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Not much is missing as Chelsea march onChelsea 2 Tottenham 0
By IAN RIDLEY
Going to Chelsea at the moment is a bit like arriving in a famous old city. Locals will tell you how much is missing from the glory days while visitors are often surprised at how much remains.
Without a clutch of players away at the African Cup of Nations, and with the injured John Terry and Frank Lampard continuing to watch from the stands, Chelsea were still too strong for a strangely limp Tottenham, whose recovery under Juande Ramos remains fitful.
Though never outstandingly impressive, Chelsea were comfortable enough, driven shots from Juliano Belletti and Shaun Wright-Phillips in either half bare reflection of a routine superiority that was almost Mourinho-esque.
Chelsea fans also got an extended glimpse of Nicolas Anelka, their £15million signing from Bolton, who came close to a debut goal after coming on as a substitute when he forced Radek Cerny, selected once again in place of England keeper Paul Robinson, into a good save and hit the crossbar in the last minute.
It is now 74 games since Chelsea were beaten in a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge, and 21 matches dating back to 1990 since they lost to Tottenham here. If they can continue to eke out results until the cavalry return, they could yet disturb the apparent two-horse title race between Manchester United and Arsenal.
They can draw only encouragement, too, from Arsenal and Liverpool dropping points, cementing them in third position and taking them closer to second as they themselves continued a run that has now seen them win seven and draw one of their last eight league matches.
Avram Grant is determined to change the style established by his predecessor as manager.
"We don't play long balls and always try to pass the ball," he said. "We play a lot of combinations and in 90 per cent of matches we create two or three times more chances than the other teams."
It certainly suits Joe Cole, who revelled in the freedom yesterday, and should suit Anelka, Grant believes.
It was the first week that Chelsea had to do without Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Salomon Kalou and John Mikel Obi, along with Terry and Lampard.
It meant Grant having to blood Anelka following a later injury to Claudio Pizarro when he would have preferred to hold him back. The consolation for them, though, was that Petr Cech was fit to resume in goal. And still they had a potent central midfield, featuring Claude Makelele, Cole and Michael Ballack, which was too good for Tottenham's. Spurs had to field youngsters Kevin Prince Boateng and Jamie O'Hara there in the absence through suspension of Jermaine Jenas and Tom Huddlestone and were often outplayed.
So much did Boateng, in particular, struggle with the pace of the game that he was booked early on for hauling back Cole with an effectiveness that might interest England rugby union coach Brian Ashton. As they sought to cope, only Aaron Lennon shone, and only in patches, offering an energetic outlet on the right.
One of Lennon's crosses glanced off Dimitar Berbatov, largely anonymous, another found Steed Malbranque at the far post, Cech saving the Frenchman's volley in what would be Spurs' only shot on target.
But for all their control, Chelsea toiled to create clear-cut chances, the goal that gave them the lead coming out of the blue in the 19th minute. Brazilian Belletti strode forward with the ball from the right-back position and, with the crowd urging him to shoot,obliged by letting fly from more than 30 yards and finding the top left corner of Cerny's goal.
Anelka arrived on the scene 12 minutes into the second half and almost had a goal to celebrate within two minutes. From Wright-Phillips' back-heel, Anelka swivelled to send in a shot from 12 yards that Cerny turned away low to his right.
Spurs made their own change, bringing on unpredictable French teenager Adel Taarabt and, for a while, Chelsea laboured. When Ballack fouled Lennon on the edge of their penalty area, Berbatov shot inches over the bar.
But Tottenham's revival never looked like lasting and Chelsea sealed the game 10 minutes from time. Joe Cole wriggled his way through a couple of half-hearted Tottenham tackles and laid the ball into the path of Wright-Phillips, who drilled a low shot into the net.
"It was an evenly balanced game which was not reflected in the score," said Ramos. It was a glossy verdict and one that Tottenham's enduringly inconsistent players would do well not to take comfort in.
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The Sunday TimesJanuary 13, 2008
Nicolas Anelka sees how it's doneChelsea 2 Tottenham 0
Brian Glanville at Stamford Bridge
Eagerly awaited, rapturously received, Nicolas Anelka twice came within an ace of a goal and looked well capable of adding to the many he has scored in numerous cities.
This, of course, is his second sojourn in London. As a teenager he was whisked away for nothing by Arsenal, exploiting the rules then in force, from an infuriated Paris Saint-Germain. Later, the Gunners casually threw PSG £500,000, subsequently pocketing £22.3m when they sold a dissident Anelka to Real Madrid. Now, aged 28, he cost Chelsea £15m; mere chicken feed to their billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.
Anelka seems a much calmer figure now he is no longer handled, as he was at Highbury, by his two belligerent brothers as agents. In north London he had clashes with club and colleagues. And over the years, despite such splendid performances as that against England at Wembley in 1999 when he scored the goals for France in a 2-0 victory and had another dubiously disallowed, he has been in and out of the France team; all too often in conflict with the managers. Now Chelsea have become his fifth English club after spells at Manchester City, Liverpool and, somewhat surprisingly, Bolton.
Yesterday, after 58 minutes, he replaced the Peru international striker Claudio Pizarro, who had been playing a good deal more effectively than in recent games. Avram Grant, the Chelsea manager, said afterwards that Pizarro was injured. “We didn’t plan to use him [Anelka] because he didn’t train with the team but it’s good to have him.” Indeed it was; whether or not he had trained, he looked as sharp and incisive an opportunist as ever.
Scarcely had he taken the field when the always exuberant and effective Chelsea right-back Juliano Belletti found Shaun Wright-Phillips. On it went to Anelka, who shot hard and low only for the Spurs keeper, Radek Cerny, preferred for the second time in a week to the erratic England international Paul Robinson, to hurl himself at the ball to make the save.
On 90 minutes, Anelka had a higher shot which came back from the underside of the bar after an attempt by Wright-Phillips was only half cleared by Spurs. Anelka could scarcely have come closer to a goal.
Wright-Phillips, highly praised by Grant for his performance in central midfield and, in the last 10 minutes, up front, deserved to score the second goal on 80 minutes. This time, it was a throw-in by Belletti that Joe Cole neatly and expertly moved on to Wright-Phillips, who shot past Cerny and inside the left-hand post.
Chelsea’s first goal, after 19 minutes, was spectacular. A glorious right-footed shot from 35 yards by Belletti, who had already looked sprightly and adventurous, ripped past a hapless Cerny and into the Tottenham net.
Spurs, despite the presence at one time or another of so many noted strikers, seldom seemed likely to score but 10 minutes after the first Chelsea goal, they almost did so. When Aaron Lennon crossed incisively from the right, the other Spurs flank man, Steed Malbranque, closed in from the left to hit a ferocious shot that Petr Cech did well to reach at full stretch.
Malbranque, alas, did not survive the whole match. Prone as he sometimes is to rash tackles, he perpetrated one in the second half that gained him a yellow card that might even have merited a darker colour. When in the second half he seemed likely to receive a second yellow but escaped with a lecture from the referee, Tottenham pulled him off and substituted him with his fellow Frenchman, the rangy and committed Adel Taarabt.
With so many players off to take part in the African Cup of Nations, including Didier Drogba of the Ivory Coast, who still insists he wants to leave Chelsea, Grant had to make a number of enforced changes. As he pointed out, his Ukraine international striker Andriy Shevkenko, after seeming at long last to recover something of his old form, will be out for some time. Certainly the acquisition of Anelka will be of enormous benefit, even when Drogba returns, and whether or not he stays.
Tottenham were conspicuously lacking two regular, suspended, midfield players in Tom Huddlestone and the gifted and elusive England international Jermaine Jenas. Their replacements, young Kevin-Prince Boateng and Jamie O’Hara, did what they could, but against such a populous and talented Chelsea midfield that was inevitably limited.
Shortly before he was substituted, Boateng did, from the right, put over a high insidious cross that was missed by friend and foe.
O’Hara, whose substitution preceded that of Boateng by seven minutes, had just been booked and was quite properly taken off for his own protection, not to mention the team’s.
Tottenham’s Spanish manager, Juande Ramos, felt it was “a very balanced game” and that Tottenham had been unfortunate to lose. Both Chelsea goals, he emphasised, had been scored from outside the area, though this hardly seemed sufficient mitigation. As for Grant, he told us how happy he was that Chelsea were now playing positive football, passing the ball successfully rather than hitting it long. Rather like the usual criticism of his more flamboyant and voluble predecessor, Jose Mourinho.
Almost at the end, Joe Cole, busy and effective all afternoon in a right-flank position, with the fit-again Frenchman Florent Malouda on the left, had a low shot which Cerny dived to turn past the right-hand post. By then, the game was emphatically lost and won. And Anelka looked as if he could and would win Chelsea many others.
Player ratings
Chelsea: Cech 7, Belletti 8, Carvalho 6, Alex 6, A Cole 6, Malouda 6 (Bridge 84min), Makelele 6, Ballack 6, Wright-Phillips 7 (Sidwell 90min), J Cole 7, Pizarro 7 (Anelka 58min, 7)
Tottenham: Cerny 7, Chimbonda 6, Dawson 6, King 7, Lee 6, Lennon 6, O’Hara 6 (Defoe 77min), Boateng 6 (Kaboul 84min), Malbranque 6 (Taarabt 59min, 6), Keane 6, Berbatov 6
Star man: Juliano Belletti (Chelsea) Scorers: Chelsea: Belletti 19, Wright-Phillips 80
Referee: A Wiley Attendance: 41,777 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Chelsea still stalk Man Utd and ArsenalBy Patrick Barclay at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea (1) 2 Tottenham Hotspur (0) 0
Doggedly, Chelsea continue to stalk the Premier League's leading pair. Arsenal and Manchester United may be the only teams to have beaten Chelsea under Avram Grant, but they cannot pull away from the erstwhile champions, despite the absence from action of (to name but a few) John Terry, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Michael Essien.
Due partly to the African Cup of Nations, Drogba and Essien will not be back in a hurry, and nor will John Obi Mikel or Salomon Kalou. Yet the signs are that Grant's squad contains enough quality and spirit to cope and keep the challenge alive until the return matches with the top two are staged here in March and April. The arrival of Nicolas Anelka, whom only a magnificent save from Pavel Cerny and a centimetre of crossbar denied a couple of goals on his debut as a £15?million substitute, serves only to enhance the impression that the third horse can stay in the race.
A Chelsea defence screened by Claude Makelele so restricted Tottenham's threat that Petr Cech had only one tricky task: to block Steed Malbranque's volley in the first half. In attack, meanwhile, Grant had devised an interesting formation which was almost like the old W-shaped forward line, with Claudio Pizarro (later Anelka) at centre forward, Joe Cole and Florent Malouda on the wings and Shaun Wright-Phillips and Michael Ballack acting as sort of inside forwards. It produced some bright stuff, especially in a second half during which Wright-Phillips sparkled and scored, if less spectacularly than Juliano Belletti had done in the first.
At Wigan in November, the Brazilian right-back had run from the halfway line before lashing the ball home and this has encouraged Chelsea's fans to yell "Shoot!" whenever he takes possession, even if the range is demanding. Here it was 30 yards, but he obliged them, letting fly with one that moved a bit but essentially beat Cerny, who had seen it all the way, through pace. Amid an explosion of blue glee, Spurs' deposed England goalkeeper, Paul Robinson, watched from the bench.
Cerny's attempt to stop Wright-Phillips's shot also caused some comment, albeit not from Juande Ramos; the Spurs manager merely said goals were conceded by the team as a whole. He also deflected questions about whether a goalkeeper was top of his shopping list for the rest of the winter window. Unless something was lost in the translation from Spanish, his general impression of the match was sheer twaddle.
"It was evenly balanced," said Ramos, "with dominance passing from one side to the other." The only difference had been that Chelsea struck twice from outside the penalty area.Grant made more sense, saying he was pleased with his team's results and also the manner in which they were playing. Asked to elaborate, he said: "We don't play long balls but pass in a more organised way, with plenty of combinations."
He was also delighted to have overcome a side as good tactically as Ramos's, praising Wright-Phillips for not only his contribution in midfield but his adaptability in moving forward late to claim his "fantastic" goal, the opportunity for which was expertly fashioned by a lively Joe Cole.
Anelka, Grant observed, would not have appeared but for an injury to Pizarro. "Normally he would not have been in the squad because he had not trained with the team [after signing from Bolton only on Friday night]. But despite that he got used to the style of the team very quickly." Indeed. Within 90 seconds the Frenchman was receiving a cleverly backheeled reverse ball from Wright-Phillips on his chest, turning and, with a smooth low shot, bringing the very best from a diving Cerny. In the last few minutes, he seized on a slip by Michael Dawson and belted a left-footer against the underside of the crossbar: a vibrant end to another good Stamford Bridge day.
For all the tactical expertise to which Grant referred, Spurs had been unimpressive, notably at the front, where Ricardo Carvalho and Alex prevented Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov from exhibiting their often splendid partnership. Berbatov did have one chance in the first half, when he needed to make firmer contact with a cross from Aaron Lennon, but for most of the afternoon Chelsea gave an excellent demonstration of how to defend as a team. No wonder Grant was happy. "Even without so many players, and with some of those we do have playing out of their normal position, we are playing good football and winning."
The most pleasing sight for Ramos must have been the form of his captain, Ledley King, without whose class the match might have been lost by half-time. There is so much talk of the future of Berbatov, but the fitness of King is just as pertinent to Spurs's fortunes.
Man of the matchJuliano Belletti (Chelsea) 8
• Scored with only shot on goal • Won 86 per cent of tackles ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Indy:
Chelsea 2 Tottenham Hotspur 0: Anelka cameo puts Chelsea in good heart for title challenge
Debutant only defied by crossbar as Blues cruise to keep step with United By Nick Townsend at Stamford Bridge A match as much about one man as the remainder on parade, even though he sat hunched in woolly hat and protective gear for nearly an hour. And for once that individual was not Dimitar Berbatov, but another master of predatory skills. After 53 minutes, he began warming up.
The crowd rose to applaud the player given the squad number 39. That opportunity was something of a rarity for them yesterday, because up until then there had been precious little else to persuade them to do so.
By the 58th minute he was on, and though Nicolas Anelka did not quite open his Chelsea career with a goal – though so nearly did when following a superb back-heel from Shaun Wright-Phillips, he swivelled and forced a splendid save from Radek Cerny and later hit the bar – he did enough to confirm just why he is here.
"You could not ask for more," was the succinct observation of his manager, Avram Grant. However, the Israeli admitted that his pricey acquisition, signed from Bolton Wanderers on Friday for £15m, and whose aggregate transfer fees of around £85m make him the most expensive player ever, was only on the bench because of the shortage of forwards available to him – Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou are at the African Nations Cup and Andriy Shevchenko is injured.
"Normally, he [Anelka] wouldn't have been in the squad because he hasn't trained with the players. But he adapted very quickly to the style of this team."
After a match comfortably won with goals in each half, from Juliano Belletti and Wright-Phillips, who is thriving in a more central midfield role, no one should rule out Chelsea's claim to the championship.
It had all been a decidedly sedate opening for a London derby. Claudio Pizarro, supported wide by Florent Malouda and Joe Cole, and with Michael Ballack and Wright-Phillips tucked in behind, worked hard to breach a Spurs rearguard which still appears fragile at times, even with the return of captain Ledley King. But it was all to no avail until, after 18 minutes, Belletti decided to turn the heat up.
The defender advanced into the visitors' half, Tottenham obligingly retreated before him, and from 30 yards he struck a devilish shot high and wide of Cerny, playing in place of Paul Robinson. The England goalkeeper, with his Spurs' future clearly in doubt, was again dropped to the substitutes' bench by the manager, Juande Ramos, who refused to attribute that opener to Cerny.
"Goals are conceded by the team as a whole," he said. It is becoming a familiar refrain. Spurs, who had not won in 20 League and Cup visits here, had their moments, though you struggle to recall them. Aaron Lennon looked particularly threatening against his fellow England team-mate, Ashley Cole and it was the midfielder, who fashioned an opportunity for Steed Malbranque with a deep cross. Cerny's compatriot, Petr Cech, returning after recovering from a hip injury, saved well.
We had to wait for the spice anticipated from a fixture of this nature until after the interval, though Kevin-Prince Boateng stirred the home crowd after an attempted rugby tackle on Joe Cole for which he was cautioned.
By the end, Malbranque, Jamie O'Hara and Lennon had also been yellow-carded for Spurs and Claude Makelele and captain Ballack for the hosts. The last-named had brought down Lennon inches outside the area, only for Berbatov to dispatch the free-kick over Cech's bar. It was that kind of afternoon for the Bulgarian and Spurs. This was a poor exhibition from Ramos's men, and his claim that it was "very evenly balanced" was a refusal to recognise reality.
Ten minutes from time, the Blues confirmed their win. Joe Cole took a throw-in from Belletti in his stride, and teased the Tottenham defence before feeding Wright-Phillips, who unhesitatingly drove the ball home from just outside the area. In the closing minutes, Anelka pounced on an error, to thump the ball against the bar. He could afford to smile. As Grant and Chelsea could last night.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Observer:
Belletti capitalises on Cerny blunder
Duncan Castles at Stamford BridgeSunday January 13, 2008
When Tottenham Hotspur were seeking a new goalkeeper three years ago the brief was simple: get someone who would be good support for Paul Robinson and not place excessive pressure on the occasionally fragile No 1.But here, as a speculative shot flew 35 yards through Radek Cerny's poorly positioned arms, Juande Ramos may have realised the folly of that policy - and paid cutting Robinson's legs from under him the previous Wednesday.
If Robinson has suffered his share of calamities this season it is hard to imagine him conceding that goal. Culled by England ahead of the loss to Croatia, Robinson has now been told that he is surplus to Tottenham requirements. Surplus, perhaps, but the club had best find a sounder replacement fast.Not that Ramos would publicly admit as much. 'Goals are conceded by the team as a whole and it's not a question of doling out responsibility to one player or another,' he said.
'We've conceded two goals and lost the game. It's just a bad result. We are working with a squad of happy players at the moment. We were in a very complicated position in the league table but we are very happy with the players we've got."
Is Robinson happy with his lot? A broad grin spread across Ramos' face. 'That's a question he would have to answer.'
Cerny's failure to deal with Juliano Belletti's long-distance punt set the tone of this match. Tight and evenly balanced until that point, Tottenham were a goal down and chasing a team that rarely cedes an advantage. When Shaun Wright-Phillips embellished Chelsea's lead late in the second half, the visitors were back to a familiar scenario - a poor performance following an impressive one.
At Ashburton Grove on Wednesday, Ramos wore a small smile, a sign of satisfaction at the tactical triumph that almost earned a rare victory. If the Spaniard's first months at Tottenham have not provided quite the radical transformation he's been credited with, his authority has been steadily underlined.
