The Times October 6, 2008
Aston Villa victims of blue murder
Chelsea 2 Aston Villa 0
Martin Samuel
The scoreline suggests respectability, but the actuality was different. This was as comprehensive as any victory by such a conventional margin could be. A 2-0 marmalising, a 2-0 whitewash, a 2-0 knockout and then some. If Chelsea did not push on to record their biggest win under Luiz Felipe Scolari, it was only because so comprehensive was their superiority in the first half that the second was played as a glorified training exercise.
Aston Villa’s only threat came as a result of an unusually hesitant display by John Terry at centre back, which may have been caused by a nagging back injury or anxiety at his latest defensive partner, the unconvincing Branislav Ivanovic.
Either way, Chelsea defined the match at each end yesterday. Left to their own devices, Villa would have been anonymous. Bad news for Gareth Barry and the World Cup hopefuls Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young in front of Fabio Capello, the England manager; good news for Frank Lampard, who turned in one of the great individual performances of the season to end any debate over who should be at the centre of the midfield action for the national team.
Lampard was exceptional, the driving force behind all that was good about Chelsea, the architect of the first goal and the frustrated creator of near-misses that stretched into double figures. He has grown stronger, as ever, with each passing week of the season, but this was another level. It reminded of the form that made him Footballer of the Year in 2005 and if Chelsea deliver on this early promise and he maintains this standard of performance, he will be a contender again. There were strong displays peppered throughout the Chelsea lineup, but Lampard was the star.
It is to the credit of Scolari that from the moment he arrived, he made it his mission to stop Lampard’s move to Inter Milan. Scolari plays the diplomat, insisting that transfer policy is a boardroom decision, not the sole preserve of the manager, but there is no doubt that the desire to keep Lampard intensified the moment he walked through the door. He knew what Chelsea had in Lampard and if he did not, one look at the statistics would have told him.
So outstanding were Chelsea in the first half yesterday that Lampard spent the last 15 minutes playing as a surrogate support striker. Usually diligent, he decided, correctly, that Villa posed no threat and began lurking in the space behind Nicolas Anelka. With José Bosingwa and Ashley Cole – who is hitting the heights of his Arsenal form – pushing up on the flanks and Michael Ballack striding imperiously through the centre, Villa could not get out of their half.
Even if they were unfortunate to run into Chelsea on such a good day, this demonstrated how far Villa have to go if they are to pose a threat to the Champions League elite. There was no shame in losing, but to be so comprehensively outplayed raises some awkward questions.
So plentiful were Chelsea’s chances that they fall into individual categories: five brought saves from Brad Friedel, the sole performer of worth in the Villa team, three went narrowly wide, one hit the bar, two went just over the bar and one missed the outstretched boot of Florent Malouda at the far post by inches. It would not have flattered Chelsea had they led by eight at half-time and had a world-class forward in the form of Didier Drogba been playing, it could have been embarrassing for Villa.
They will have been thankful for the presence of Anelka, who appeared on the scoresheet because of the sheer weight of chances created. It should have been impossible for a striker not to have scored yesterday, although Franco Di Santo, the half-time replacement when Anelka suffered a muscle spasm, managed it.
Chelsea’s two goals had wrapped the match up by the time Di Santo appeared, however. Indeed, there seemed little way back for Villa after Joe Cole opened the scoring in the 21st minute. It was Malouda, surging into the Villa penalty area, whose momentum created the opening but Lampard whose vision sealed it. He made an exquisite pass to Joe Cole, steering the ball around Anelka and taking Villa’s back line out of the game, and his England teammate left Friedel no chance. Cole suffered an ankle injury in the second half and departed in pain, but Scolari said that he will be available to play for England with three days’ rest, although whether he gets the nod ahead of Steven Gerrard is another matter.
The second goal showed the value of persistence after Ashley Cole’s cross from the left had found Ballack, only for Friedel to save at close range. Anelka had another go, but Friedel was equal to this, too. The ball returning to Anelka’s feet, he was third time lucky. After that, Villa made a first inroad into the Chelsea penalty area through John Carew, but it was too late for a revival.
