Carlo Ancelotti’s side brought an end to Birmingham’s 15-match unbeaten run thanks to an opening goal by Florent Malouda and a brace from Frank Lampard. The win put Chelsea one point clear of Manchester United at the top of the table with a match in hand on their rivals.

The home side went ahead in the fifth minute when Chelsea opened their account through Malouda. The goal was engineered by England midfielder Joe Cole, who burst into the City penalty area from the right flank before crossing for the unmarked Malouda to head past Joe Hart from six yards.

City had been the only team in the league to prevent Chelsea from scoring when the two teams met at St. Andrew’s on Boxing Day but Ancelotti’s side are a different animal at home.But City managed to stave off the expected Chelsea onslaught by stifling the midfield. The home side had to wait until the 20th minute for another meaningful attack. Again Cole sent the ball into the penalty area but it was deflected for a corner. However, only the width of the upright prevented the home side from increasing their lead seconds later.

Malouda’s corner was met by the head of Ricardo Carvalho but the Portugal defender saw the ball cannon back off the post.

Chelsea continued to press and Lampard sent an angled drive into the arms of Hart in the 21st minute, while Cole was inches wide with a 20-yard shot moments later.

Cole was having a fine match for the home side and another 18-yard effort was well held by the diving Hart in the 26th minute.

But Chelsea did make it 2-0 in the 31st minute when Lampard collected a pass from Michael Ballack and sent a low angled drive beyond Hart and into the bottom corner from 20 yards.

Chelsea had now moved up a gear and were in their familiar smooth groove.

In the 34th minute, Nicolas Anelka had a shot deflected for a corner as the home side looked for a third.

Chelsea’s passing was fluent and inventive and Birmingham had no answer.

They possessed little attacking threat, with Chelsea captain John Terry proving to be an imposing figure in his 300th career league performance.

City had not tested Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech and lacked the quality and guile to trouble the home defence.

There was also a distinct lack of ambition in City’s play, which was surprising given their 15-match unbeaten run.

Chelsea began the second half with the same attacking desire and a 25-yard drive from Anelka ruffled the side-netting with Hart scrambling to protect his near post.

In the 53rd minute, Hart rescued Birmingham when a cross from Ashley Cole found the unmarked Ballack at the far post.

The Germany captain sent his downward header towards the corner of the net but Hart somehow managed to grab the ball in time.

City replaced Cameron Jerome with Keith Fahey in the 56th minute as the visitors looked to add more impetus to their attack.

Chelsea were inches away from a third in the 59th minute when a corner by Malouda was directed just over the crossbar by Ballack.

Joe Cole deserved a goal as a reward for his performance but he missed a real chance in the 64th minute when Lampard found him with a fine cross-field pass.

The midfielder, hoping to play his way into England’s squad for the World Cup finals this summer, hit a weak shot straight at Hart from eight yards.

Hart was busy again two minutes later when he held a long-range drive from Malouda.

Birmingham’s James McFadden broke clear of the Chelsea defence in the 72nd minute but his angled shot flashed the wrong side of the far post.

Moments later substitute Fahey brought a fine save from Petr Cech as City finally put some pressure on the home defence.

But Chelsea made it 3-0 in the 90th minute when Lampard collected a pass from Malouda and fired past the advancing Hart.

Source + Pic: premierleague.com

Manchester City thumped Championship (second division) Scunthorpe United 5-1 to take their place in the last eight and Chelsea saw off Bolton Wanderers 4-0 at Stamford Bridge.

That trio joined holders Manchester United, last year’s runners-up Tottenham Hotspur, Blackburn Rovers, Portsmouth and Aston Villa in an all-Premier League draw for the quarter-finals which takes place on Saturday.

Manager Arsene Wenger, in charge of Arsenal for the 750th time and seeking his club’s first silverware since 2005, put his faith in younger players as he usually does in this competition and they rose to the occasion with a well-deserved win.

Fran Merida, their 19-year-old Spanish midfielder, put them ahead with a superbly struck curling left-foot shot after 19 minutes, before Liverpool equalised with an equally stunning shot from Argentine Emiliano Insua, his first for Liverpool, six minutes later.

Liverpool, also fielding a team of promising youngsters and seeking their first win at Arsenal for nine years, played excellent football but were eliminated after Niklas Bendtner scored with a powerful left-foot drive after 50 minutes.

“There was very little difference between the teams,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told Sky Sports. “We looked dangerous and they looked dangerous, but I think there is enough quality here to win trophies again this season.”

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez, who made nine changes from the side that beat Manchester United on Sunday, said the defeat did not detract from the win over United.

“Of course we are disappointed to lose, but we do not lose the feel-good factor from beating United,” he said. “It was a different team and a different competition.”

One positive point for Benitez was the long-awaited debut of midfielder Alberto Aquilani after a protracted injury layoff.

The £20 million signing from AS Roma came on as a substitute in the second half and contributed a few telling passes.

Manchester City, who have not won a major honour since the 1976 League Cup, took the lead through Stephen Ireland after only three minutes against Scunthorpe, but the visitors shocked the ultra-rich Premier League side when Jonathan Forte equalised after 26 minutes.

City soon took control, however, with goals from Roque Santa Cruz, his first for City since his £17.5 million move from Blackburn Rovers, with Joleon Lescott, Carlos Tevez and Michael Johnson adding the others.

Chelsea enjoyed a routine win over Bolton at Stamford Bridge with Salomon Kalou, Florent Malouda, Deco and Didier Drogba all scoring and taking the team’s tally at the Bridge to 13 in three matches over the last seven days without conceding any.

The only blight for Chelsea was a head injury to goalkeeper Hilario, making a rare start, which forced him off in the first half. Manager Carlo Ancelotti said he had suffered concussion.