Of all the boardroom machinations that undermined his predecessor Martin Jol, the relationship with the sporting director Damien Comolli was especially damaging. Jol was repeatedly denied signings, Comolli instead providing new recruits who proved over-priced and ill-judged. With Comolli's future at the club tied to his own, Ramos should not suffer the same fate.
Chairman Daniel Levy has been informed that Ramos would exchange all but a handful of the squad. In an impromptu training-ground meeting, Jermain Defoe was told to toe the disciplinary line or find another club. By Wednesday evening, Ramos was dropping Robinson without a word of warning. At least the goalkeeper deigned to warm up yesterday.
As Avram Grant continued his policy of partial rotation, he took no account of Ashley Cole's perennial problems with Aaron Lennon. The winger underlined them early, shimmying past a prostrate left-back to draw a corner. He delivered Spurs' best chances, placing a cross on Dimitar Berbatov's head and a second on to Steed Malbranque's boot, whose volley was well met by Petr Cech.
By then Tottenham were chasing the game. As Belletti wandered forward from the halfway line, there should have been nothing on but a pass. Instead the Brazilian aimed for goal and from a distance and height that should have been parried his shot swerved slightly and comfortably through Cerny's hands. 'You're worse than Robinson,' taunted the Chelsea fans.
Tottenham started treading water, lacking the energy or insight that characterised their play against Arsenal until Adel Taarabt took over on the left wing, spreading crosses and passes around. Lennon drew a free-kick that Berbatov lifted fractionally over.
An unusually irate Grant introduced Nicolas Anelka and claimed almost instant reward when Wright-Phillips played the £15million striker into position for a finely executed spin and left-foot shot that Cerny touched away.
'He played without training even once but got used very quickly to the style of the team,' said Grant. 'You cannot ask more from the first performance.'
The game grew more ill-tempered and yellow cards were shown with regularity until Wright-Phillips settled it. Joe Cole was provider, collecting a throw-in, gliding through tacklers and squaring for a shot that travelled low through Ledley King's legs and into the net.
Anelka all but added a third, crashing a shot off underside of bar, but the game was up. Next time these sides meet Tottenham might consider employing a goalkeeper they trust.
THE FANS' VERDICT
James Aidan, Observer reader It was a lovely performance, but the game swung on our being able to control their strikers, and them not controlling ours. Keane and Berbatov didn't get much supply, though when Berbatov did get anything Alex had him in his pocket. Wright-Phillips was man of the match and is finally being played in his proper position as an inside forward, not on the wing. Belletti's goal was a Brazilian wonder-shot, with a massive swerve on it, and I don't think any keeper would have saved it. Anelka's arrival brings a subtlety to the forward line. Spurs worked very hard - O'Hara looked very good - and in the first 20 minutes of the second half they were all over us and could have equalised from a set piece. But once we scored the second it was over.
Player ratings Cech 8; Belletti 9, Alex 8, Carvalho 8, A Cole 7; Makelele 7; Wright-Phillips 9, (Sidwell N/A), Ballack 8; J Cole 7, Pizarro 7 (Anelka 8), Malouda 5 (Bridge 6)
Dave Mason, Observer reader I was confident going into the game, based on Wednesday, but we didn't have the quality to break them down. In midfield we missed Jenas and it showed how stupid two-ton Tommy was getting sent off last week. We needed more effort from everybody - Keane, Berbatov and Lennon showed none at all. Cerny had to come in, but the first goal was eminently stoppable and for the second Lee showed their player the inside. Basic, basic poor defending. We pressed in the second half and had a couple of threatening corners, but Cech was great.
Player ratings Cerny 6; Chimbonda 6, Dawson 6, King 7, Lee 5; Lennon 5, Boateng 5 (Kaboul 5), O'Hara 6 (Defoe 5), Malbranque 6 (Taarabt 5); Keane 4, Berbatov 6 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------NOTW :
Chelsea 2 Tottenham 0
By ROB BEASLEY at Stamford Bridge
AVRAM GRANT had to choose between the two incredible sulks — and judged it perfectly.