The “what might have been” round-up for Chelsea runs as follows. Saves by Friedel from Ballack (4min), a free kick by Lampard (28min), Malouda (32min), a header by Salomon Kalou (68min) and Lampard again (83min). A header wide from Lampard (17min). Shots wide from Anelka one on one (10min) and Lampard (88min). Anelka’s shot against the bar (25min). A cross by Lampard that eluded Malouda by a bootlace (57min) and miscellaneous chances over the bar, one from Ballack after a goalmouth scramble (63min), another deflected over by Martin Laursen from Kalou a minute later.
Villa had a couple of harum-scarum opportunities, but little to compare. Petr Cech cleared from Agbonlahor in the final significant move of the match and Agbonlahor steered his pass wide of Carew from a tight angle on the one occasion when Cech appeared beaten.
Martin O’Neill, the Villa manager, admonished himself after the match for even half-dreaming of defeating Chelsea. On this form, he will not be the only one needing to scale down ambitions this season.
Chelsea ratings (4-3-3)
P Cech 6 J Bosingwa 7 B Ivanovic 5 J Terry 5 A Cole 8 M Ballack 8 J O Mikel 6 F Lampard 9 J Cole 7 N Anelka 7 F Malouda 7 Substitutes F Di Santo 5 (for Anelka, 46min), S Kalou 6 (for J Cole, 57), J Belletti (for Malouda, 81). Not used Hilário, W Bridge, P Ferreira, M Mancienne.
Aston Villa ratings (4-4-1-1)
B Friedel 6 L Young 5 C Davies 5 M Laursen 5 N Shorey 5 N Reo-Coker 5 S Petrov 5 G Barry 5 A Young 5 G Agbonlahor 5 J Carew 5 Substitutes C Cuéllar 5 (for Davies, 46), J Milner 5 (for L Young, 46) M Harewood (for Carew, 71). Not used B Guzan, Z Knight, M Salifou, C Gardner.
Referee C Foy Attendance 41,593
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Telegraph:
Slick Chelsea bring Martin O’Neill's Aston Villa down to earth at Stamford BridgeChelsea (2) 2 Aston Villa (0) 0 By Henry Winter at Stamford Bridge
Martin O'Neill had arrived at the home of the Premier League pace-setters, believing his vibrant Aston Villa could actually win. After this chastening defeat, O’Neill admitted feeling “daft’’ at having the temerity even to dream that Chelsea might slip up.
Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side were a mix of the beautiful and the ruthless, combining sweeping attacks with a hunger for strangling the life out of the visitors. Villa had not been this outclassed since running into a rampant Manchester United last March. The only travesty was that the scoreline did not reflect the brilliance of Frank Lampard, John Obi Mikel and Joe Cole.
Awkward assignments lurk on the horizon for Chelsea, from old foe in Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Oct 26 to the gloriously unexpected in Hull City at the KC Stadium on Oct 29, but the Premier League table makes enjoyable reading for Scolari’s side, although they will be aware of the pounding hooves of Sir Alex Ferguson’s thoroughbreds.
O’Neill rightly pointed out that there was still four-fifths of the season to go. He gave respectful name-checks to United, Liverpool and Arsenal, reminded everyone that fortunes can change like a weather-vane in a hurricane, but he was clearly in awe of Chelsea.
“They were brilliant,’’ reflected O’Neill. “It was a harsh lesson for us. This is where we want to be, this is what we aspire to. We were on a crest of a wave. This morning I thought we could win, which shows I’m daft. Chelsea would have beaten some of the best teams in Europe today.’’
Invited to go into specifics on why Chelsea are so good, O’Neill began by hailing their new leader. “Scolari’s a brilliant manager,’’ said O’Neill. “He has inherited a great team here, and put his own stamp on it, and that is remarkable.’’
Asked again to cast his experienced professional eye on the exact nature of the Scolari “stamp’’, O’Neill lauded the Brazilian’s full-backs.
Under Avram Grant and particularly Jose Mourinho, the marauding instincts of individuals like Ashley Cole were not encouraged. Now, Cole and the newcomer, Jose Bosingwa, are urged to overlap.
“He’s got Ashley Cole back to his very best with a licence to go forward,’’ observed O’Neill. “He’s pretty comfortable about going forward because if he plays the ball inside, with their midfield he knows they will play it back on for him. Bosingwa gives them another option going forward.’’
Scolari’s full-backs spent most of the game as auxiliary wingers such was Chelsea’s dominance. From back to front, the hosts were a class apart. If the Matthew Harding Stand were slightly cruel in belittling Villa’s ambitions – “Champions League?’’ they cackled, “you’re having a laugh!’’ – there can be no question of Chelsea’s superiority.
O’Neill highlighted one of Chelsea’s myriad strengths when he noted “their ability to withstand injuries’’ because of the quality of their squad. Branislav Ivanovic was threatening to become a quiz question at the Bridge – had anyone seen him? – yet he slotted in impressively alongside John Terry in the absence of Ricardo Carvalho and Alex. On the rare occasions that Villa ventured into the final third, the Serb nimbly dispossessed John Carew.
Otherwise, there was little to occupy Ivanovic. When the electronic hoardings began flashing up an exhortation to “Take The Tour of Stamford Bridge’’, Chelsea’s back four could have signed up en masse. They were hardly needed. Mikel had everything under control, the Nigerian breaking up Villa’s few attacks before they could build up anything approaching steam.
In front of Mikel, Lampard delivered an even greater display, gliding forward time after time, turning away from tacklers to unleash shot or slide team-mates through. He was involved in both goals, would have scored but for Brad Friedel’s reflexes, and was feted by both managers afterwards. “Lampard played very, very well – two times I will say 'very’,’’ enthused Scolari. “Absolutely outstanding,’’ was O’Neill’s verdict.
The ritual Lampard versus Steven Gerrard debate will resume this week as the best two central midfielders in the land report for England duty. Gerrard has been exceptional for Liverpool of late, and Lampard was at the very top of his game yesterday, giving Gareth Barry a masterclass in midfield movement.
After Friedel had thwarted Michael Ballack and Florent Malouda, Lampard took control, helping create Chelsea’s 21st-minute opener. When Malouda cut the ball back to Lampard, the midfielder was the picture of composure on the edge of the box. Spotting the darting Joe Cole, Lampard placed the ball perfectly, his pass eluding Barry and reaching Cole, who fired it confidently past Friedel.
Chelsea fans had so much to celebrate, from Cole’s strike, to news of Spurs going behind to Hull to Nicolas Anelka ghosting away from Curtis Davies and hitting the bar. Chelsea continued to roll in blue waves towards Friedel’s goal. The American punched away a Lampard free-kick, and then saved from Malouda, but had no chance when Chelsea came calling again with a minute of the first half remaining.
Again Lampard was involved, linking with Malouda to release Ashley Cole down the left. The defender’s pass found Ballack and the goal opened up. With Villa’s defenders absent without leave, Friedel saved at close range from Ballack and Anelka’s follow-up but was stranded as Anelka made certain with his second attempt.
Chelsea had finished scoring, but had not finished impressing. Lampard kept going close, a reminder of the team’s ethos of technical excellence with unremitting commitment.
Another sign of their strength in depth arrived in the busy form of Franco di Santo, who replaced Anelka after the Frenchman felt a slight pain in his leg (although he will be fit for the resumption of Chelsea duties after the international break).
Di Santo’s touch, movement and enterprise, if not his shooting, were a constant, and confirmation of what Chelsea insiders have been whispering for some time, that the Argentinian is a talent to watch. So are Scolari’s Chelsea, a winning mixture of steel and elan.
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Independent:
Chelsea 2 Aston Villa 0: Cole-fired Chelsea turn on the style
Scolari's walking wounded shrug off aches and pains to put up most perfect display of the Abramovich era.Jason Burt sees the new 'untouchables' live up to their name
Injury is Chelsea's only opponent right now. A damaged ankle for Joe Cole, only just returned from the casualty list, and sore backs for John Terry and Ashley Cole have more resonance for England this week. But together with Nicolas Anelka being withdrawn at half-time with a leg problem and the lengthy roll call of absentees that has already depleted Luiz Felipe Scolari's squad, these are testing times for the manager. Not that it appeared so yesterday. A 10th game unbeaten for Scolari and a perfect 10 at that.
For the first half this was, maybe, the best Chelsea have played in the Roman Abramovich era. It was that good, at times simply sensational, with Frank Lampard in the kind of imperious, threatening, relentless form that sets an awesome benchmark. "Very, very well," said Scolari when asked how he felt the midfielder had played. "And that's not just one very." The second 45 minutes was, in a sense, equally formidable as Chelsea barely allowed Villa – previously vibrant, dangerous Villa – a sniff.
Scolari had talked about not having the "untouchables" of Jose Mourinho's squad – players who are too important to be dropped – but there were 14 untouchables yesterday. This was supposed to be the match – with Deco, Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho, Didier Drogba out and with Alex suffering a late recurrence of his injury – that would test to the max Chelsea's ability to hold on to that fabled 85-game home unbeaten record. It wasn't anything of the kind.
Indeed Martin O'Neill, Villa's manager, admitted that he had awoken yesterday morning "really believing" his team would win, only for that hope to be smashed to pieces. "They were absolutely brilliant," O'Neill said of Chelsea. "Absolutely brilliant. We would have had to have our best players play at their best just to compete, never mind anything else."
Scolari's post-match comments took on the look of a medical bulletin. "For me it was the most important game in the season so far," he said of the performance, the result and the aftermath of which have left his team top of the league going into the international break. "We are in first position and we have 10 days to recuperate our players." There was then the rundown and some good news: Terry and Joe Cole, he felt, would be ready with "three days' rest".
Chelsea came out all guns blazing. And it was like shooting fish in a barrel. In the Villa goal, Brad Friedel was a startled, shell-shocked figure beating out powerful shots from Michael Ballack and the impressive Florent Malouda before Lampard, from close range, headed into the side-netting following clever work from Anelka, who later crashed a shot against the crossbar.
Chelsea surged ahead. Malouda, again, sped down the left, picked out Lampard and, on the area's edge he cleverly waited for Joe Cole's run before slipping the ball into his path. One touch and Cole, back in the team after an absence of three games injured, hammered his shot high into the net to reward a blistering, mesmeric opening quarter. They didn't relent. A Lampard free-kick had Friedel scrambling before the American saved from Malouda. Another goal was inevitable and once more Lampard was instrumental, scampering down the left to create space and find the overlapping Ashley Cole, whose cutback was met by Ballack. Friedel pushed out the first side-footed effort, and Anelka's follow-up before the striker finally buried the chance.
Anelka departed at half-time and then Joe Cole, after a hefty challenge from Stilian Petrov, limped off before Terry's back began to cause him problems. It broke up Chelsea's momentum while O'Neill made changes of his own and, finally, there was a chink. Terry, clearly troubled, erred and his header back to Petr Cech fell short, allowing Gabriel Agbonlahor to nip in. With the goalkeeper stranded he crossed for John Carew, but with the goal empty, the ball was too far in front of the striker.
Friedel managed to keep out another Ballack shot while Lampard's whipped cross bounced just ahead of Malouda's outstretched leg before only Carlos Cuellar's fortuitous intervention stopped the winger as he latched on to another pass from Lampard. A desperate tackle from James Milner then prevented Lampard while a header from Salomon Kalou was somehow fumbled over by Friedel.
"I think that was the best they have played," O'Neill said of the hosts. And he was right, which was extraordinary testimony to Chelsea and their world-class manager.
Goals: J Cole (21) 1-0; Anelka (44) 2-0.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, A Cole; Mikel; J Cole (Kalou, 57), Lampard, Ballack, Malouda (Belletti, 83); Anelka (Di Santo, 46). Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Bridge, Ferreira, Mancienne.
Aston Villa (4-4-2): Friedel; L Young (Milner, h-t), Laursen, Davies (Cuellar, h-t), Shorey; Reo-Coker, Petrov, Barry, A Young; Agbonlahor, Carew (Harewood, 72). Substitutes not used: Guzan (gk), Knight, Salifou, Gardner.
Referee: C Foy (Merseyside).
Booked: Aston Villa Cuellar, Petrov, Shorey.
Man of the match: Lampard.
Attendance: 41,593.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Guardian:
Dazzling Chelsea make mockery of injury concerns
Chelsea 2 Cole, J 21, Anelka 44 Aston Villa 0
Kevin McCarra at Stamford Bridge Chelsea seemed a team apart yesterday, even if Liverpool's comeback at Manchester City means they still have company at the head of the Premier League. It took a keen eye to note that players of Ricardo Carvalho and Deco's status were missing, because Luiz Felipe Scolari's side performed as if they lacked nothing whatsoever. The zest of the line-up is the most important factor of all.
These are people blinking in delight at everything life suddenly has to offer. Ashley Cole exemplified that. He has learned well at Stamford Bridge how to be a resourceful defender but now the verve of his youth at Arsenal has returned and is in spate. It swept away these visitors.
Cole's key part in the second goal typified that. With fluent interchanging, Florent Malouda and Frank Lampard sent him to the byline in the 44th minute. His concentration was intense as he focused on steering the cutback acutely. It ran perfectly to Michael Ballack. Brad Friedel saved from the German and then Nicolas Anelka, but the France striker eventually got a finish into the net.
Chelsea, in theory, lack forwards and, in the absence of Didier Drogba, Anelka is the only seasoned player for that position. That seemed not to matter. It eggs Scolari's men on to set whirling moves in motion from the centre of the pitch. Without outstanding work by Friedel the score would have been a reliable measure of the crushing victory that actually occurred.
Villa have been coming on nicely and tests of this severity would make most sides look like abject failures. Martin O'Neill, however, will ponder the evidence. He has picked the same starting line-up in every Premier League fixture to date but the selection process will not be made automatically next time around.
The centre-back Curtis Davies was taken off at half-time, having been put in difficulties when he felt obliged to come out of the defence. He could not count on cover from the midfielders despite the fact that O'Neill, pulling Gabriel Agbonlahor on to the right long before the interval, had stationed five men in that area.
It was much too simple for Chelsea to identify openings. After 21 minutes, Malouda and Lampard had only to work the ball from left to right for the opener, with Joe Cole clear to belt a finish beyond Friedel. From Villa's perspective there must be exasperation that their entire side had been dragged toward the Chelsea left.
If the visitors had hope it lay in the fact that their opponents' minds eventually began to wander. John Terry perpetrated two weak headers in the vague direction of Petr Cech that might not be repeated over the course of this campaign and, perhaps, a few others.
In the 61st minute Agbonlahor got to the ball ahead of the goalkeeper but Cech blocked and, when the Villa attacker then chipped a cross, John Carew was not in position to head into an unguarded net. With the match in stoppage-time, Terry was again careless but Cech was fast enough to beat Agbonlahor to the ball.
Chelsea will mostly be scolding themselves for leniency. The openings mounted up yet they were usually squandered or dealt with by Friedel. Exasperation would have been stifled in the home support since they were having too much fun soaking up the imagination and movement of their team.
The suspected fragility of Chelsea was an illusion. With Carvalho absent and his deputy Alex also unfit, Scolari was forced to turn to Branislav Ivanovic. Although he cost £9m from Lokomotiv Moscow in January, this was the Serb's debut in the Premier League. Any regrets will lie in the lack of situations where he could show his prowess.
Scolari, in some respects, experienced concern. Anelka has a leg injury yet he was involved heavily before being taken off at half-time. The introduction of the Argentinian Franco Di Santo simply granted the teenager the prospect of furthering his development in a stress-free environment. Chelsea are also savouring a little luck. Anelka and, for that matter, Joe Cole will get over their knocks on their countries' time. Scolari's side are not in action again until they go to the Riverside on October 18. Middlesbrough have the verve and youth to be dangerous, but the outcome is of less interest than the fact that Chelsea might confirm that they are now entertainers.
It would be unjust not to say that there were sparkling moments under Jose Mourinho but many were in the autumn of 2004 when Arjen Robben was at peak fitness. Gradually it was the manager's pragmatism and strategic intelligence which came to the fore. The club can be grateful for trophies that were the fruit of that.
Scolari, with his authority, is Mourinho's true successor, after the interregnum of Avram Grant, and that period of relative failure works to his advantage. This is a new start as Chelsea, by different means, strive to regain the Premier League title. Sir Alex Ferguson was correct in his observation that there is a seasoned squad at Stamford Bridge. In common with the rest of us, the Manchester United manager erred solely in his assumption that Scolari could not rejuvenate their minds.
