Chelsea recover cutting edge

Portsmouth 0 Chelsea 5

Victory at Fratton Park sent Chelsea up to second in the table, one point behind Manchester United, and means if they win every one of their last seven matches – including a ‘six pointer’ at Old Trafford – they will be crowned champions.

That, of course, is far easier to achieve on paper than in reality, but Carlo Ancelotti’s side – who are also level on goal difference with United after Frank Lampard’s late fifth – may still remember this match as a turning point in a topsy-turvy season despite a controversial first half in which they were fortunate to keep 11 men on the pitch.

“We needed to have this performance, we needed to win,’’ the Italian said. “We did this. I hope that bad moment is finished. We have to wait until Saturday against Aston Villa, because that’s a very important test for us. We’ll know then whether this period has finished.

“We’d lost some confidence in our play in the last few weeks, but we played well here.”

Asked if he felt his side’s fate was now in their own hands, Ancelotti said: “I think so. But we have to prepare these nine games like a final, no? It won’t be easy, but it’s important to stay involved in the Premier League.”

Having been bullied by Jose Mourinho’s men in the Champions League, Chelsea showed they too have an edge as Malouda left Ricardo Rocha with a fractured cheekbone and Daniel Sturridge gave Tommy Smith a broken nose.

The fact that referee Lee Mason decided not to send off either assailant – and in fact in Sturridge’s case didn’t even issue a yellow card – left Portsmouth furious and could potentially result in an FA investigation in the near future.

But it was Chelsea’s hugely-convincing second-half display that will have a greater influence on the way the Premier League looks come May when Portsmouth will certainly be at the bottom and Ancelotti’s side may yet be at the top.

Chelsea’s early performance lacked cohesion and it wasn’t until they were gifted a ridiculous opening goal that they began to look like a title chasing team.

Lampard had been the only man with a shot on target until then but when David James embarrassingly air-kicked Deco’s headed pass, allowing Drogba the simple task of tapping home in the 32nd minute, Portsmouth’s miserable season hit yet another low.

It’s the kind of luck that any team with title ambition needs but stuttering Chelsea struggled to take real advantage of it, going into the half-time break with a narrow 1-0 lead and the home side on the ascendancy.

In fact the half was more memorable for controversy than football because the Fratton Park faithful had been brought to life by an ugly elbow from Malouda on Rocha, which ended the Portsmouth man’s evening, and then Sturridge’s even more obvious elbow on Smith.

Not that Chelsea allowed it to affect them, however, because they dominated the second half and ended up convincing and deserved victors, especially once Malouda lashed home a left-foot shot to double his side’s lead after 50 minutes. The Frenchman made it 3-0 soon after, rifling home after Lampard’s shot had been saved, and Drogba, having been found superbly by Mikel, scored his 30th of the season in all competitions for number four.

Lampard had a simple job to complete the rout after that and his header from all of two yards, four minutes into injury time, could yet prove to be significant in a title race that promises to be one of the closest ever.

All eyes now will turn to Chelsea’s trip to Old Trafford on Easter Saturday, April 3 – and who’s to say it won’t go to goal difference?

Portsmouth subs: Rocha for Basinas 45, Smith for Quincy 46, Mokoena for Kanu 71.

Chelsea subs: Carvalho for Alex 37, Zhirkov for Van Aanholt 71, Sturridge for Joe Cole 55.

Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire).