wigan 8-0

Times:

Chelsea thrash Wigan to take Premier League title

Chelsea 8 Wigan Athletic 0
Oliver Kay, Football Correspondent

A couple of minutes before 7pm last night, Roman Abramovich made his way across the pitch at Stamford Bridge, struggling to circumvent the streamers and ticker-tape strewn across his path, and smiled to the few remaining Chelsea supporters in the East Stand before following the Premier League trophy to the dressing room.
This was the moment he had waited for since the trophy was paraded around Stamford Bridge four years ago. He has aged since then, as shown by the flecks of grey in his hair, and he has been through four managers and, for what it is worth, a divorce. But this was the moment Abramovich had been waiting for; not only was the Premier League trophy back in Chelsea’s hands but it had been secured with yet another avalanche of goals — two from Nicolas Anelka, one from Frank Lampard, one from Salomon Kalou, a second-half hat-trick from Didier Drogba and, finally, a sweet volley from Ashley Cole.
To put this in a historical context, the victory that sealed Chelsea’s title success was the biggest the club has achieved in a top-flight match. It meant that they ended the campaign with 103 goals — more than any team has recorded in the top flight of English football since Tottenham Hotspur in 1962-63. In an era in which records are only usually dated back to the launch of the Premier League, these statistics are genuinely worth recording.
For Abramovich, it all adds up to the dream he had always held of a free-scoring, free-flowing, championship-winning Chelsea team. The previous two Premier League title successes, under José Mourinho in 2005 and 2006, had been far more attritional. In both of those campaigns they ended up with 72 goals in 38 games. This time, under Carlo Ancelotti, they were 31 goals better off — averaging 2.71 goals per game as opposed to the previous 1.89 per game. They may not have realised Abramovich’s Utopian vision of “Barcelona in blue shirts”, but this is the season in which Chelsea have cast aside the tactical straitjacket and proved — as much to themselves as the rest of us — that free-flowing football and trophies are not mutually exclusive. It has not been what Arsène Wenger would call beautiful football — but even Wenger, and even Sir Alex Ferguson, would surely acknowledge, in the final reckoning, that Chelsea have ended up as worthy champions.
If there was a period a couple of months ago when it was tempting to characterise this as the title race that nobody wanted to win, those feelings had dissipated by the time Chelsea began their humiliation of a feckless Wigan Athletic team yesterday.
Since dropping points in what looked a damaging 1-1 draw away to Blackburn Rovers on March 21, five days after a painful Champions League elimination at the hands of Mourinho’s Inter Milan, they have won eight matches out of nine in all competitions, scoring 36 goals and conceding just four.
The goalscoring statistics are skewed by the seven-goal victories over Aston Villa, Stoke City and now Wigan, but is that not just the type of champagne football that Abramovich has been demanding for the past seven years, albeit against opponents who had little to play for? Playing with such freedom against the best, as Barcelona do, is a different challenge entirely, but Chelsea have also beaten Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool at home and away this season. Flat-track bullies they are not.
If ever a team looked ripe for bullying, though, it was the Wigan side that lived down to Ferguson’s worst fears by turning up at Stamford Bridge in end-of-season mood, already on the beach. Wigan inflicted Ancelotti’s first defeat in English football at the DW Stadium last September, with one of the most impressive team performances in the Premier League this season, but here they were abject, even if there was some mitigation in having lost Gary Caldwell to a red card for the foul that led to Lampard’s penalty on the half-hour.
If there had been any nerves inside the ground at kick-off, they were blown away within six minutes when Anelka put Chelsea ahead. There was a little fortune about the goal, as Florent Malouda set up his France team-mate from what looked an offside position, but Ancelotti’s men were in ruthless mood. It was only ever going to be matter of time — and from there, of how many they would score.
An amusing subplot centred on Drogba, whose desperation to beat Wayne Rooney to the Premier League’s Golden Boot award could be seen in his childish reaction to seeing Lampard take the penalty that he had won, having been tugged to the ground by Caldwell. Drogba pleaded to be allowed to take the kick, only for Lampard, the regular penalty-taker, to tell him, pointedly: “It’s 1-0.” Drogba skulked off to the centre circle as the lead was doubled.
The third goal, early in the second half, came from Kalou, another confident finish after an exchange of passes with Lampard in a tight penalty area, and Anelka scored his second three minutes later with a well-struck volley after being picked out by Branislav Ivanovic.
By now, with his team 4-0 up and the victory and the title a formality, Drogba was beginning to look even more desperate, with Mike Pollitt’s save from an overhead kick meaning that the forward was still locked on 26 goals with Rooney. But when Chelsea’s 100th goal of the Premier League campaign came in the 62nd minute, it was the Ivory Coast captain who scored it, a far-post header from another Lampard cross.
Five minutes later, Ashley Cole won a penalty and this time Drogba, having been given the green light by Lampard, scored.
Drogba’s third goal of the afternoon, his 29th of an excellent season, came from close range after good work by Joe Cole, who still hopes that his enterprising cameo appearance will not be his last as a Chelsea player. The eighth and final goal came from Ashley Cole, a left-foot volley after he was picked out by his namesake, and by now Stamford Bridge was in party mode.
“Carlo, Carlo, give us a wave,” they chanted — and this time Ancelotti did not need a translator to tell him to oblige them. In any language, Chelsea, in the Italian’s first season at the club, are worthy champions.