Man of the match: Ashley Cole
The full-backs are now an important source of dynamism for Chelsea and Cole is revelling in the freedom he enjoys
Best moment The determined run which ended with a meticulous cutback that paved a way for Nicolas Anelka to score Chelsea's second goal
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Mail:
Scolari’s new ruling class: O’Neill put in his place by aristocratsBy Neil Ashton
Chelsea 2 Aston Villa 0
Billboards boldly claimed it was The Brazilian against The Great Briton. First v Fourth. The Unbeatables against the New Beginning. In the end, it was Men against Boys.
Chelsea's League of Nations, pulled together from seven different countries, played with ingenuity and inspiration against Aston Villa by binding together into one tight, title-winning unit.
It was electrifying. It could have been five by half-time and 10 by the final whistle. In the end, Luiz Felipe Scolari's irrepressible side settled for two.
More like too easy. Martin O'Neill's team are a red herring in this title race, an also-ran after just seven games. 'Chelsea were brilliant,' conceded the Villa manager.
'That's probably the best they've played this season, but I really thought we would beat them. It shows how daft I am.'
Deluded more like. Try to stop this Chelsea team, just try. Liverpool will fancy their chances, especially after Fernando Torres and Dirk Kuyt stirred into action at Eastlands, but Chelsea are flying.
Rafa Benitez can bring them back down to earth in two weeks when his Liverpool visit Stamford Bridge hoping to become the first team since Arsenal, as distant as February 2004, to beat them on their own ground in the Barclays Premier League.
Good luck. Pick a player, any player, from this Chelsea team. John Terry? Colossus. Joe Cole? Captivating. Frank Lampard? Imperious.
'Lampard was outstanding, ' admitted O'Neill. 'He was very, very good,' added Scolari.
The best player on the pitch is playing the best football of his career. Three Englishmen, head and shoulders above any of their seven countrymen representing Villa, ran this show.
Joe Cole scored the opening goal, a strike that Stamford Bridge had to wait all of 21 minutes for, latching on to Lampard's pass and burying his effort beyond Brad Friedel.
Pity the Aston Villa keeper, the one-man human blockade who prevented Chelsea threatening to eclipse their record league victory, a 9-2 annihilation of Glossop in 1906. Seriously, it would have been close.
O'Neill will be alarmed, surprised just how easily his defence - if you can call it that - buckled under the relentless pressure.
Chelsea have added another threat to their football this season, releasing Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa down the wings at every opportunity and giving them licence to drop their bombs.
Villa had no answer, dragging off Luke Young (abysmal) and Curtis Davies (ditto) at the break.
It may be some time before O'Neill has the confidence to play them in the same team again. 'I'm very satisfied,' declared Scolari. 'For me, this was the most important game of the season because it means we go into the international break first in the Premier League, first in the group in the Champions League and in the next round of the Carling Cup.
'It also means our players will have an extra 10 days to recover before we next play, at Middlesbrough.'
Just look at what this team have in reserve: Ricardo Carvalho, Deco and Didier Drogba are all recovering from medium-term injuries.
Chelsea mesmerised 41,593 spectators (five more if you include their own defence) with a heady brew of fabulous football.
They scored their second just before the break when Anelka, substituted at half-time with a leg injury, followed up Michael Ballack's close-range shot. Anelka is quietly but regularly knocking in goals in the Premier League (four so far) and reminding the doubters that he is a world-class talent.
They are liberally sprinkled throughout this side, the partnerships all over the pitch that can tear teams apart: Ballack and Lampard, Ashley Cole and Florent Malouda, Bosingwa and Joe Cole.
Heavy artillery is everywhere. 'Scolari has inherited a great team, but he has also put his own stamp on them and that is remarkable,' added O'Neill.
'You have to remember what he has achieved in the game. He won a World Cup with Brazil, where the expectations are always high. Scolari is a brilliant manager, right at the very top.
'This was a harsh lesson, but there is no point in us playing if we're not going to aspire to be at Chelsea's level. We caught them at a bad time.' No kidding. This was Chelsea at their very best.
