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WITH stragglers in fancy dress still crossing the line in the London Marathon the exhausting race for the Premier League reached its final bend at Stamford Bridge yesterday and ended with Chelsea hurtling down the home straight with the finishing line in sight.

A resounding, exhilarating 7-0 victory over Stoke City has put Carlo Ancelotti’s side within touching distance of the title and surely only a disastrous and unforeseen stumble can prevent them pipping Manchester United to the title now.

The result, secured by a hat-trick from unlikely hero Salomon Kalou, two strikes from Frank Lampard and one each from Daniel Sturridge and Florent Malouda, means Chelsea go into the final two games of the campaign top of the table, one point ahead of United and, significantly, with a eight-goal superior goal difference over their rivals.

Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool all hit the wall a long time ago, of course, so a two-horse race for the line could even be concluded next Sunday if Chelsea win at Anfield and United fail to follow suit at Sunderland.

On this performance, at least, Ancelotti’s side would be worthy champions.

Only a week ago their heads were hung low after a below par performance against Tottenham and a miserable defeat at White Hart Lane but the way they responded was quite remarkable.

Long gone are the days when Chelsea could be accused of being mechanical and overly cautious in their style of play and yesterday’s rout took their goal tally to 93 in the Premier League already this season, and in truth it could have been more.

Stoke’s shell-shocked manager Tony Pulis emerged ashen-faced afterwards to admit his side had been ‘murdered’ and ‘lucky to get nil’ and that really was no exaggeration because Chelsea dominated from start to finish and could not have sent out a clearer message to their title rivals.

In fairness the visitors, normally so difficult to beat, were hampered by losing their captain Abdoulaye Faye to injury after only nine minutes and goalkeeper Thomas Sorsensen to a dislocated elbow that makes him a doubt for the World Cup before half-time.

But with Chelsea in such exuberant mood it is impossible to believe the result would have been any different no matter who Stoke were able to field.

The afternoon began with Chelsea mascot Stamford the Lion being paraded on the pitch having just conquered the London Marathon and by 6pm the Blues had all but completed their own drawn-out mission.

Ashley Cole had already been denied a certain goal by a Robert Huth last-gasp block and Didier Drogba had seen Sorensen produce a miraculous save by the time Chelsea took the lead in flowing, cavalier style after 24 minutes and they never looked back.

The increasingly influential Malouda swept a high cross-field pass out to Drogba who somehow, incredibly, managed control it with his right foot, plucking the ball out of the air even though it had already flown past him.

The Ivorian then crossed waist-high for Kalou, recalled after being left out against Tottenham, to complete the move with an eye-catching diving header.

From that moment on the result was never really in doubt, especially after Kalou doubled the lead, sliding the ball home two-footed after Sorensen had saved a Lampard shot in the 31st minute – injuring the Danish international in the process.

Lampard’s penalty, dubiously awarded after Huth hauled down Kalou on the edge of the area, made it 3-0 before half-time and Chelsea showed no mercy after the break as they continued their forward momentum, refusing at any stage to slow down and wiping away memories of the Jose Mourinho days when a 2-0 win stayed a 2-0 win.

Kalou completed his first ever Chelsea hat-trick after 68 minutes, scoring at the second attempt after racing onto a Lampard through-ball, before three more goals in the last eight minutes took the result from a romp to a rout.

Lampard’s clever finish with the wrong side of his foot from a Sam Hutchinson cross – his 25th of the season – made it five before substitute Daniel Sturridge rounded substitute keeper Asmir Begovic and Malouda completed proceedings shortly before the end.

If Alex Ferguson was watching he would certainly have got the message. The Scotsman likes to remind his rivals the Premier League is a marathon not a sprint – but with the tape in sight and Chelsea’s heels kicking up dust that no longer applies.

Match rating: Handed Chelsea a dubious penalty but allowed the game to flow and used his cards sparingly in an entertaining game

Match rating: ***** – Chelsea were at their rip-roaring, ruthless best and the pace of their football was a thrill to watch. Outstanding goals, outstanding skills, outstanding victory.

Referee: Steve Bennett 7 - Handed Chelsea a dubious penalty but allowed the game to flow and used his cards sparingly in an entertaining game.

Chelsea are unbeaten in the last 21 Premier League matches in.

Man of the match: Salomon Kalou