bolton 4-0 (again)

Sunday Times
Frank Lampard sets Chelsea on way to victory
Bolton 0 Chelsea 4
Duncan Castles at Reebok stadium

GATHER as many elite players in one dressing room as Roman Abramovich has and a haughty resilience emerges: this Chelsea team never accepts slights gladly. Serious questions were asked of them after successive Premier League away losses to Wigan and Aston Villa, but the response has been emphatic — four games, four wins, 17 goals scored, not one conceded.
Concerns about set-piece defending have given way to clean sheets; queries about the narrowness of Carlo Ancelotti’s midfield have ceded to an admiration of its effectiveness when Chelsea open the scoring. If an opposition comprised of an Atletico Madrid on the point of sacking their manager, Blackburn and two variants of Bolton has not been elite level, Chelsea’s reply has been.
“We accepted this criticism because the first thing we had was self criticism,” said Ancelotti. “It is important to improve. This team has improved very well.” No Premier League team hits more passes than Chelsea; none hit fewer than Bolton. Overwhelmed by Chelsea’s League Cup XI in midweek, Gary Megson made six changes and warned his players not to let their opponents “dictate the tempo”. The strategy involved man-marking Chelsea’s midfield and closing their options.
It was a marginal tactic, presenting Chelsea with several chances. Deco, Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard traded positions. Without a clean sheet in the league this term, Bolton’s defenders were error-prone.
Didier Drogba headed adrift from premium position, then almost converted a harder chance. Played in by Gary Cahill’s slip, he was foiled by Jussi Jaskelainen. Often dropping to the wings to offer width, Nicolas Anelka had a brace of shots saved. Lampard, Ballack and Michael Essien all threatened with shots from the edge of the area; Branislav Ivanovic found it but forfeited his goal to an offside colleague.
Bolton almost prospered in the simple areas. Two early set-pieces exposed weaknesses in Chelsea’s marking, with Johan Elmander offered successive free headers. As the half wore on, Megson’s men almost found route-one success. First, Elmander nodded on for Kevin Davies to volley past. Then, Davies twice got the jump on John Terry to furnish his fellow forward with near things. Then their defence imploded.
Deco captured the ball near the left touchline before finding Ballack with a fine diagonal pass. As he sprinted towards the defence, he selected the perfect angle to release Drogba behind them. With a goal seeming likely, Jlloyd Samuel guaranteed it by cutting the African down in the area and allowing Lampard to finish from 12 yards. “A soft penalty,” said Megson, inaccurately. “It was engineered well — if Drogba keeps it on his right-hand side Jlloyd would not get sent off trying to get to it.”
With Bolton’s midfield cut to three, it was open house for Chelsea. Drogba was thrice released on Jaaskelainen within minutes of the restart and thrice thwarted. Anelka found the keeper as hard to beat, yet further goals came.
A moment of studied composure saw Deco drag Anelka’s pass back to his left foot before sweeping past the keeper. Ricardo Carvalho unseated a marker before crossing with the outside of his right boot for Zat Knight to score an own goal. As the clock ran down, Anelka stood the ball up for Deco, who chested it down to Lampard. A no-look back heel played in Drogba, whose first-time shot finally escaped Jasskelainen.

BOLTON: Jasskelainen 7, Ricketts 5, Cahill 5, Knight 5, Samuel 3, Muamba 6 (M Davies 65min), Basham 5 (Robinson h-t, 5), Lee 5 (Gardner h-t, 5), Cohen 6, Elmander 6, K Davies 6
CHELSEA: Cech 6, Ivanovic 7, Carvalho 7, Terry 5, Ferreira 6, Essien 6, Ballack 7, Lampard 7, Deco 7, Drogba 6, Anelka 7

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Telegraph:

