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Frank Lampard broke his scoring drought as Chelsea romped to a 5-0 demolition of Blackburn Rovers at Stamford Bridge to return to the top of the Premier League.

The England midfielder had failed to find the back of the net in the league since Chelsea's 3-1 win over Sunderland way back on August 18, but two goals after the break, one from the penalty spot, emphatically ended his barren spell.

Gael Givet's own-goal had given Chelsea the lead on 20 minutes before Lampard's first sparked a goal glut that saw the ball hit the back of Paul Robinson's net four times in the space of 16 minutes.

Michael Essien struck a long-range effort in between Lampard's brace while Didier Drogba added a fifth on 64 minutes to cap a fine performance from Carlo Ancelotti's side and knock Manchester United off the their perch at the summit of the table.

United will regain top spot with victory against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

Chelsea were excellent, but Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce was not helped in his preparations for the game by a virus which hit his squad and deprived him of both Chris Samba and the in-form David Dunn.

Carlo Ancelotti, meanwhile, was without Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa but Stamford Bridge were treated to the sight of the former's namesake Joe returning from injury to make his first league start since January.

And the headline writers were at the ready after just 29 seconds, but Cole contrived to head wide of the mark, despite being left all alone by a Blackburn defence coming to terms with the loss of Samba and the injured Pascal Chimbonda.

Chelsea's opener came on 20 minutes when Givet, in the side as cover for Samba, slid in to meet Nicolas Anelka's excellent cross only to succeed to turning the ball into his own net. In fairness to the unfortunate Frenchman, had he failed to get something on it, Drogba, who was breathing down his neck in typically predatory fashion, almost certainly would.

Chelsea peppered Blackburn's goal throughout the first half but some wayward shooting and a couple of tremendous saves by Robinson kept the scoreline at a respectable 1-0 by half-time.

Lampard was particularly unfortunate not to find the net during the opening period, the England midfielder firing just over on 10 minutes before seeing a header go wide 21 minutes later.

Essien drove over the bar in between those efforts while Drogba saw a dipping, swerving shot well watched by Robinson on 37 minutes.

The Blackburn keeper then made two saves in quick succession to frustrate Chelsea before the break, the first to deny John Terry's volley and the second to hold on to Drogba's close-range header from the resulting corner.

But Chelsea's frustration was not to last long as Lampard added Chelsea's second three minutes into the second half to kick-start a thrilling 16-minute period that would settle the match.

Lampard made no mistake after Drogba's pull-back had found him near the penalty spot, firing past Robinson to get him back on track on a personal level.

Essien soon made it three with a thumping strike from 30 yards that caught Robinson unawares and out of position before Ryan Nelsen upended Drogba in the penalty area on 58 minutes and referee Alan Wiley pointed to the spot. Lampard duly sent Robinson the wrong way and Chelsea had a 4-0 lead.

Five minutes later that became five as Drogba deservedly got his name on the scoresheet, the Ivorian holding off the challenge of Nelsen to nod home from Michael Ballack's corner.

It was an imperious victory for Chelsea - their 200th Premier League win at Stamford Bridge - and one which puts the pressure on title rivals United

As for Rovers, it was their ninth consecutive away defeat in the league. And it does not look like getting any easier for Sam Allardyce's side. Their next league game? The small matter of a trip to Old Trafford.

Mike Hytner / Eurosport