Blues break Potters hearts

Chelsea moved back to the top of the Premier League with a comfortable 2-0 win away at Stoke.

Scolari's side maintain 100 per cent away record

Chelsea moved back to the top of the Premier League with a comfortable 2-0 win away at Stoke. Portuguese full-back Jose Bosingwa gave them a first half lead, before Nicolas Anelka put the result beyond doubt midway through the second period. A cautious opening saw the Blues dominate possession without causing their opponents too many problems, although Thomas Sorensen did have to be alert to block a close-range Didier Drogba effort. The Potters came to life as the game wore on but it was the visitors who took the lead on 37 minutes. An enterprising passage of football resulted in Frank Lampard lofting a clever ball into Bosingwa and the buccaneering full-back found the target via the aid of a deflection. Leon Cort saw a second half header cleared off the line by John Obi Mikel, but it was Luiz Felipe Scolari's side who wrapped up the points on 76 minutes. Anelka, who had joined the action at the interval, was on hand to fire home after Abdoulaye Faye had failed to deal with a Bosingwa cross from the right. Chelsea had numerous opportunities to notch a third but were ultimately foiled in their efforts.

Class

Chelsea's class was apparent from the off and the visitors almost scored as early as the eighth minute. Michael Ballack tried his luck from distance and goalkeeper Sorensen did well to tip his effort over the crossbar. Chelsea created another chance in the 14th minute when Drogba, latched on to a through ball from Lampard only for Sorensen to show good reactions from the striker's flick. Lampard was seeing plenty of the ball and cracked in a shot in the 20th minute that was blocked by Salif Diao. Stoke hit back and from Liam Lawrence's corner in the 35th minute, Richard Cresswell picked out Mamady Sidibe. But goalkeeper Petr Cech was alert to the danger and got down quickly to smother the ball. A minute later Chelsea took the lead with Bosingwa making his mark in fine style. The Portugal international cushioned a pass from Lampard on his chest before sending a shot beyond Sorensen into the corner via Andy Griffin on the line. It was a superb finish from Bosingwa, who likes to get forward and join the attack and little wonder he celebrated in style. Chelsea began the second half in the same attacking vein and Sorensen made two saves in two minutes to prevent the visitors extending their lead.

Woodwork

The Danish shot-stopper turned away a strike from Lampard in the 47th minute and then pushed Florent Malouda's effort onto the bar. With only one goal in it, the home side were still in with a shout and you sensed they realised that. Stoke were beginning to see a lot of possession, especially after Ricardo Fuller stepped of the bench to replace Dave Kitson. Leon Cort came close to marking his return to the side by equalising, only for Mikel to get back and clear his header off the line. Chelsea launched a swift counter-attack in the 66th minute and Lampard took advantage of some poor defending to release Drogba. He played the ball into substitute Anelka only for the France striker to blast his effort into the crowd. Chelsea extended their lead in the 76th minute after a mistake by Faye. The former Newcastle central defender only succeeded in cushioning Boswingwa's cross into the path of Anelka and he took full advantage of the gift. Sorensen was furious and little wonder. Ballack should have added a third three minutes later only to drag his effort wide of the post as Chelsea stretched their unbeaten run in the league to 27 matches.

Stoke City	Team Statistics	Chelsea
0	Goals	2
0	1st Half Goals	1
2	Shots on Target	7
3	Shots off Target	4
3	Blocked Shots	9
5	Corners	5
10	Fouls	10
1	Offsides	2
2	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
67.5	Passing Success	85.5
14	Tackles	21
64.3	Tackles Success	85.7
30.8	Possession	69.2
47.1	Territorial Advantage	52.9