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Express:
FRANK THE GREAT REPELS INVADERS
By Tony Banks
Chelsea 2 Aston Villa 0
THOSE rumours about the imminent fall of the fortress of Stamford Bridge will have to be put on hold. The challengers arrived swords drawn and with bugles blaring yesterday, only to be blown away by a response as brutal as it was terrifying.
The gulf between those at the very top and the aspirants to their throne was never more clearly illustrated than in this horribly clinical destruction by Chelsea of an Aston Villa side full of pretensions, but without the class to topple these particular ramparts.
Because standing tall on them was Frank Lampard, an immense leader of men who was never going to allow anything other than a victory.
The England midfielder, for so long the subject of vacuous criticism from the pundits and terraces, has been steadily winning over his critics for both club and country. But none, not even his heroic performance in the Champions League semi-final win against Liverpool last season so soon after the death of his mother, was better than this.
It was not just Lampard. Perhaps stung by Villa’s bragging that they were coming to end their 85-match unbeaten home run, Chelsea were faultless as a unit.
Right from the kick-off their sheer intent was obvious. They played with a venom and a purpose that overwhelmed Villa. It may have been first against fourth, but the gulf was much larger.
In the end, the margin of defeat for Martin O’Neill’s men was only two goals, but everyone knew that was a mere statistic.
Chelsea, with their best performance yet under Luiz Felipe Scolari, set out their stall as potential champions of England again. On this kind of form it is difficult to see any side, even Manchester United, stopping them.
The only potential fly in the ointment is the mounting toll of injuries. But as Scolari pointed out afterwards, with the international break there is now a fortnight to patch up the walking wounded.
Lampard was at the fulcrum of everything. His passing was incisive, his running penetrative and intelligent, his power unstoppable. Gareth Barry opposite was trampled underfoot. It was men against boys all over the pitch.
The battering began from the off with Michael Ballack’s shot which was tipped away by the heroic Brad Friedel.
Florent Malouda and Lampard both went close, but the breakthrough came in the 21st minute with another incisive passing move that cut Villa apart.
Malouda fed Lampard, and the ball was whisked on to Joe Cole, who lashed it high into the net. Nicolas Anelka then clipped the bar, but the second goal came on the stroke of half-time.
Lampard played in Ashley Cole and Ballack met his low cross with a full-blooded shot that Friedel somehow stopped. The American pulled off another miracle as he denied Anelka from the rebound, but again he could not hold on to the ball, and this time the Frenchman made no mistake.
Chelsea suffered a blow then as Anelka, doubtful before the game with a muscle problem, had to go off. Skipper John Terry, another of the limping from their bruising midweek Champions League draw in Cluj, also had to have treatment on the back problem he aggravated in that game. Typically he battled on, but the colossus was clearly struggling.
There was no respite for Joe Cole, back after a three -game absence with a hip problem.
Hit by a thudding tackle by Stiliyan Petrov, he too limped off, and was forced out of the England squad.
Villa, as they needed to, fought their way back as Chelsea began to run out of fit bodies. John Carew shot straight at Petr Cech, and Gabriel Agbonlahor should have done much better than loft the ball across the face of goal. As a response, though, it barely registered.
For every Villa thrust there was a rapier retort, usually inspired by the peerless Lampard.
Ballack stung Friedel’s fingertips with a piledriver, Lampard himself shot low across the face of goal, saw the goalkeeper fumble his shot round a post, cracked a low drive inches wide and, in the final minute, sent a free-kick whistling over the bar.
At the end it was like a casualty station in the pouring rain, but Chelsea’s class had glittered through the gloom with menacing brilliance. If they can only keep the thin blue line fit and intact, the marker has been set for the rest of the Premier League.
CHELSEA (4-1-4-1): Cech 7; Bosingwa 7, Ivanovic 7, Terry 7, A Cole 7; Mikel 7; J Cole 7 (Kalou 57, 6), Ballack 7, Lampard 8, Malouda 8 (Belletti 82); Anelka 7 (Di Santo 46, 6). Goals: J Cole 21, Anelka 44.
