Chelsea closed to within just a point of Premier League leaders Manchester United with a 5-0 victory away to bottom-of-the-table Portsmouth last night.
Chelsea closed to within just a point of Premier League leaders Manchester United with a 5-0 victory away to bottom-of-the-table Portsmouth last night.
Didier Drogba scored twice to take his tally to 24 goals in 27 league matches as Chelsea bounced back from the disappointment of dropping points in a draw with Blackburn last weekend.
Florent Malouda also scored twice with England midfielder Frank Lampard adding a fifth goal late on.
"We needed to win and I hope the bad moment is finished," said Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti, whose side were also knocked out of the Champions League last week.
"We have to wait until Saturday (when Chelsea play Aston Villa) because this is a very important test for us," the Italian added.
Elsewhere, Australia's Tim Cahill scored for Everton in a 2-0 victory over Manchester City as the Merseysiders became the first away side to win in the league at Eastlands this termu00a0-- a result that dented their hosts' hopes of Champions League qualification.
Chelsea opened their scoring with Portsmouth 'keeper David James gifting them a 32nd minute lead. Nicknamed 'Calamity' for a series of high-profile mistakes, the England goalkeeper wasn't helped by a bad bounce as he missed completely with an attempted kick in a bid to clear Deco's header. James' error let in Drogba, who shot into the empty net.
Malouda doubled Chelsea's lead early in the second half with a fierce shot.
France winger Malouda then put the result beyond doubt on the hour mark when, after James palmed out Lampard's shot, he followed up to score. And there was still time for Ivory Coast striker Drogba to get his second goal, in the 77th minute, when he ran onto Jon Obi Mikel's pass, shrugged off Steve Finnan and scored at the near post.
EPL Results
Aston Villau00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0 1-1u00a0u00a0u00a0 Sunderland
Man Cityu00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0 0-2u00a0u00a0 u00a0Everton
Portsmouthu00a0u00a0u00a0 0-5u00a0u00a0 u00a0Chelsea
Blackburnu00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0 u00a0 2-1u00a0u00a0 u00a0Birmingham
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