Chelsea (4-3-3): P Cech 6 B Ivanovic 6 Alex7 J Terry7 A Cole8 F Lampard 8 M Ballack7 F Malouda7 S Kalou 8 D Drogba 8 N Anelka 8. Substitutes: J Belletti 5 (for Ivanovic, 58), J Cole 5 (for Kalou, 58), N Matic (for Ballack, 71). Not used: Hilário, P Ferreira, Y Zhirkov, D Sturridge.

Wigan (3-4-1-2): M Pollitt 4 E Boyce4 G Caldwell 3 S Gohouri 4 M Melchiot3 M Diamé4 J McCarthy5 M Figueroa4 B Watson4 C N’Zogbia 4 H Rodallega 3. Substitutes: H Thomas 3 (for Watson, 62), P Scharner (for Diamé, 72), V Moses (for Rodallega, 80). Not used: V Stojkovic, J Mostoe, T Cywka, J Scotland.

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 8 Wigan Athletic 0
By Jason Burt

Chelsea cruised to the Premier League title, easily sweeping aside 10-man Wigan Athletic, with the only moment of drama being provided by Didier Drogba, who went on to score a hat-trick to become the league’s top-scorer, with an extraordinary act of petulance.
Following an absence of three seasons the title returned to Stamford Bridge, Chelsea prevailing by a single point over Manchester United, with two first-half goals setting them on the way to the victory they required, before a deluge in the second period.
It was the first time this season that Chelsea had scored eight goals at home – having on three previous occasions registered seven goals. Those goals also took Chelsea’s tally in the league this season to 103, the first time any team has registered a century, and beating the previous best haul which had been set by United. It was a resounding endorsement of their attacking football this season and an emphatic claim to be Champions.
However Drogba argued with Frank Lampard over who should take a penalty, after the latter was fouled, earning Steve Caldwell a red card. Drogba had said he wanted to finish the league’s top-scorer, and is second in line to take penalties after Lampard, but manager Carlo Ancelotti had made it clear that his regular taker would retain the duties.
However Drogba reacted embarrassingly, trudging back to the half-way line and refusing to join the celebrations as Lampard scored and later ignoring Ancelotti’s demands for him to get on with the game. Before that and Nicolas Anelka had smashed a low shot beyond stand-in goalkeeper Mike Pollitt, after Florent Malouda had headed the ball into his path.
That settled Chelsea nerves and after the interval they destroyed Wigan with further goals. Lampard and Kalou combined with the former running outside the striker to cut the ball back. Kalou side-footed beyong Pollitt. Then
Branislav Ivanovic crossed deep for Anelka, unmarked, to strike a wonderful, crisp volley back across the goalkeeper and into the net.
Drogba got his goal, being picked out by Lampard with a cross which he headed, from the angle, across Pollitt. When Chelsea were awarded a second penalty, after Ashley Cole was caught by Mario Melchiot, Lampard deferred to Drogba whose shot struck a post but ricocheted into the net. It ensured Drogba would finish the campaign ahead of Wayne Rooney, earning him the league’s Golden Boot, and he ran to Ancelotti to shake his hand. He wrapped up his hat-trick with his 29th league goal in bundling the ball over the line after Joe Cole’s shot had been parried.
There was no consolation for Wigan with Petr Cech superbly tipped over Victor Moses’s drive from distance. Instead Joe Cole showed tenacity to shake off Hendry Thomas and clip a deep cross which Ashley Cole met on the volley to finish the scoring and end the contest – and the league campaign – with a flourish.


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Sun:

Chelsea 8 Wigan 0

SHAUN CUSTIS at Stamford Bridge

YOU cannot argue with that, can you?

