Chelsea kept their title dreams alive and closed the gap on leaders Manchester United with an impressive 4-0 win over Bolton.
Drogba, Malouda, Anelka & Ramires on the mark for Chelsea
Chelsea kept their title dreams alive and closed the gap on leaders Man Utd with an impressive 4-0 win over Bolton.
The Reebok Stadium has proved a happy hunting ground for Chelsea over the years and so it proved again as they ran out convincing winners.
Didier Drogba gave Chelsea the lead after 11 minutes with a superb swerving shot from fully 30 yards out and Florent Malouda doubled the advantage four minutes before the break when he beat Jussi Jaaskelainen at his near post.
Nicolas Anelka got in on the act against his old club with the third goal on 56 minutes and Ramires completed the rout 16 minutes from time with his first goal for Chelsea since his big-money move from Benfica.
The win moves Chelsea to within seven points of United as they showed they are in no mood to give up their title without a fight.
The match was preceded by an immaculately observed minute's silence for Bolton legend Nat Lofthouse, who died earlier this month, and it was the hosts who threatened first when a miscued clearance from John Terry, who had shrugged off a back problem, landed at the feet of Stuart Holden in the second minute.
However, the American failed to test goalkeeper Petr Cech from a good position.
The home side kept up the momentum and Kevin Davies headed into the arms of the goalkeeper following a flick-on from Johan Elmander.
Magnificent effort
Chelsea, however, opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a magnificent effort from Drogba.
Malouda won the ball from Gretar Steinsson and released Drogba 30 yards out. He caught the ball sweetly and thumped a swerving shot past Jaaskelainen and into the net to gasps around the ground.
It was Drogba's 10th goal of the season in all competitions and just the boost Ancelotti was looking for.
Play switched back down the other end and a minute later Cech kept his side on level terms, getting a great touch to turn a Matt Taylor header around the post following a cross from Martin Petrov.
Chelsea then extended their lead in the 41st minute with defender Gary Cahill cursing his luck. He managed to block Malouda's cross but it rebounded to the Frenchman who scored at the second attempt, his shot beating Jaaskelainen at the goalkeeper's near post. That strike took him equal with Drogba on 10 goals.
Bolton almost pulled a goal back a minute before the break with Cech doing well to push away Elmander's clever flick.
Davies, though, was back doing some defensive work in the 52nd minute, heading away an inswinging free-kick from Drogba.
Taylor had been penalised for a challenge on the Chelsea striker which incensed the home supporters.
Bolton, however, suffered another blow in the 56th minute when Chelsea went 3-0 ahead.
Michael Essien delivered a cross from the right and Zat Knight seemed to be distracted by Drogba. The ball broke to Anelka, who swept it home for his 13th goal of the season.
Bolton boss Owen Coyle decided to switch things around and brought on Rodrigo Moreno and Mark Davies for Petrov and Fabrice Muamba, and Davies came close in the 67th minute after latching on to a through ball from Elmander.
The midfielder tried to lob the ball over Cech but the goalkeeper stood tall and made the save.
Rout
Bolton could not handle the speed of Chelsea's counter-attacks and it was becoming a rout.
Ramires made it 4-0 in the 74th minute with his first goal for the club after arriving from Benfica in the summer.
Essien was again instrumental in the build-up, finding Anelka in the area. When his shot was blocked, the Brazil midfielder swept home the rebound.
Anelka almost got his second of the night in stoppage-time but Jaaskelainen somehow managed to turn his close-range effort around the post.
It was a disappointing night for Bolton, who paid proper homage to the late, great Lofthouse, and they have now taken only eight points from 10 games.
| Bolton Wanderers |
Team Statistics |
Chelsea |
| 0 |
Goals |
4 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
2 |
| 4 |
Shots on Target |
9 |
| 3 |
Shots off Target |
3 |
| 5 |
Blocked Shots |
4 |
| 4 |
Corners |
3 |
| 8 |
Fouls |
5 |
| 4 |
Offsides |
2 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 76 |
Passing Success |
77.5 |
| 29 |
Tackles |
19 |
| 58.6 |
Tackles Success |
68.4 |
| 47.9 |
Possession |
52.1 |
| 59.1 |
Territorial Advantage |
40.9 |
|