ASTON VILLA (4-4-2): Friedel 7; L Young 5 (Milner 46, 6), Davis 5 (Cuellar 46, 6), Laursen 6, Shorey 5; Reo-Coker 6, Petrov 5, Barry 5, A Young 6; Carew 6 (Harewood 72, 6), Agbonlahor 6. Booked: Cuellar, Petrov, Shorey.
Referee: C Foy (Merseyside).
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Sun:
Chelsea 2 Villa 0
By SHAUN CUSTIS
THIS was supposed to be the day Chelsea came unstuck.
After 85 Premier League home games without defeat, Villa were coming to get them.
Martin O’Neill’s men were, apparently, an emerging force with pretensions to break the monopoly on the top four and had not lost to Chelsea in their previous five league meetings.
Add to that the fact big names Didier Drogba, Ricardo Carvalho, Deco and Michael Essien were all missing from Big Phil Scolari’s line-up and we were brainwashed into believing Chelsea would do well to escape with a draw.
But Frank Lampard turned in one of the greatest performances of his glittering Chelsea career in front of England boss Fabio Capello and Villa went whimpering back to the Midlands with their balloon well and truly pricked.
Those tipped for future stardom such as Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young barely got a kick and were given a harsh lesson.
Meanwhile, Gareth Barry — Lampard’s midfield partner in England’s victory over Croatia last month — was completely outclassed by his international pal.
Chelsea fans taunted: “Champions League you’re having a laugh.” And you wonder if they might be right.
Yet this was as much about Chelsea’s brilliance as Villa’s ineptitude.
Many a team has come to Stamford Bridge and lost but few have been so comprehensively battered as Villa were in the first half.
This was a Chelsea we never saw in the days of Jose Mourinho. This was football with bite and swagger.
Villa were like a bunch of schoolkids playing against the big lads, hacking it clear then catching their breath just in time for the next attack.
Their keeper Brad Friedel was the busiest man on the field.
“Thank goodness we had him or it could have been a lot worse,” said O’Neill — who also hailed Lampard as “absolutely brilliant.”
O’Neill added: “When I woke up I thought we were going to win. How daft am I?”
Very daft as it turned out. But even Chelsea would not have expected to be this good.
Big Phil has not smiled so much since he won the World Cup.
He said: “I’m very satisfied, we played very well.”
From the moment Friedel turned away Michael Ballack’s screaming 25-yard drive, it was clear the home side were in the zone.
Florent Malouda, flourishing under Scolari, tested Friedel as well and Lampard’s only blemish on his afternoon came when he planted a close-range header just wide.
But he does not let that sort of thing get him down. And in the 21st minute he was instrumental in Chelsea’s opening goal, steering Malouda’s cross on to Joe Cole who smashed the ball high into the net leaving even Friedel helpless.
Nicolas Anelka followed up with a 25-yarder against the bar which Friedel might just have got a fingernail to. And Lampard gave the keeper more work with a stinging shot.
Friedel was like a punch drunk boxer reeling against the ropes as he hung on to Malouda’s strike.
Even when Villa threatened to break towards the half-way line Joe Cole made two tackles on Agbonlahor to win the ball. It was another lesson in commitment for the Villa youngster.
Two minutes before half-time, Chelsea bagged the second they more than deserved — although Friedel did everything possible to keep it out, saving from both Ballack and Anelka before the Frenchman slammed in the loose ball.
Chelsea lost Anelka to injury at the break and Joe Cole also limped off early in the second half after a heavy tackle by Stiliyan Petrov.
That put the brakes on the machine somewhat.
Villa actually conjured up a chance as Agbonlahor got in between John Terry’s back header and keeper Petr Cech but his cross was just out of John Carew’s reach.
Ballack somehow blazed over from close in and Friedel made two more saves to deny Lampard.
How the Englishman did not score was a mystery in itself.
We are coming into the week when the old Lampard-Steven Gerrard debate rears its head again with the Liverpool skipper fit and two World Cup qualifiers ahead.
First name on the teamsheet for the centre of England’s midfield right now has to be Lampard.
Barry will be hoping he keeps his place as Lamps’ partner but this did not do him any favours.
And if he is ever to play Champions League football, it would seem he needs that transfer away from Villa Park.
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