A rattling eight goals to clinch the Premier League title, over 100 scored in the season, and the Golden Boot for striker Didier Drogba, who hit a last-day hat-trick.
Drogba should have been given a golden boot up the backside for his petulant behaviour in arguing with Frank Lampard over who should take a first-half penalty.
But the striker spitting out his dummy could not overshadow Chelsea's triumphant afternoon as they lifted their first title since 2006 and stopped Manchester United making it four in a row.
Not so long ago manager Carlo Ancelotti admitted he was surprised at how free-scoring Chelsea had become. "I'm from Italy, I like defence," he said.
Yet his team has netted seven goals three times - against Aston Villa, Sunderland and Stoke - and now an eight, which is a club record score in the top flight.
It is some way for Ancelotti to mark his debut season in English football.
The Italian has had quite a baptism what with the off-field problems for John Terry, injury to key defender Ashley Cole and defeat by Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan in the Champions League.
Losing to ex-boss Mourinho was a huge disappointment but Chelsea didn't crumble. Ancelotti kept everyone calm and the response has been fantastic.
Now the target is to complete a Double by beating Portsmouth in next weekend's FA Cup final.
The way they disposed of Wigan, that should be a formality.
There was no sign of any nerves yesterday. Chelsea were only one point ahead of United and knew that any slip-up could still let in Alex Ferguson's men.
Chelsea had to win to be sure of the title but there was never any doubt once they opened the scoring with just six minutes gone.
It was Nicolas Anelka who struck, firing home at the near-post after Florent Malouda had chested down Frank Lampard's header.
By 31 minutes it was pretty much done and dusted when Gary Caldwell hauled down Lampard in the penalty area and was shown the red card to reduce Wigan to 10 men.
The England midfielder argued with Drogba that he was Chelsea's regular penalty-taker and should take the spot-kick. It was more important Chelsea established command of the match and the title rather than worrying about whether the Ivory Coast striker scored more goals than his big rival for the Golden Boot, Wayne Rooney.
Drogba did not see it the same way and was quite pathetic as Lampard fired in.
He stomped about, continued his debate with Lampard as Wigan kicked off again and had to be calmed first by Salomon Kalou and Florent Malouda, and later by skipper Terry.
He then tried a ridiculous shot from 35 yards just before half-time and got a smacked bottom from headmaster Ancelotti at the break, who told him to belt up.
Drogba doesn't do himself any favours. He admitted afterwards he was wrong but, had his side not run riot, the inquest into his behaviour might have been more intense.
When the players returned to the pitch for the second half, Drogba was still not really talking to Lampard until deciding he had better stop behaving like a silly schoolboy and went over to his team-mate for a brief hug.
Lampard got on with it and was involved in the third goal as he returned the ball to Kalou in a beautifully crafted move. Kalou, who has finished the campaign strongly, controlled and tucked it away.
As Anelka fired in a right foot volley from Branislav Ivanovic's deep cross to make it four on 57 minutes you could sense Drogba becoming more and more frustrated that he was not on the score sheet.
He dragged an effort across goal before finally going ahead of Rooney with his 27th of the season six minutes later.
Wigan keeper Mike Pollitt made a great save to keep out the striker's overhead kick. But Lampard got to the loose ball and picked out Drogba to head Chelsea's fifth.
That brought up the century of goals for Chelsea, who became the first team to achieve such a feat since Spurs 47 years ago. Finally Drogba was happy.
Lamps graciously gave him the ball when Mario Melchiot fouled Ashley Cole to concede another penalty. Drogba smacked it home via the left-hand post... it would have been rather amusing had he missed.
'Stand up for the champions' sang the Stamford Bridge faithful as the goals kept on coming.
Sub Joe Cole's shot was saved by Pollitt and fell invitingly to Drogba who couldn't miss from close range as he completed his treble.
Then Cole, probably playing his last game for the Blues, battled his way through in the last minute and crossed for Ashley Cole to fire home.

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Guardian:

Chelsea clinch Premier League title after running riot against Wigan
Chelsea 8 Anelka 6, Lampard (pen) 32, Kalou 54, Anelka 56, Drogba 63, Drogba (pen) 68, Drogba 80, Cole, A 90 Wigan Athletic 0

Kevin McCarra at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea's triumphant season has been a spectacle of glittering devastation. Those who professed to dislike the club for the chilly calculation of José Mourinho's time will now have to be affronted instead by a totally different sort of ruthlessness. The return of the Premier League title to Stamford Bridge has been accomplished with an unstinting panache from players with so much hunger and verve that an hour-and-a-half hardly appears sufficient for them.
The left-back Ashley Cole certainly did not know when to stop – he knocked in the last of the eight goals. Wigan would have been in agony even if their centre-half Gary Caldwell had not been sent off when conceding the penalty that put his team 2-0 down. His absence might have been a small element, all the same, in the largest win by Chelsea in the top flight.
Carlo Ancelotti's insatiable line-up have reduced the Premier League scoring record to dust. Their tally 0f 103 is half-a-dozen better that Manchester United's total in 1999-2000. Statistics do get tiresome but Chelsea cannot get enough for the time being. It took a hat-trick to sate Didier Drogba, whose 29 goals made him the League's top scorer. The numbers, ultimately, are only the palest representation of Chelsea's vigour.
Ancelotti has performed an act of liberation. Talent ran riot at this club as it never has before. There is no parallel for this in the manager's career, where, for instance, some 10 seasons at Juventus and Milan contained a single title. An unanticipated chemistry has been at work in London to cause a conflagration that will still be warming the hearts of Chelsea fans in decades to come.
Just about everyone with a wish to bring the ball forward has come to look a better footballer under Ancelotti. It is scarcely the time to dwell on niggles, but it is regrettable that Joe Cole, who played the last half-hour, has been supplanted by Florent Malouda. That development will have exasperated Fabio Capello, who attended this Chelsea spectacle.
The side took back the title after a four-year wait and this rout is a monument to the elan that has distinguished them. It is tempting to call this a grand finale. How Portsmouth must wish that really was the case. Despite coming last in the Premier League, they had the satisfaction of getting to the FA Cup final. That is an appointment they might now keep with trepidation. Portsmouth may have to hope that Chelsea have now gorged themselves.
It is likelier that the mood will be unaltered. In the closing League match Wigan were sure to be in torment, although the margin was beyond anyone's guess. Those hoping for one last twist in the tale would have pointed to Chelsea's 3-1 defeat at the DW stadium in September.
That ignored the fact that Wigan often suffer greatly when they have to leave home. Roberto Martínez's side arrived at Stamford Bridge with the Premier League's second-worst defensive record in away matches, with 47 goals conceded already. Things deteriorated and by the close they had, by that measure, become the feeblest club of all in the top division.
Wigan were bright on the ball and vulnerable as soon as possession was lost. Romantics yearning for a cliffhanger abandoned hope in the sixth minute. Drogba's free-kick came off the wall, Frank Lampard headed the ball to the left of the posts and Nicolas Anelka shot home.
Chelsea were still circumspect immediately after that as they concentrated on neutralising Wigan but they knew that further goals awaited them. Wigan's fragility was glaring when Caldwell pulled down Lampard inside the area. His absurd decision to commit the foul brought a red card as well as the penalty, after 32 minutes, that the Chelsea midfielder converted as efficiently as ever.
There was a semblance of tension, with Drogba aggrieved to have been denied the opportunity to take the kick. Eventually, he was to cut loose. The Ivorian's overhead kick was saved marvellously by Mike Pollitt after 53 minutes but Lampard lifted the loose ball back for Drogba to head it home.
He had thus put Chelsea 5-0 in front and was allowed to take the penalty that brought the next goal after Mario Melchiot had brought down Ashley Cole. The kick was converted with panache and the hat-trick recorded 10 minutes from the end when Drogba tucked home a loose ball after yet another Pollitt save
Scoring had started to seem elementary long before that. The third had come from Salomon Kalou, after a one-two with Lampard, and Anelka scored the fourth with a volley from a pass by the same provider.
The world is accustomed now to this exuberant and lethal Chelsea line-up. It is going to be quite a task to maintain the standard let alone make improvements, but Ancelotti will not be fretting about anything at all after such a triumph.


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Independent:

Drogba's treble ensures gleeful Chelsea secure their crown in ruthless style
Chelsea 8 Wigan Athletic 0: Champions smash eight past feeble Wigan to set new Premier League goal record