He opted for naughty Nic ahead of the brooding Berbatov and got it spot on.
Not to mention saving himself £20million in the process.
New £15m signing Nicolas Anelka had to be content with a place on the bench, while £35m-rated Dimitar Berbatov started for Spurs.
Yet for the best part of an hour it was difficult to say who was making the greater contribution.
The Bulgarian probably just about edged it — but then Anelka actually came on in the 58th minute. After that, it was no contest.
Quick, lively, alert and dangerous. The French ace was everything that Berbatov wasn't.
And remember, Anelka only signed for Chelsea late on Friday night and had not trained with his new team-mates.
In fact, Blues boss Avram Grant revealed the former Bolton hitman would have been sitting up in the stands if Chelsea were not suffering a striker crisis.
Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou are away at the African Cup of Nations, Andriy Shevchenko is injured and Claudio Pizarro was forced to lead the line carrying a knock.
Grant admitted: "We had to use Anelka because we are so short of strikers. But ideally he would not even have been in the squad."
Anelka went oh so close to scoring just minutes into his debut.
His fourth touch of the afternoon produced an instant shot on the turn from a clever Shaun Wright-Phillips back-heel that Tottenham keeper Radek Cerny did well to push away.
We had to wait another couple of minutes for Berbatov's first meaningful moment.
A wreckless foul by Chelsea captain Michael Ballack finally presented the Bulgarian with his opportunity. Central position, just outside the box and not an opponent within 10 yards.
He still couldn't hit the target, though, as he curled his effort high and wide.
Spurs tested Blues keeper Petr Cech just once in the entire match, when Steed Malbranque fired in a rasping volley just on the half-hour.
But the ball flew straight at Cech, who managed to bat it away and protect Chelsea's early lead.
And what an opener it was. Right-back Juliano Belletti scored a long-range screamer at Wigan in November. Until yesterday, that had been regarded as a fluke.
The Brazilian proved otherwise at Stamford Bridge.
He was just inside the Spurs half alongside the centre circle when he picked up a sideways pass from the fit-again Claude Makelele.
Belletti took a couple of paces forward and then hammered an unstoppable rocket of a shot into the top corner.
Cerny couldn't get anywhere near it. Paul Robinson wouldn't have either. It was a classic.
Tottenham never looked like coming back and Chelsea were always the more threatening.
But Spurs boss Juande Ramos insisted: "It was a very evenly-balanced game.
"Chelsea grabbed two goals from outside the penalty area but in terms of domination of the game, it wasn't reflected in the scoreline."
Ballack had a goal rightly ruled out for offside just before the break.
But midway through the second half, the home side had still failed to add to Belletti's brilliant opener.
One chance, one mistake and Spurs could be level. That opportunity came with less than 15 minutes to go.
Kevin-Prince Boateng crossed from the right, centre-half Alex missed his header and Robbie Keane ghosted in at the far post yet failed to apply the killer touch.
Tottenham's slim hopes of salvaging the day evaporated moments later when a rejuvenated Wright-Phillips drilled Chelsea further in front.
Belletti's throw down the line released Joe Cole, who tormented full-back Lee Young Pyo before squaring a low ball to Wright-Phillips.
The England winger reacted in an instant, flashing a first-time effort beyond Cerny's dive for 2-0. A fine finish from a player brimming full of confidence at last.
With three minutes to go, Wright-Phillips was put in the clear by Joe Cole but dragged his shot wide.
Anelka hit the underside of the bar with a rising, close-range shot in the 90th minute.
And in injury-time, Joe Cole forced Cerny into a fingertip save.
Anelka has insisted: "I want this to be my last club, I don't want to go anywhere else any more."
Anyone reckon Berbatov is thinking along the same lines? Doubtful.
Berbatov trudged off at the end having had one meaningful moment.
Curling a rasping free kick just beyond the angle after a wreckless foul on the edge of the box by Michael Ballack.