chelsea 7 Stoke City 0

Chelsea sent a defiant title message to Manchester United as they went back to the top of the Premier League with a stunning 7-0 demolition of Stoke City at Stamford Bridge.
Carlo Ancelotti's side was asked to respond to United's 3-1 win over Tottenham on Saturday and the Blues, minus suspended captain John Terry, did so in some style.
A hat-trick from Ivorian striker Salomon Kalou, a brace from Frank Lampard, including a penalty, and late goals from substitute Daniel Sturridge and Florent Malouda maintained Chelsea's dream of winning a League and FA Cup double this season.
The win restored Chelsea's place at the summit by a single point and victories over Liverpool at Anfield and against Wigan in the final home game will deliver the title for the first time since 2006.
Stoke were expected to put up some stiff resistance but Chelsea's mood from the kick-off dictated otherwise.
The Blues, so often criticised for failing to start well, were determined to reclaim top spot.
The visitors were not helped by a serious injury to goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen and the loss of captain Abdoulaye Faye through injury early on.
Faye had been struggling with a thigh problem all week and he was replaced by Ryan Shawcross after just eight minutes.
It was Shawcross's first game since his tackle on Aaron Ramsey left the Arsenal midfielder with a badly broken leg at the end of February.
Chelsea should have taken the lead in the 12th minute when Lampard's shot was palmed into the path of Ashley Cole by Sorensen.
But Cole, playing his first game since fracturing an ankle against Everton in February, smashed his shot straight at the Denmark international.
In the 18th minute Drogba sent a speculative effort over the cross bar but two minutes later the Ivorian forced a superb save from Sorensen.
Full-back Paulo Ferreira found Drogba unmarked at the near post but his powerful header was brilliantly tipped away by the Stoke stopper.
In the 22nd minute Drogba latched on to a superb ball from Malouda, rounded Sorensen and then inexplicably smashed his volley high into the crowd. It should have been Chelsea's opener.
But he made up for it a minute later when he controlled a sweeping pass from Malouda by lifting his left leg up behind him and crossed for Kalou to head home from close range.
Lampard almost made it two in the 26th minute but his volley was collected safely at the near post by Sorensen.
But it was 2-0 in the 31st minute with another superb move. Nicolas Anelka's pass was cleverly played into the path of Lampard by Drogba.
The England midfielder drilled a first-time shot which Sorensen saved but Kalou poked home the rebound.
But Sorensen was injured trying to prevent Kalou from scoring and is understood to have dislocated his elbow - an injury which will keep him out for the rest of the season but he should recover in time for the World Cup finals. He was carried off on a stretcher after undergoing lengthy treatment.
He required oxygen as he left the pitch and was replaced by Asmir Begovic.
Chelsea made it 3-0 from the penalty spot in the 43rd minute when Robert Huth brought down Kalou and Lampard stroked home the spot-kick.
In the 52nd minute Kalou, clearly looking to a hat-trick, sent a curling shot just over the angle of the post and crossbar.
Stoke made a change in the 59th minute when Tuncay Sanli replaced Dave Kitson. The departing Kitson was clearly not happy with the decision and gestured to the bench before going straight down the tunnel.
Kalou completed his first hat-trick for the club in the 68th minute to make it 4-0.
The Ivorian striker cut in from the right flank and although his first effort was saved by Begovic, Kalou slammed home the rebound.
It was the last action for the striker who was replaced by Joe Cole to a standing ovation from the home fans.
Malouda failed to score from a yard out when Anelka's cross eluded the Stoke defence and the France international was thwarted by a great save from Begovic in the 78th minute.
Chelsea made it 5-0 in the 81st minute when substitute Sam Hutchinson crossed for Lampard to score his 25th of the season with a clever volley.
In the 87th minute, Drogba set-up substitute Sturridge who rounded Begovic to make it 6-0.
Two minutes later Malouda made it 7-0 as Stoke capitulated under the constant pressure.
(sportal.co.nz)