By Sam Wallace, Football Correspondent

When they had cleared away all the streamers and the tickertape at Stamford Bridge yesterday, when they had scraped what was left of Wigan Athletic off the turf, and finally closed the gates, no one could be in any doubt that this was the team of the year.
Just to remind us, the 2010 Premier League champions ended with 90 minutes that distilled all the many qualities of their season into one climactic, masterpiece of a performance. They could have scored one goal to win their fourth league title, instead they laid on eight in a merciless display of attacking football against an opponent that had all but given up within half-an-hour.
It had the lot: a Frank Lampard penalty; a Didier Drogba sulk; a Didier Drogba hat-trick; a collectors' item of a volley from Ashley Cole and, on the touchline, Carlo Ancelotti could at last enjoy himself. He waved to every side of the ground long before the final whistle as his team did him the favour of coasting rather than crawling over the finishing line.
This was Chelsea as their title-winning teams will surely be remembered by posterity: ruthless, unyielding and meticulously well-drilled. Up in the best seats in the house, Roman Abramovich flinched and fidgeted as the first couple of goals went in and then gradually he too relaxed. Even his bodyguards started applauding the goals. The whole place lightened up.
No-one could begrudge Chelsea this league title. Not with a record 103 goals and victories home and away against Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool – something that United did not achieve in their past three title winning seasons. Sir Alex Ferguson said he hoped for a miracle at Stamford Bridge and you could say he got one: somehow Wigan managed to keep the goals conceded to single-figures.
There was plenty of exuberance in the celebrations at the end, none more so than from John Terry who escorted his wife Toni off the pitch hand-in-hand through the discarded streamers and tickertape in a scene straight out of the pages of Hello! The Chelsea captain just could not drag himself away from the adoration of the crowd and, when you consider the season that he has had, it is not hard to see why.
For once, the discordant family that is Chelsea football club looked very happy with itself. The owner beamed; the players celebrated; the WAGs tottered around the pitch on their heels and the fans, a sceptical lot at the best of times, gave Ancelotti their full endorsement. "We have waited three years for this," Terry shouted into the mic. "This is what it's about, being champions year after year."
Ancelotti had finally let rip with his emotions during the game, his fists clenched, the relief very obvious when Chelsea went six goals up. It might have been a trifle ambitious for him to address the crowd via the stadium mic at the end of the match. He spoke for about a minute and the only part of his speech that was comprehensible was his final exhortation: "Come on Chelsea!"
They finally got Florent Malouda, the last of the players, off the pitch and down the tunnel at 7pm and by then the game seemed something of a distant memory. Yet for all the players' families on the pitch afterwards and the expensive champagne that was wasted on the grass it was the performance that was the most memorable part of the day.
Nicolas Anelka volleyed in the first goal from Malouda's knockdown on six minutes and, although Malouda was offside, you knew from that point that this was going to be a procession. From then on Wigan scarcely figured in the game but that did not mean that it was not without one major flashpoint.
That was provided by Drogba who went into an extraordinary funk after he was denied taking the penalty that Lampard won on 31 minutes. Drogba needed just one goal to go ahead of Wayne Rooney in the Premier League goalscoring chart and he was furious that Lampard denied him the chance. So much so that the Englishman cut short his celebrations to placate his team-mate.
Drogba is a bizarre character at times. He carried on this charade until half-time, shaking his head and looking despondent. Gary Caldwell had been sent off for his challenge on Lampard and Wigan were clearly there for the taking. The rest of the Chelsea team sensed that but, like an affronted toddler, Drogba wanted everyone to know he was not happy. They brought Chelsea's 1955 title-winning captain Roy Bentley onto the pitch at half-time – at 85 years old he is older than a lot of the Chelsea pensioners. If they had given him a squad number and put him up front for the second half, even he might have got on the scoresheet, so deflated and defeated were the opposition.
Salomon Kalou scored the third and Anelka added the fourth before Drogba scored his first. His hat-trick came in the space of 17 minutes just after the hour. The first was a back-post header; the second a penalty that Lampard let him have after Ashley Cole was brought down in the area and the third a rebound after Joe Cole's shot was saved.
That was seven goals for Chelsea; the fourth time they have reached that total in the league this season. They went one better in injury-time when Ashley Cole volleyed in Joe Cole's cross from the right. Seven goals has felt fairly commonplace at Stamford Bridge this season; eight goals marked yesterday out as a really special occasion.
It might well be the last that we see of Joe Cole in a Chelsea shirt. His demands to be paid the same as Lampard and Terry are ambitious enough but he must be worried that Ancelotti does not really see a place for him in this team. With Fabio Capello watching yesterday, Cole was only a second-half substitute – the return of Michael Essien next season and new signings in the summer could push him further to the margins.
Saturday will be the FA Cup final and if Wigan can ship eight goals then it makes you wonder what might happen to poor old Portsmouth if they concede one early on or, like Wigan, go down to ten men. It could be a brutal occasion against the new league champions who, on this evidence, are in no mood to take prisoners.

Chelsea (4-1-3-2): Cech; Ivanovic (Belletti, 59), Alex, Terry, A Cole; Lampard, Ballack (Matic, 70), Malouda; Kalou (J Cole, 59), Drogba, Anelka. Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Zhirkov, Ferreira, Sturridge.
Wigan Athletic (3-5-2): Pollitt; Boyce, Caldwell, Gohouri; Melchiot, Diame (Scharner, 72), McCarthy, Watson (Thomas, 62), Gigueroa; N'Zogbia, Rodallega (Moses, 81). Substitutes not used: Stojkovic (gk), Scotland, Cywka, Mostoe.

Booked: Chelsea Drogba Wigan Ghouri, N'Zogbia
Sent off: Caldwell
Referee: M Atkinson (Yorkshire)
Man of the match: Kalou
Attendance: 41,383

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Mail:
Chelsea 8 Wigan 0: Carlo Ancelotti the champ is even more special for true Blues
Matt Lawton Chief Football Correspondent

Carlo Ancelotti did more than simply deliver a third Barclays Premier League title for Roman Abramovich yesterday. He delivered a vision, a dream; what Chelsea's billionaire owner had in mind when he spoke of his ambition for his team.
Abramovich had expressed his thoughts in that first meeting with Ancelotti in a Geneva hotel two years ago. 'He was and is still looking for a team with a precise identity,' Ancelotti wrote in the book he published shortly before becoming the manager at Stamford Bridge. 'Like Manchester United, Liverpool, Milan, certainly not like my Chelsea.'
The Russian wanted a team with a bit of style and panache as well as strength and power. Jose Mourinho had built a side that could win major trophies but not in a way that fully satisfied his employer.
Abramovich wanted more. Even now, he still wants more. He wants to lift the European Cup and that loss to Mourinho's Inter Milan remains painful for all those associated with this club.
But Abramovich now pursues that particular target with a team he can be proud of; a team with what he would consider the right kind of identity; a team with a reputation not just for defensive solidity but for attractive, entertaining football and goals by the bucket-load.
Not to mention a manager, and this is just as important to Abramovich, who rather than court controversy chooses to conduct himself with dignity.
Records nevertheless tumbled here yesterday, Chelsea not only surpassing Manchester United's mark of 97 in a single Premier League season but becoming the first club to score more than 100. By the time Ashley Cole struck with a quite brilliant volley in the 90th minute, they were up to 103.
It was some achievement but not the only one of an at-times tumultous season. Not by a long way. They are champions thanks to a perfect record against their so-called top-four rivals. Two wins against United, two against Arsenal and two against Liverpool. Not to mention the four occasions, this one included, when they scored seven or more goals.
For Ancelotti, it must have been so, so satisfying. Mourinho made much of landing the title in his first season and to do the same, and now be within touching distance of a domestic Double will give the Italian an enormous amount of pleasure. Especially when he loathes 'His Specialty' as much as he does.
One banner at Stamford Bridge yesterday declared that Ancelotti was 'more than special', and while he might need to win the Champions League to prove that to himself, while the six defeats Chelsea have suffered this season might be something Mourinho sniffs at, the chorus of 'Carlo, Carlo, Carlo' would certainly suggest the supporters have taken a shine to him.
Rightly so after the way Ancelotti revived his players following all the off-the-field controversy relating to John Terry and Ashley Cole, and their crushing exit from Europe.
Seven wins from the nine Premier League games that followed defeat to Inter, not to mention victory in an FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa, have been quite a riposte.
The run continued here yesterday with impressive ease, even if the dismissal of Gary Caldwell after 31 minutes ended any chance Wigan had of avoiding total annihilation.
Even if Didier Drogba did his best to get himself hooked by Ancelotti for a quite extraordinary tantrum when Frank Lampard refused to let him take the first of two penalties.
At that stage Chelsea were leading by a single goal but Drogba shamefully put personal ambition - he wanted to beat Wayne Rooney to the Premier League's golden boot - ahead of the club he serves.
In the end he was lucky Ancelotti allowed him to stay on the pitch and score the second-half hat-trick that saw off Rooney's challenge. When the half-time interval arrived, Ancelotti just told him to belt up.
Drogba had already been involved in the opening sixth-minute goal, unleashing the free-kick that rebounded off the Wigan wall and invited Michael Ballack to head the ball back towards Florent Malouda. Malouda was actually half a yard offside but the officials allowed him to chest the ball into the path of Nicolas Anelka, who struck with a super right-foot shot.
It was when Caldwell then wrestled a rapidly-advancing Lampard to the ground 25 minutes later, however, that Drogba demonstrated why he might not be the most popular member of the Chelsea dressing room.
Not only did he protest when Lampard reminded him that he had been taking the penalties all season, not to mention the fact that this was not the day to be messing around, but he continued to sulk for the rest of the half. Had it been his ball, he would have taken it home.
Ignoring his petulant prima donna of a team-mate, Lampard successfully converted from the spot to extend his own goal tally to 27 before executing a one-two with Salomon Kalou that enabled the more modest member of the Ivory Coast team to make it 3-0 in the 54th minute. The final ball from Lampard looked like it might have been intended for Drogba but, amusingly, Kalou intercepted and drove his shot past Michael Pollitt.
When Anelka scored his second of the afternoon two minutes after that, meeting a cross from Branislav Ivanovic with a marvellous volley, Drogba must have started to wonder if he was being punished for something he had done in a previous life.
But his first and Chelsea's fifth - their 100th in all - would come in the 63rd minute in the form of a close-range header courtesy of a Lampard chip.
It would not be Lampard's first act of undeserved generosity. Four minutes after providing him with the final ball, Lampard invited Drogba to take the second penalty after Mario Melchiot had brought down Ashley Cole in the box.
Having been shoved towards Lampard by Anelka, Drogba hesitated briefly before smashing the ball home via the inside of Pollitt's right-hand post.
His third was the simplest of the three, a close-range strike after Pollitt could only parry a shot from Joe Cole into his path. A 29th Premier League goal had the golden boot in the bag.
Not that Chelsea were finished. One more goal would come, shortly before the final whistle, the volley Ashley Cole unleashed to make it Chelsea's biggest win in their top-flight history underlining just how awful Roberto Martinez's side were.
Having delighted in seeing Ancelotti wave in their direction, Chelsea's supporters burst into song. 'Boring, boring Chelsea' they cried obvious irony.
Afterwards Ancelotti requested that the questions be kept simple. 'My level of wine is high,' he said with a smile. But he thanked his 'owner' even before his players, not least for providing him with a platform that he said made it 'easy to do my best'.
Back in Geneva, to that first meeting with Abramovich, Ancelotti felt like he was on a 'secret mission'. As he cracked open another bottle at Stamford Bridge last night, it must have felt like mission accomplished.