Bolton Wanderers 0 Chelsea 4
By Graham Chase at the Reebok Stadium

Just about doing enough on a regular basis and still scoring four goals is what wins titles and that is exactly what Chelsea did against Bolton to maintain their advantage at the top of the Premier League.
There was none of the free-flowing football that allowed them to score 13 goals in their previous three matches but they withstood a ferocious first-half onslaught from Bolton Wanderers and took their chance when it came along.
As Jlloyd Samuel trudged off after clipping Didier Drogba in the area to concede a penalty that was confidently converted by Frank Lampard just before the interval, there was only a sense of frustration that it had taken such an incident to open up the hosts.
To the lazy or untrained eye, the diamond formation used by Bolton to combat Chelsea might have looked more like a lump of coal but it certainly did the job as Gary Megson's side enjoyed an exciting and open first half.
Chelsea stood up to the early set-piece tests but took their time to find openings at the other end before Drogba fed Nicolas Anelka and the Frenchman's drive was tipped wide by Jussi Jaaskelainen, who diverted Drogba's header from the corner that followed over the bar.
With Fabrice Muamba roaming to good effect, Johan Elamander and Kevin Davies were causing the visitors' defence plenty of trouble. Davies should have at least hit the target after collecting an Elmander flick but his drive flew wide of Petr Cech's post.
But just before half time a neat move sliced the hosts open and Michael Ballack slipped through for Drogba to break into the area only to be tripped by Samuel as he prepared to shoot, giving Lampard the chance to open the scoring from the spot.
There was still some Bolton resistance after the restart but Chelsea oozed ruthlessness and it was no surprise when Drogba broke clear and squared for Deco to curl past Jaaskelainen to make it two.
A third came when Zat Knight headed Ricardo Caravalho's cross into his own goal under heavy pressure from Branislav Ivanovic before Drogba fired in from Lampard's flick to make it four.
It was a win that lacked glamour maybe but another three points all the same to make it 14 wins from 16 for the campaign and 17 goals from four games.


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Mail:
Bolton 0 Chelsea 4:

Four star Blues run riot at the Reebok as Carlo Ancelotti's men hold on to top spot

Chelsea won at Bolton for the seventh league game in succession to stamp their hold on top spot in the Barclays Premier League. Beaten in their last two away games, there was no chance of the west Londoners suffering a third against the hosts, who had Jlloyd Samuel sent off. Chelsea have now scored eight goals in four days against Gary Megson's team, and were brutally destructive when confronted with a team a man down.
Michael Essien flashed an angled effort just wide, before Drogba got clear and was only halted by Jaaskelainen's outstretched boot. Bolton persisted with their set-plays and aerial attacks aimed at Davies and Johan Elmander, and the ploy concerned Chelsea's defence.
The visitors had a 30th-minute Branislav Ivanovic strike ruled out by a linesman's flag - Michael Ballack was adjudged to be offside. Chelsea players complained bitterly, but referee Peter Walton was unmoved. Bolton were soon back under pressure - and in the final seconds of injury-time, Chelsea were ahead, after Drogba had been brought down. Lampard lashed home the penalty. Gary Megson made two half-time changes, sending on Ricardo Gardner and Paul Robinson for Basham and Lee.
Cohen lashed a free-kick over after John Terry had bodychecked Gardner in full flow, then Cohen was too slow to react to a fine Davies knockdown and Essien produced a remarkable saving tackle a yard out. Drogba was booed every time he touched the ball by Bolton's fans, but he did not dive for the penalty having been clearly caught from behind. Jaaskelainen made fine saves twice at the feat of the Ivory Coast star, and then from an Anelka effort before Lampard crossed an 18-yard effort against the bar. Robinson was booked for a foul on Ivanovic before Jaaskelainen beat away a fierce Anelka drive after the former Bolton man had cruised past three defenders. Chelsea had been under pressure in the air from set-plays, but when they broke from defence after 61 minutes they grabbed their second.
Anelka was the architect, streaming down the left before angling his pass for Deco to sidestep Paul Robinson's lunging tackle to clip the ball into the net. Bolton sent on Mark Davies for Fabrice Muamba after 66 minutes, with Chelsea firmly in control. Paulo Ferreira was booked late on, but Chelsea were in full control and it was 3-0 when Knight - under pressure from Ivanovic - got the final touch to Ricardo Carvalho's cross. Bolton, to their credit, kept coming forward and won a succession of corners which Chelsea were at last beginning to defend properly. But Chelsea got their fourth in injury-time when Anelka's cross was flicked on by Lampard for Drogba to fire home.