Smooth Spurs : Tottenham 2 Chelsea 1

Jermain Defoe and Gareth Bale blew the Premier League title race open with goals in Tottenham's 2-1 win over Chelsea - and also put Tottenham back in the Champions League places.
Defoe tucked away from the penalty spot for his 24th of the season after John Terry handled in the area, then Bale followed up his midweek goal against Arsenal with another before the break at White Hart Lane.
Terry's miserable evening, after being involved in a verbal spat with a supporter at half-time, was capped off with a sending off for two bookings.
Frank Lampard pulled one back but it was too late for Chelsea.
Television scheduling meant the match kicked off with Manchester United only a point behind Carlo Ancelotti's leaders, having defeated their rivals City with a last-gasp winner.
That result also favoured Spurs in their hunt for fourth place as they knew a victory would take them back above City - and within a quarter of an hour they were ahead.
Florent Malouda's powerful drive from 30 yards may have been parried by Heurelho Gomes in the early stages but it was Spurs who were applying the pressure before the deadlock was broken.
Roman Pavlyuchenko fired over from the edge of the area and also had an effort blocked by Alex - but Harry Redknapp's men were not made to wait long for their opener.
They were denied penalties when Defoe appeared to get his shirt pulled by Terry and when Bale went over John Mikel Obi's challenge, then Phil Dowd pointed to the spot after the third appeal. Pavlyuchenko stepped over Bale's cross from the left and Terry headed the ball onto his arm, enough for Dowd to award a penalty, a very soft one in my opinion.
Terry was accused of getting away with a penalty following a similar incident against Bolton in midweek but the former England skipper's luck looked to have run out on this occasion.
There was still a chance of a reprieve as Defoe had missed his previous two penalties this season and was asked to step down from spot-kick duties, but Tom Huddlestone then missed against Bolton so the England striker volunteered again and this time sent Petr Cech the wrong way.
Redknapp's men looked for a second and Cech was called into action when Pavlyuchenko spun on the edge of the area and curled a shot that needed tipping over. Then Luka Modric went on a mazy run that led to David Bentley getting a volley deflected wide by Terry.
It got worse for Chelsea as Mikel picked up an injury and headed straight down the tunnel when he was replaced by Michael Ballack in the 34th minute.
They did have the ball in the net shortly after, but the flag had gone up for offside when Yury Zhirkov slipped Malouda through to finish past Gomes.
Bale doubled the lead just before the break when he cut inside Paulo Ferreira and used his unfavoured right foot to beat Cech at the near post.
Lampard almost pulled one back immediately but Gomes pulled off a save at full stretch to block the volley, replicating his performance against Arsenal on Wednesday when he was at his best to protect Spurs' lead.
There was drama at half-time, starting with Terry's spat with a fan by the tunnel.
Ancelotti's response was to use his remaining substitutes at the break, with Nicolas Anelka and Branislav Ivanovic coming on for Joe Cole and Ferreira, but Didier Drogba then pulled up injured just before the restart. With all of Chelsea's substitutes used, Drogba hobbled back on to prevent his team playing with 10 men.
Defoe had a chance to extend the lead in the 50th minute when Pavlyuchenko poked his strike partner through, but Cech was down sharply to save the one-on-one opportunity.
The feisty atmosphere went up a notch when Lampard and Huddlestone crashed into a tackle, leading to the Spurs player getting booked and Deco also being cautioned for his role in the aftermath.
Terry was also cautioned midway through the second half for bringing down Pavlyuchenko from behind when the Russian was running at goal.
He got his marching orders 23 minutes from full-time, with his second foul on Bale.
"Twice I got the ball," he told his bench as he headed down the tunnel.
Bentley almost added another but his cheeky lob was tipped over by Cech and there was also time for Gomes to deny Drogba from close range and for Lampard to pull one back in stoppage time.

Let's hope Spurs put on this kind of performance against Manure next weekend.

(Nod to sportal.co.nz)

Wily Wanderers : Chelsea 1 Bolton 0

A first-half strike from Nicolas Anelka gave jittery Chelsea a 1-0 victory over Bolton and sent them four points clear at the top of the English Premier League.
But it was evident from the laboured performance by Carlo Ancelotti's side that the title nerves are beginning to take hold.
The Blues had to wait until the 43rd minute to break down a stubborn Bolton side that almost snatched a draw in the closing stages.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson insists the title is Chelsea's to throw away and, judging by the anxiety on show at Stamford Bridge, the run-in promises to be a thrilling affair.
There was little evidence that Chelsea would struggle to overcome Owen Coyle's side when left-back Yury Zhirkov created a chance for the home side in the fifth minute.
The Russian pulled the ball back for Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba who sent his curling shot over the crossbar.
Bolton's defence was almost caught out again moments later but Drogba was given offside as he tried to beat Jussi Jaaskelainen.
In the seventh minute, Chelsea had a scare when captain John Terry required lengthy treatment on his ankle following a collision with Matthew Taylor.
But the England defender was able to continue without any ill effects.
The Blues had lost their early impetus, though, and Bolton caused problems for the home side when Petr Cech failed to collect a cross from Chung-yong Lee.
Taylor almost profited from Cech's hesitation but the Czech Republic international quickly regained control of the ball before the Bolton midfielder could strike.
Zhirkov was in the wars in the 18th minute when he went down following a collision with Bolton striker Kevin Davies.
The left-back required a hefty bandage on his head to stem the flow of blood before being allowed to continue.
Chelsea almost went in front in the 25th minute when Jaaskelainen punched Drogba's free-kick straight at Salomon Kalou. But, luckily for Bolton, it bounced off his head and wide.
The hosts were becoming more and more frustrated by Bolton's battling rearguard and that increased in the 37th minute when Drogba sent another free-kick wide of the target from 20 yards.
Zhirkov was asked to leave the pitch in the 39th minute by referee Lee Probert because he was still losing blood from his head wound.
It was clear the Russian defender's injury required stitches and Chelsea continued with 10 men - Frank Lampard taking over Zhirkov's position until he re-appeared in the 41st minute.
The breakthrough came in the 43rd minute when Drogba's cross was headed home from inside the six-yard box by Anelka.
It was the France international's first goal in 14 games for the Blues in a barren spell lasting just over two months.
Moments later Kalou tried to increase Chelsea's lead but his 20-yard shot was well wide of the target.
Chelsea's opening goal failed to liven up their performance as the second half began.
Bolton enjoyed much of the possession and the home side looked decidedly subdued.
Chelsea had even resorted to lumping high balls in the general direction of Drogba but it was a fruitless tactic.
Kalou wasted a great chance to put the game beyond Bolton in the 54th minute when Drogba put his Ivory Coast team-mate through on goal.
Kalou only had Jaaskelainen to beat but his shot was saved by the Bolton goalkeeper.
But it was a rare chance for the home side, who then survived a penalty appeal when Terry appeared to use his arm to divert a cross from Lee into Cech's hands.
Zhirkov forced Jaaskelainen into another fine save when he collected a return ball from Lampard and thumped a volley straight at the Bolton keeper.
Anelka was replaced by Florent Malouda midway through the second half.
A superb 40-yard pass from Alex in the 75th minute allowed Kalou to get free of the Bolton defence yet again but his angled drive was well saved by Jaaskelainen.
Three minutes later Lampard almost sealed victory when his 20-yard drive cannoned back off the inside of the post.
Six minutes from time Bolton substitute Johan Elmander was inches away from equalising when he headed a cross from Taylor just wide.
It was, though, the last nervy moment for the hosts, who hung on to move a step closer to achieving the league and FA Cup double.
(sportal.co.nz)