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Star:
CARLO ANCELOTTI LEADS CHELSEA'S TITLE PARTY
David Woods
Chelsea 8, Wigan 0

CARLO Ancelotti toasted Chelsea’s title glory and then revealed he planned to have one over the eight himself.
Wine buff Ancelotti saw his men lift the Premier League crown by pipping Manchester United by a point.
And, having downed the Reds, Ancelotti downed some red.
“Easy questions please because my level of wine is high!” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to go home.”
The Blues ended United’s three-year domination of the Premier League in vintage style, with a club-record league win.
A Didier Drogba hat-trick, two from Nicolas Anelka and strikes from Frank Lampard, Salomon Kalou and Ashley Cole took their goals tally to a record 103 – trouncing beating United’s previous best of 97 in 2000.
Ancelotti, lured by owner Roman Abramovich from Milan last summer, can now lead the club to a first league and FA Cup double when they face Portsmouth at Wembley on Saturday.
Ancelotti said he hoped yesterday’s success would be the first of many for him at Stamford Bridge.
“I hope to stay here a long time and win a lot of titles,” he added. “I think this club will have a future because these players are not so old and we have a very good squad, for next year and the years after.”
He also claimed he did not expect major changes to his squad in the summer. “I think this team doesn’t need to change a lot of things.
“Every player did a fantastic job this season.”
Ancelotti’s non-combative style and readiness to play attacking football has won him many friends and improved Chelsea’s reputation.
Home fans, who still cherish former boss Jose Mourinho, sang his name for the first time at Stamford Bridge yesterday.
“I’m very happy for this because they appreciate the job I’ve done,” he added. “We have a very good relationship and we will be even better in the future.”
Ancelotti revealed he had spoken to Drogba at half-time after the striker – who wanted to score to boost his chances of winning the Golden Boot – went into a strop because Lampard would not allow him to take Chelsea’s penalty.
“It was my decision, if there was a penalty, to give it to Lampard,” he said. “I told Drogba to stay calm and quiet because he’d have opportunities to score in the second half. I said: ‘Quiet. You can score in the second half.’ I am a magician.”
Golden Boot winner Drogba claimed all his three goals – one from the spot – after the break. “I wasn’t happy at first, but I know I made a mistake,” said Drogba. “Frank was right.”
Skipper John Terry said: “This feels magnificent. It’s been three hard years seeing United lift it. We’ve got it back now and we need to do what Man United have done and maintain it for a few years.
“I’ve been hurting inside for three years seeing United win – and I promise you every one of us has sat there and watched it. It’s their turn turn to sit there and watch us today.”