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Observer:

Chelsea ease to victory after Bolton's Jlloyd Samuel sent off
Bolton Wanderers 0 Chelsea 4 Lampard (pen) 45, Deco 61, Knight (og) 82, Drogba 90

Chelsea are striking everyone as ominously strong again. They appear to have corrected their habit of conceding goals at set pieces and, with it, their vulnerability away from home.
After two successive away league defeats, Chelsea can now boast two clean sheets against Bolton, whose dead-ball repertoire has caused problems for even the best defences. That should please Carlo Ancelotti even more than the glut of goals, for the home side were handicapped by having to play with 10 men for the whole of the second half after Jlloyd Samuel's dismissal.
After leaking eight goals to Chelsea in the space of four days, Bolton will be glad to get back to playing less stellar teams once a week. So will Jussi Jaaskelainen, without whom the score might have reached double figures.
"Bolton played a strong match in the first half and we had to keep up our concentration," said Ancelotti. "I am very happy because this was an important win. It was our aim to still be on top of the league when Manchester United come to play us next week, although, before that, we have to think about Atletico Madrid in the Champions League."
Bolton have no such worries and there were chances at both ends in a surprisingly open first half, with Jaaskelainen denying Didier Drogba on three separate occasions, and Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander going close for the home side, though all the excitement came right at the end. Just as a single minute of stoppage-time was being announced, Bolton lost concentration and let Chelsea come storming through the middle, swiftly turning defence into attack through Deco and Nicolas Anelka, and getting Drogba in on the move, in space behind the home central defenders. Bolton could only chase and as Drogba entered the area and shaped to shoot, his heel was clipped by Samuel.
The Chelsea striker predictably collapsed in a heap, though he did not deserve the chants of "cheat" aimed at him by the Reebok crowd. Dramatist, yes, but a foul had been committed. "I would say it was a soft penalty, but, fair play to Chelsea, they engineered it well," said Gary Megson. "Drogba moved the ball to his left and Jlloyd couldn't get at it." Samuel saw straight red and trudged towards the tunnel, while Frank Lampard scored from the penalty spot with a neat shot, low into the left corner.
Chelsea just about deserved their interval lead, yet going behind in such a manner was slightly cruel on Bolton. Although Gary Cahill made a couple of rare and potentially expensive mistakes at the back, they had denied Chelsea any clear-cut chances from open play. But while it might have looked as though the visitors were running out of attacking ideas, that was precisely the trap into which Bolton fell. This was nothing like the one-sided rout at Stamford Bridge in the Carling Cup in midweek, but Bolton learned, again, that you cannot take your eyes off Chelsea for a second.
Bolton had to reorganise for the second half, bringing on Paul Robinson and Ricardo Gardner, and abandoning their attempts to replicate Chelsea's midfield diamond. They displayed more urgency as they set off in search of an equaliser, yet, inevitably, left gaps at the back for Chelsea to exploit. This they did and Jaaskelainen made three more saves from Drogba – and saw Lampard crash a shot against his crossbar – before Deco took Anelka's pass and nonchalantly stepped around Robinson to make the points safe with half an hour remaining.
Mercifully for Bolton, those minutes passed fairly uneventfully, with only a late Branislav Ivanovic goal from Ricardo Carvalho's exquisite cross underlining the quality difference until Drogba finally beat Jaaskelainen to give the scoreline a familiar look.
"We got beat 4-0 and I still thought we were terrific," said Megson. "We matched them in the first half. Chris Basham on Michael Ballack, Chung-Yong Lee on Michael Essien – and it was working. If we can play like that against teams who haven't spent £200m on players, we'll get some decent results."