Source + Pic: supersport.co.za

Drogba scored the Blues’ only goal in a 3-1 loss at the DW Stadium in which they were outplayed and outfought.

Captain John Terry said: “The least we expect from every player is that we work hard and fight – and we did not do that.”

And to underline the point, Drogba told the Evening Standard: “We didn’t play very well. We lost all the battles, all the duels. We didn’t win anything. We were poor.

“This is the worst game I have played in since I have been at Chelsea. We need to think about it, correct what was wrong and try to go again.

“We equalised just after half-time and we were trying to improve our game, but then there was the penalty and a red card, which I think was a bit harsh.

“Still with 10 players we had the chance to make it 2-2, but we didn’t do it. There was a lot of space and they used the pitch very well, they deserved to win.”

Terry earlier told The Sun: “The least we expect from every player is that we work hard and fight – and we did not do that.

“We didn’t win our headers and we didn’t win our tackles – and that’s simply not good enough.

“You can go anywhere and not play well. But when you come to places like this, you’ve got to match their work-rate.

“We didn’t do that, the whole team. That’s the most disappointing thing.

“All the other big sides had emphatic wins, so it’s even more disappointing we’ve thrown away three points.

Source: football365.com

Guus Hiddinck

Blues interim boss Hiddink resumes his role as Russia coach on a full-time basis in June but he will always be fondly remembered at Stamford Bridge after leading Chelsea to their first trophy for two years.

Everton had made the perfect start when Louis Saha struck after just 25 seconds to claim the fastest goal in FA Cup final history.

But Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba headed Chelsea level midway through the first half before Lampard’s long-range effort sealed his club’s fifth FA Cup success and ensured Hiddink would leave on a high.

It was also a memorable day for Chelsea defender Ashley Cole, who became the first player for more than 100 years to earn five FA Cup winners’ medals.

For Drogba it meant a welcome high after having been lambasted following his outburst when Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona.

“I am really delighted,” gasped Drogba.

“It took a lot of effort. We needed to win a trophy this season. We just had to believe in our expectations. Guus Hiddink has transformed us.”

Lampard said that his trbute when he scored was for his mother, who died last year.

“We showed a lot of character and dominated the match after half time,” said Lampard.

“The winning goal tribute was how my father (Frank senior) celebrated when he scored a rare goal. My mother would have appreciated it.”

While Chelsea celebrated their first silverware of the post-Jose Mourinho era, Everton were left with the nagging sense of an opportunity missed.

It is over 20 years since Everton were last a major force in English football but this season has offered renewed hope that a club often forced to play second fiddle to local rivals Liverpool can finally emerge from the shadows.

Even so, Toffees boss David Moyes knew they needed a victory in a major showpiece to confirm their return as an elite side.

Moyes’s decision to start with Saha instead of midfielder Jack Rodwell underlined his determination to take the game to Chelsea and he was rewarded for his boldness after only 25 seconds.

When Steven Pienaar lofted a cross into the penalty area, John Obi Mikel could only loop a header towards Marouane Fellaini. The Belgian flicked back across to Saha and his superb volley flashed past Petr Cech at his near post.

In the blink of an eye, Saha, who missed out on playing in four FA Cup finals over the last ten years, had scored the final’s quickest ever goal, beating the previous record of 30 seconds set by Aston Villa’s Bob Chatt in 1895.

Chelsea had been caught cold. It was as if they had been distracted after waking to accusations from former player Claude Makelele about Blues captain John Terry’s role in Mourinho’s departure.

Whatever part Terry played in Mourinho’s exit, Chelsea had rarely been the same until Hiddink arrived in February to breathe new life into a stagnating squad.

Displaying the resilience which is the hallmark of all Hiddink’s teams, Chelsea muscled their way into the match. And once again it was Drogba, their most powerful presence, who was Chelsea’s man for the big occasion.

Florent Malouda was causing no end of problems for Everton down the left wing and, in the 21st minute, Tony Hibbert granted the winger space to whip over a cross that Drogba, out-jumping Joleon Lescott, headed past Tony Howard for his fifth goal in five FA and League Cup finals.

That was the signal for Everton to retreat into their shell.

With Lampard and Michael Essien dominating midfield, Chelsea took control.

They should have reached half time in front but Cole blazed over after his incisive run exposed Hibbert again.

Moyes responded by hauling off Hibbert at the interval, with Lars Jacobsen sent on for the right-back.

Despite the sweltering heat, both teams tried to play at a high tempo and Moyes’s men began to rediscover their rhythm.

Tim Cahill, the first Australian to play in two FA Cup finals, was pushed further forward and tested Cech with an ambitious effort.

Then Saha narrowly cleared the crossbar with a bullet header from Leighton Baines’s cross.

But Chelsea can never be counted out when Lampard is in the team. In the 72nd minute, the England midfielder cut inside Phil Neville to work space for a swerving shot that Howard could only help into the net.

Teams

Chelsea: 1-Petr Cech; 17-Jose Bosingwa, 26-John Terry (captain), 33-Alex, 3-Ashley Cole; 5-Michael Essien (13-Michael Ballack 62), 12-John Obi Mikel, 8-Frank Lampard; 15-Florent Malouda, 11-Didier Drogba, 39-Nicolas Anelka.

Everton: 24-Tim Howard; 2-Tony Hibbert (15-Lars Jacobsen 46), 4-Joseph Yobo, 5-Joleon Lescott, 3-Leighton Baines; 18-Phil Neville (captain), 17-Tim Cahill, 21-Leon Osman (32-Dan Gosling 84), 20-Steven Pienaar; 25-Marouane Fellaini, 9-Louis Saha (14-James Vaughan 78).

Source: supersport.co.za