Premier League
March 13, 2010
Chelsea
4 - 1
West Ham United
Premier League
15:00 GMT, March 13, 2010
Stamford Bridge, England
Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Blues overcome Hammers' resistance
Scoring Summary
| Chelsea | West Ham United |
|---|---|
| Alex (16') | Scott Parker (30') |
| Didier Drogba (56') | |
| Florent Malouda (77') | |
| Didier Drogba (90') |
Teams
| Chelsea | West Ham United |
|---|---|
| 22 Ross Turnbull | 1 Robert Green |
| 26 John Terry | 15 Matthew Upson |
| 33 Alex | 4 Daniel Gabbidon |
| 19 Paulo Ferreira | 33 Fabio Daprela |
| 2 Branislav Ivanovic | 18 Jonathan Spector |
| 12 John Mikel Obi | 8 Scott Parker |
| 8 Frank Lampard | 21 Valon Behrami |
| 13 Michael Ballack | 14 Radoslav Kovac |
| 15 Florent Malouda | 7 Kieron Courtney Dyer |
| 11 Didier Drogba | 11 Hossam Mido |
| 39 Nicolas Anelka | 9 Aruajo Ilan |
| Substitutes | |
| 10 Joe Cole | Benedict McCarthy 17 |
| 20 Deco | Carlton Cole 12 |
| 21 Salomon Kalou | Marek Stech 29 |
| 18 Yuri Zhirkov | Alessandro Diamanti 32 |
| 23 Daniel Sturridge | James Tomkins 30 |
| 30 Rhys Taylor | Jack Collison 31 |
| 43 Jeffrey Bruma | Junior Stanislas 46 |
| Substitutions | |
| Joe Cole for Nicolas Anelka (66) | Carlton Cole for Hossam Mido (68) |
| Yuri Zhirkov for Branislav Ivanovic (80) | Junior Stanislas for Kieron Courtney Dyer (68) |
| Salomon Kalou for Florent Malouda (87) | Alessandro Diamanti for Aruajo Ilan (84) |
| Yellow Cards | |
| Hossam Mido (49) | |
| · Squads: Chelsea | West Ham United | |
Chelsea went back to the top of the Premier League with a comfortable win over West Ham at Stamford Bridge.
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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 at full-stretch to keep out a 20-yard low drive from Lampard.
Two minutes later, Nicolas Anelka tried his luck from 20 yards 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 were 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.
It was followed moments later by 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.
Inter surprisingly lost to Catania on Friday night and that, coupled with Chelsea's victory over West Ham, has put the Blues in the perfect frame of mind.
"I don't think we sent a message,'' said Ancelotti. "The game is in the balance. We want to win but so do Inter. We have to do our best to win and in this moment we are in good condition to do our best. I have not seen Inter's game yet, I will watch it on Sunday.''
Ancelotti was a little coy though when it came to the situation concerning his goalkeeping choice for Tuesday night's game. Third-choice keeper Ross Turnbull made his Blues debut against West Ham, and while he looked competent enough, he had little to do. His inexperience, particularly when it comes to the Champions League, may be a concern for the Blues.
Chelsea are without calf injury victim Petr Cech and his deputy Hilario, has a groin strain. But Chelsea may well try to rush Hilario back to full fitness in time although Ancelotti continued to maintain Turnbull will play.
"We can play with a good goalkeeper on Tuesday,'' he added. "Ross was not involved a lot of time in the game but he did a good save in the last minute of the match.
"He played with confidence and a good game. There was no worry. This is important. he deserved to play this game because he trained very well in the last month to improve his quality. We have confidence in him. I think he will play Tuesday.''
After the 4-2 defeat to Manchester City at home, Ancelotti was looking for his side to bounce back in the league. They delivered the response perfectly. "It was important to have a good reaction,'' said the Italian.
"We had a good reaction against Stoke and we improved again today. We had a bad day against Manchester City but we came back the right way. It was a very good performance.''
West Ham coach Gianfranco Zola said the scoreline was not a true reflection of the game but they could not recover from Chelsea's second goal from Drogba. "It was tough after the second goal,'' said Zola. "Until then we looked okay. But the second goal was a big blow.
"We played well and kept the control. Scott Parker was dominating in my opinion and I thought we could have got something. But Chelsea punish you when you make mistakes.
"The result does not reflect the way the game was played. It was too much. I feel for my players because they worked hard all the game and they did not deserve that result. The first goal was poor marking and we lost our shape for the second.''