Premier League - Anelka puts Chelsea top

Eurosport - Mon, 10 Nov 08:58:00 2008

Nicolas Anelka struck twice as Chelsea went back to the top of the Premier League table with a 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers at a rain-soaked Ewood Park.

FOOTBALL 2008-2009 Premier League Chelsea Nicolas Anelka - 0

A torrential downpour made conditions almost unplayable in Lancashire but Anelka overcame the elements to find the net in each half and fire Chelsea back above Liverpool on goal difference.

Anelka broke the deadlock on 39 minutes, deflecting a long-range Alex shot past Paul Robinson, before adding a second in the 68th minute with a cool dinked finish over the otherwise excellent Rovers keeper.

The win - on manager Luiz Felipe Scolari's 60th birthday - was Chelsea's sixth out of six on the road so far this season and did much to make amends for their Champions League defeat to Roma in midweek.

Despite the appalling playing conditions, the visitors flew out of the blocks and went on to dominate the first half, even though it took them the majority of the opening period to find a way through the Rovers defence.

That the deadlock lasted so long had much to do with the form of Robinson, who pulled off a string of fine saves to deny Anelka two headed efforts, a John Obi Mikel header and Frank Lampard's bouncing strike before even 20 minutes were on the clock.

Chelsea had earlier seen a loud penalty shout waved away by referee Chris Foy when Anelka tumbled to the ground under a challenge from Robinson after having latched onto a suicidal Keith Andrews back pass. Replays showed there was minimal contact between the two.

Terry saw a header fly over the bar before Anelka and Lampard were again thwarted by Robinson as Chelsea pressed for an opener.

The pressure finally told as Anelka netted his first of the day six minutes before the half-time whistle; the goal stood despite loud calls from Robinson for handball against the Frenchman.

During the break, the skies cleared and by the time the second half kicked off the weather were far more clement - Blackburn capitalised and began to work their way back into the game as Chelsea eased off the gas.

During the opening period, Blackburn had just a Carlos Villanueva shot on the break to shout about - an effort which brought a fine save out of Petr Cech - but once the rain had stopped, Paul Ince's side looked far more threatening.

The hosts could have equalised soon after the restart when Jason Roberts - asked to play as a lone striker due to Blackburn's injury problems - turned John Terry with some neat control on his chest to make space for a shot. Only a fine save by Cech foiled him.

Blackburn continued to press for an equaliser, but Chelsea hit them on the break on 68 minutes to effectively seal all three points.

Anelka registered his sixth goal in the last three league games when he reacted sharply to pounce on a loose ball in the box ahead of Robinson, clipping it over the keeper and into the back of the net.

At 2-0 up, Chelsea were able to cruise for the remainder of the game, and they should have added to their tally, Lampard rattling the cross bar with a terrific free-kick moments before Terry missed his kick from close range with eight minutes left.

Mike Hytner / Eurosport

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  1. oh! what a shame bring in any team to beat­ chelsea................................................­ .......................................................­ ...... yes u guys are right that there is no team to­ beat chelsea.. chelsea are, were &always will be­ the the champs of the footballing world...!

    From Prajosh, on Mon 10 Nov 2:34PM

  2. oh! what a shame bring in any team to beat­ chelsea................................................­ .......................................................­ ...... yes u guys are right that there is no team to­ beat chelsea.. chelsea are, were &always will be­ the the champs of the footballing world...!

    From Prajosh, on Mon 10 Nov 2:31PM

  3. i cant wait 2 c the gunners thrash these so- called­ blues. nasri will teach them 1 or 2 lessons that big­ phil ll leave 2 remember for the rest of his remaining­ days..

    From Ticha NYATEKA, on Mon 10 Nov 2:20PM

  4. have u not realised yet people? the folks who come on­ here and badmouth chelsea are just jealous that­ whatever team they support rent doing as well as­ chelsea and if anyone disagrees with this you are just­ adding ire to the point so please do chelsea 4 the­ quadruple cleansweep

    From robierto87, on Mon 10 Nov 9:57AM

  5. Gunners, firing blanks, cos u managed a win against­ Manu on their off day, u think u come to our home and­ beat us. 4 goals, u must be thinking of wigan

    From edem, on Mon 10 Nov 9:57AM

  6. dont be hating player

    From edem, on Mon 10 Nov 9:55AM

  7. COMMENT 74. YOUR BUNCH OF LOSERS COULDN'T EVEN BEAT­ THE MIGHTY POTTERS OR SPURS. IF YOU CAN'T SAY­ SOMETHING SENSIBLE THEN DON'T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL.­ WHAT A LOSER YOU ARE!!

    From UNCLE FESTA, on Mon 10 Nov 8:35AM

  8. chelsea is the best!!! are there any man u fan out­ there??? how come the EPL champ,Champion leaque champ,­ with the best player in the world, lose to the­ gunners?????? doesnt seem like champs to me anymore!!!!

    From Uzer, on Mon 10 Nov 8:33AM

  9. Anelka on form? He's knocking them in at the moment­ but put him up against the big boys and he bottles out.­ For Chelsea to win anything, Drogba needs to be fit and­ back at his best.

    From mongolfcfan, on Mon 10 Nov 7:44AM

  10. Anelka, finally finding the net. Will be as good as­ Drogba for us. Its about the team.

    From Alex, on Mon 10 Nov 6:57AM
  11. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Wait until Arsenal turn up at Stamford Bridge..they­ will stick 4 past you losers...Lampard is an old­ man.
    They can't beat quality teams..and without­ Drogba on form they are useless.
    Come on you Gooners!

    From philip h, on Mon 10 Nov 6:08AM

  12. anfield.fortress, oh god I hate yhou. you know nothing­ about football. your points are so stupid it actually­ hurts me. I wish you were dead!

    From yip, on Mon 10 Nov 5:16AM

  13. dannysbac what r u talking about utter plank get­ out
    nice one bub

    From NEIL, on Mon 10 Nov 4:59AM

  14. I can't believe Blackburn fans are moaning about­ the result!! Chelsea didn't play great today but­ did all they needed to do. Blackburn were awful!­ Pedersen was awarded man of the match , which was­ embarrassing for him he was so poor! Only Robinson­ turned up!!If Blackburn had have equalised Chelsea­ would have scored 5. Blackburn for relegation, they­ are the worst team I have seen this season.

    From Steve H, on Mon 10 Nov 4:58AM

  15. i was thinking they gonna score more goals,2 is also­ ok,keep goin blues
    CHELSEA the best

    From yagmurdan_sonra, on Mon 10 Nov 4:57AM

  16. IM A RAP PAST SAY WATCH YAR SELLS

    From dannysbac, on Mon 10 Nov 4:55AM

  17. There seem to be two kinds of fans:

    1) Pick the team­ at the top or near the top when they decide to get into­ the sport
    2) Pick the team from their hometown

    Either­ way, they support their team from that moment on. Maybe­ hating on Chelsea is just some backlash against newer­ soccer fans.

    Anelka is getting shots on target!­ Lampard is an engine.

    From Bub, on Mon 10 Nov 4:52AM

  18. CHALSAY OR CROP THEY CANNY SCORE AN A BRATHAL HI FACK­ THA LOT TA THAM

    From dannysbac, on Mon 10 Nov 4:51AM

  19. good win 4 chelski but i would have liked 2 c them lose­ anfield.fotress shut it

    From NEIL, on Mon 10 Nov 4:41AM

  20. Andy D message62, you obviously have nothing to present­ in a debate except name calling. Try upping your single­ digit IQ a bit then come back with something worthwile­ typing about.

    From anfield.fortress, on Mon 10 Nov 4:15AM
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