Blues make meal of their prey

HUNTING clearly suits Chelsea. Avram Grant’s unloved and unappreciated side have already tracked down and overtaken a clutch of rivals in their pursuit of the Premier League title and a quarter-final first-leg deficit eventually proved no obstacle to gobbling up Fenerbahce last night.

It was not an easy kill. The Yellow Canaries were winged by Michael Ballack’s early headed goal but progress to the last four of the Champions League for the third time in four seasons remained in the balance until Frank Lampard swept in a flattering second just minutes from full-time.

Grant will not take any pride in simply squeezing past opponents whose resources and experience are meagre in comparison to his own but forgettable displays such as this will be of little relevance if he breaks Liverpool’s hold over Chelsea in Europe in their two-legged semi-final later this month.