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Independent:

Samuel's red card opens door for Chelsea rout
Bolton Wanderers 0 Chelsea 4
By Myles Hodgson at the Reebok stadium

Before a week in which Chelsea could secure qualification to the next stage of the Champions' League and face a crucial encounter with Manchester United, it is fair to say Carlo Ancelotti would have preferred to avoid such a challenging fixture. The manner in which Chelsea handled one of the toughest Premier League trips on the calendar, however, should ensure more anxiety for their opponents than their coach in the coming days.
Following the 4-0 Carling Cup victory over the same opponents in midweek, Ancelotti's biggest problem was to prevent complacency against a committed Bolton side used to upsetting the big four on home territory. Then again, after offering his grandmother's remedy of red wine and hot milk as a cure for a potential swine flu outbreak at the club, he is unlikely to be unsettled by anything a football match presents.
Indeed, Chelsea mirrored the demeanour of their coach from the moment Jlloyd Samuel was sent off on the stroke of half-time for tripping Didier Drogba, allowing Frank Lampard to put Chelsea ahead from the penalty spot. Ancelotti was composed and relaxed in the technical area, and his team were similarly in control on the pitch despite Bolton's best efforts to break up their smooth rhythm.
They only failed to secure a more emphatic victory than they achieved in midweek because of the acrobatics of Bolton's goalkeeper, Jussi Jaaskelainen, who deserved better from his performance than to concede second-half goals from Deco, an own goal from Zat Knight, and Drogba.
"Bolton did their best to make things difficult for us, but at the moment we're playing very well," said Ance-lotti, who could afford to leave Joe Cole and Florent Malouda unused on the bench to preserve their energies for challenges ahead against Atletico Madrid and Manchester United. "This was a good win for us because it was a difficult and tough game."
Until Samuel's desperate challenge on Drogba as he ran through on to Nicolas Anelka's precise through-ball, Bolton had more than matched Chelsea's energy, and Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander had chances to continue the League leaders' disappointing form away from Stamford Bridge following defeats at Wigan and Aston Villa. But Chelsea's first-half uncertainty made way for a confident performance after the interval with Deco shifted out to the left, allowing Anelka to run as a free spirit and deliver the type of performance which, according to Bolton's manager, Gary Megson, made him look "cheap at £15 million," having sold him for that figure two seasons ago.
"I think they made nine changes and made the 11 even stronger," said Megson. "There needs to be a realisation that if you're going to spend £150m on your starting 11, never mind the squad, you're going to have a bit of an advantage. The squad is really strong and the team looks really motivated, with a determination to win everything in front of them."
Forced into damage-limitation mode after the interval, Bolton tried to restrict Chelsea's attacking diamond with 10 men but were ripe for counter-attacks, with Anelka feeding Deco on the left, who cut inside to add a second, while Knight scored an unfortunate own goal under pressure from Branislav Ivanovic. Drogba completed the rout after a one-touch move inside the box, which included an extravagant flick from Lampard.
"I know we've been beaten 4-0, but I thought we were terrific," said Megson. "The diamond that we struggled with on Wednesday, we didn't struggle with today. If we play like that against all the teams that haven't spent £200m then we'll get some decent results."
It is a theory which will be put to the test the next time Bolton play at the Reebok, against Blackburn in three weeks' time.
Attendance: 22,680
Referee: P Walton
Man of the match: Jaaskelainen
Match rating: 7/10

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NOTW:

MOODY BLUES ARE A JOY FOR ANCELOTTI Bolton 0 Chelsea 4

By Steve Lillis

DIDIER DROGBA and Nicolas Anelka look so grumpy they probably get their chuckle for the day out of way when they look in the mirror every morning.
But they are putting a smile on the face of Carlo Ancelotti and their team-mates by developing an understanding so scarily good, they have become almost telepathic.
The duo made life hell for Bolton as they get ready for tougher tests that lay head in the next week.
Chelsea fans might not have found a song for manager Ancelotti like they did Jose Mourinho and Claudio Ranieri, but he knows how to make the moody two tick.
Make players like Drogba and Anelka feel like they matter and, judging by this masterclass, the end result is likely to be the Premier League title.
Ancelotti might look like a maths teacher in a blazer and jumper, but he has got his sums right on these strikers, praising them in public and I dare say even more in private.
Chelsea go into the most important week of their season so far in irresistible form after a performance that stuck two fingers up at the critics who rubbished them after away defeats at Aston Villa and Wigan
Don't believe that? Just ask Bolton Wanderers, who more than played their part but were no match.
Wanderers were even given a standing ovation by their fans at the end despite being smashed for four by Chelsea for the second time in a week.
Bolton's resistance even lasted until Frank Lampard's penalty in first-half stoppage time, a flashpoint that saw Jlloyd Samuel dismissed.
Ancelotti's bravehearts go to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday looking to seal a place in the knockout phase of the Champions League, with Drogba back after a three-match Euro ban.
Then next Sunday comes the battle for the undisputed Premier League heavyweight championship when they entertain Manchester United.
If this is anything to go by, Rio Ferdinand had better regain his form quickly or risk utter humiliation at the feet of Drogba and Anelka.
Poor Wanderers took such a battering in the first 20 minutes they deserve an open top bus ride for weathering the onslaught.
Just when Gary Megson's men threatened to get back into the game, they were dealt a cruel blow when Samuel tripped Drogba in the box.
The Ivory Coast hitman was about to pull the trigger and surely fire past keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen when he was tripped and Lampard made no mistake from the penalty spot.
Bolton felt the damage was done when ref Peter Walton brandished a red card in the direction of the Bolton full-back for upending Drogba.
The decision made Drogba and Walton about as popular with Bolton fans as Somalian pirates with world naval forces right now.
On this occasion the bloke in the black didn't deserve the abuse, following the letter of the law because Samuel was the last man.
Moments like this are when officials should be allowed to use common sense instead of a rule book that becomes more baffling than a MPs' expenses form.
Had Walton done what he most probably wanted to and dish out a booking, he may have been relegated to officiating at Accrington Stanley's next game.
Chelsea - who have now won seven on the bounce at Bolton without conceding a goal - were sensational in the second half.
Even if Samuel hadn't been dismissed, Bolton would never have coped with their skill, commitment and work rate.
People say Anelka is selfish, but just after the hour mark he showed his generous side by picking out Deco, who took his tally for the season to three when he slotted from just inside the box.
Bolton were doing little wrong, though, and Jaaskelainen was keeping the score down with a string of breathtaking saves.
The inevitable third goal followed in the 83rd minute when Zat Knight, under pressure from the mightily impressive Branislav Ivanovic, headed into his own goal.
But Ancelotti's amazing free scorers, who have banged 13 goals in a week, saved the very best for the last minute of the game.
Deco chested the ball in the path of Lampard, whose sublime back-heel was converted by Drogba.
That took the Ivory Coast markman's goals total for the campaign into double figures.
It could have been even worse for the home side but for Jaaskelainen's saves, the bar denying Lampard and Ivanovic having a strike ruled offside.
Yet after surviving the early siege, Bolton could have been two up before Lampard's fifth goal of the season.
Anelka has always rated his former team-mate Kevin Davies, who did the donkey work for him during his goal- laden two-year spell at the Reebok.
Davies, an honest bruiser, has perhaps been let down by his lack of goals and that might have cost him an England cap or two.
And Chelsea's players must have wondered what 'Le Sulk' was on about when Davies was put through by Johan Elmander but drove his left-foot shot wide.
Swede Elmander, whose Bolton career has been hampered by a hamstring injury, owes his club a goal or 10 and should have done better with his own effort inside the box.
Only five teams leading the Premier League at the start of November have gone on to win the title in 17 years. Don't bet against Chelsea beating the hoodoo.