Chelsea-Stoke City 7-0 25/04/2010 Pre Match SKY SPORTS HD

Chelsea-Stoke City 7-0 25/04/2010 Pre Match SKY SPORTS HD

Chelsea romped their way back to the top of the Premier League with an awe-inspiring 7-0 win over Stoke City at Stamford Bridge.

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Salomon Kalou scored a hat-trick and Frank Lampard bagged a brace, with Florent Malouda and Daniel Sturridge adding one more each as Carlo Ancelotti’s side looked every inch the champions elect.
The ruthless dismantling of the Potters, who were unbeaten in their previous six away matches, was Chelsea’s biggest result since they beat Portsmouth by seven clear goals in May 1963.
With two matches to go Chelsea are a point above Manchester United, but they now have an eight-goal advantage on goal difference ahead of their visit to Liverpool.
With the visit of Wigan their final league encounter following the trip to Anfield, Chelsea know that if they win their next two games they are champions, and league and FA Cup double winners if they win their next three. On this fearsome form, there can’t be many who would bet against them.
After an opening period in which Stoke held their own, as Ricardo Fuller gave stand-in centre-back Branislav Ivanovic a tough time, Chelsea exhibited the swagger of champions as they began to put the visitors to the sword.
Lampard had a shot saved by Sorensen and Ashley Cole, making his first appearance since February after recovering from an ankle injury, saw his follow-up effort blocked by Ryan Shawcross.
Sorensen was called into action against when he made a good reaction save from Didier Drogba’s near post header, before the Ivorian juggled the ball and blazed his volley over the bar.
Drogba was at his unplayable best, and he set up Kalou’s opener with a sublime piece of play. Florent Malouda pinged a crossfield ball out to him on the right which he brought down behind him with the outside of his boot before firing in a low cross that Kalou converted with a low diving header.
Stoke were by now almost permanently pinned in their own half, and it wasn’t long before they were two goals down. Again Drogba made the opportunity as he put a high ball into the path of Lampard with a cushioned first touch. Lampard’s strike was beaten away by Sorensen but Kalou dived in feet first to steer the ball in from close range.
Kalou leapt in two-footed, with studs showing, and collided with Sorensen’s arm as the keeper lunged across to palm the ball away.
Having already lost defender Abdoulaye Faye in the early stages, Sorensen was stretchered off and taken to hospital with a dislocated elbow, meaning he could well miss Denmark’s World Cup campaign.
After a brief resurgence from the Potters, Chelsea put the result beyond doubt just before half-time from the penalty spot.
Kalou cut in from the left wing and Shawcross, who replaced Faye in the eighth minute, desperately clung on to the forward’s leg and dragged him down in instalments. Although the foul appeared to have started outside the area, Kalou drove into the box before going down, and referee Steve Bennett pointed to the spot. Despite Kalou being on a first-half hat-trick, Lampard placed the ball on the spot and calmly rolled it into the bottom corner with substitute keeper Asmir Begovic going the wrong way.
There was no let-up after the break for Stoke, who were subjected to a torrid second half. Kalou showed his intentions when he weaved past two Stoke defenders before firing a strike wide of the far post, but it was not until the 68th minute when Chelsea grabbed the morale-sapping fourth.
Lampard lifted a ball over the top for Kalou, played onside by Shawcross, to scamper into acres of space and cut into the box. His first shot was saved at the near post by Begovic, but Kalou bundled in the rebound to seal the first hat-trick of his career.
Despite Malouda being guilty of one of the worst misses of the season when he failed to get a touch on substitute Joe Cole’s cross, Chelsea were simply irresistible.
Cole did his best to impress to watching Fabio Capello with his cameo by setting up two of the final three goals. On 82 minutes he picked out Lampard at the far post with ease, and the England midfielder flicked the ball back past Begovic and in with the outside of his boot for his 20th league goal of the campaign.
Five minutes later Sturridge was releases clean through to round Begovic and slot home for his first league goal for Chelsea, before Cole got his second assist by teeing up Malouda for a close range finish.

Duration : 0:0:58

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