Semi Sewn Up : Aston Villa 0 Chelsea 3

Chelsea kept themselves on course for a League and FA Cup double with a 3-0 semi-final victory against Aston Villa at Wembley.
Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba pounced in the 67th minute to put Chelsea in front and late goals from Florent Malouda and Frank Lampard ensured they remain in the hunt to become only the seventh English team to win both competitions in the same season.
It was Drogba's 32nd goal of the season but until he struck with typically clinical efficiency, the FA Cup holders had laboured against a side they hammered 7-1 in the league at Stamford Bridge a fortnight ago.
Carlo Ancelotti's side looked lethargic and out of sorts in a largely forgettable opening half.
The state of the Wembley pitch was the biggest factor as the semi-final got underway, with players from both sides failing to keep their feet.
Villa, still smarting from that heavy drubbing, settled much quicker than Chelsea.
But Chelsea had their isolated moments. Joe Cole, attempting to persuade watching England boss Fabio Capello that he is worth a place in his squad for the World Cup finals, sent an angled drive just wide from 20 yards in the 11th minute.
But Villa had more intensity about their game and, although the players continued to be hampered by the greasy surface, they possessed more menace.
James Milner almost put them in front in the 14th minute when his 25-yard drive flashed inches wide of Petr Cech's right-hand post.
But the biggest talking point of the opening half, even eclipsing the state of the pitch, was a Villa penalty appeal that was firmly rejected by Howard Webb.
Gabriel Agbonlahor looked to have pulled the shirt of John Obi Mikel before the Villa striker went down under his challenge.
Referee Webb dismissed their appeals, much to the chagrin of coach Martin O'Neill in the Villa technical area.
Villa's high-tempo game was causing Chelsea all kinds of problems and the league leaders needed a last-gasp header from captain John Terry to prevent John Carew from finishing off a fine cross by Stewart Downing.
But in the 34th minute, Villa were thankful for a superb block by Stephen Warnock as Florent Malouda's cross provided Drogba with an opening.
Chelsea countered through the lively Cole who forced Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel into a fine save at his near post when Warnock's poor header fell to the Chelsea winger.
Villa striker John Carew, who had been marshalled superbly by Terry for much of the game, was just wide from a corner by Downing in the 46th minute.
But Villa's game fell away, just as it had done in the league game a fortnight ago, and Chelsea, buoyed by a half-time pep-talk from Ancelotti, set about their opponents for the first time in the game.
Deco sent a half-volley wide of the target in the 50th minute and moments later Cole just failed to get on the end of a Drogba cross at the near post.
Cole made way for Salomon Kalou in the 64th minute and two minutes later the substitute played a part in Chelsea's opener.
Kalou found the rampaging Drogba with a clever through-ball but he was foiled by a challenge from Richard Dunne.
But Chelsea made Villa pay from Malouda's corner. Dunne could only head the ball straight to Terry and his mis-hit shot fell to the unmarked Drogba, who steered it home from six yards.
It was his fifth goal in competitive matches at Wembley and broke Villa's resistance completely.
O'Neill's side, faced with lifting themselves in the final 20 minutes, huffed and puffed without troubling Cech in the Chelsea goal.
It was Chelsea who finished the stronger and they booked a place in their third FA Cup final in four years through Malouda in the 89th minute.
Frank Lampard fed substitute Michael Ballack on the right wing and the German crossed superbly for Malouda to sweep the ball home at the far post.
Lampard scored a third from close range in added time but by then it was all academic, with Chelsea's double dream still very much alive.
(soccernet.espn.go.com)