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Express:

CHELSEA LANDSLIDE AS BLUES GRAB FOURTH LEAGUE TITLE
By Tony Banks Chelsea 8, Wigan 0

UNLIKE that other big contest, this one had a definite result. It turned into a blue landslide as Carlo Ancelotti’s team established just about the biggest majority possible.
Chelsea swept to a fourth League title as a club – their first in four seasons – in such astonishing style as they clinched glory.
All doubt and worry about Manchester United were swept aside as, yet again, this irresistible attacking machine tore opponents to pieces.
In taking their title, Chelsea have notched up 103 goals – the first team to achieve such a feat in the top flight since Tottenham in 1963.
It has not been the easiest of campaigns, what with six defeats, off-field problems for John Terry and Ashley Cole, a worldwide transfer ban, exit from the Champions League and many long-term injuries.
But unflappable Ancelotti’s transformation of this team into a force par excellence has won him his first major honour in England.
Three times this season Chelsea have slammed seven past teams here. Hapless Wigan, who played with 10 men for an hour, were hit even harder. On an amazing last day, Roberto Martinez’s team were the ultimate sacrificial lambs. With the big prize in their sights, Ancelotti’s reshaped, reborn team were utterly merciless.
Going into the day with a one-point lead over United, Chelsea knew anything less than a win was unthinkable. There were nerves, of course, but once Nicolas Anelka had the first goal after just five minutes, volleying home from Florent Malouda’s knock-down, the outcome was never in doubt.
The sub plot was Didier Drogba’s hilarious hissy fit when Frank Lampard grabbed the ball after he had been brought down and rammed home the penalty to make it 2-0 – an incident which saw Gary Caldwell sent off.Drogba thought he should have had it as he chased the Golden Boot and sulked for the rest of the opening half.
That little ruckus was swiftly ended in the second half as Drogba rammed in a hat-trick to take the trophy from Wayne Rooney in style. Wigan, who had played nice football without ever looking threatening, simply wilted. Salomon Kalou made it three as he pounced on Lampard’s pass to score from close range and No4 saw Anelka superbly volley in from an angle.
Mike Pollitt in the Wigan goal actually had a good game – and though he never had a chance of keeping the score respectable, he did keep it down. But it was kisses all around at last as Lampard crossed for Drogba to nod in from close range for the fifth goal.
Then as Ashley Cole was brought down in the area, Lampard finally did hand the ball to Drogba, who lashed in the spot-kick off a post. Tricky Joe Cole was brought on for a cameo that might well be his Chelsea swansong, with Tottenham hovering.
And it was his shot that the gallant Pollitt pushed out for Drogba to stab home his hat-trick strike. That made it 29 league goals and Rooney was vanquished. The carnival atmosphere was complete as Joe Cole crossed for namesake Ashley to crack in a low drive. And the celebrations began.
Talk about winning in style. Roman Abramovich brought in Ancelotti to win things but with panache.
Former AC Milan manager Ancelotti, who has now won only his second-ever league title, has unquestionably delivered.
The title-winning seasons under Jose Mourinho, in 2005 and 2006, saw a ruthless, machine-like team grinding opponents down. But these Blues, these Ancelotti Blues, are very different.
This side might not be as efficient, being prone to the odd bad day. But, on-song, they are unstoppable. And that, in the end, is what has won this title. Drogba bagged 29 league strikes, Lampard 22. There have been 41 goals in nine home league games this year.
No one else has been able to match that kind of firepower. So likeable Italian Ancelotti, in this most remarkable of seasons, has won the day.
He has refused to take part in the mind games, the mud slinging and the moaning. The Quiet Man was the victor – no coalitions needed.


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Mirror:

Chelsea 8-0 Wigan
Martin Lipton

That's how you win the title – in real style.

Not by scrambling over the line, edging your way point by point.
But by doing what you have done all season, having the courage of the manager’s attacking convictions, ignoring the occasion and simply playing the game, setting another club record win to reinforce your mastery.
And while Carlo Ancelotti may need to win the ­Champions League, too, before he stops being judged by the standards of Jose Mourinho, this was the ideal way for the Italian to show what he has brought.
Sometimes the statistics tell you all you need to know.
So how about these: 103 goals in the season, the first time any side has broken the ton since Spurs in 1963. A hat-trick to clinch the Golden Boot for Didier Drogba, even if the African behaved like a four-year-old when he was not allowed to take Chelsea’s first penalty of the ­afternoon.
Frank Lampard making it 30 from midfield – yes 30 – for club and country. Four points dropped at home all season to compete a run of seven wins out of eight since they stared into the abyss at Blackburn on March 21, six wins out of six against the Big Four.
As the joyful Blues fans bellowed: “That’s why we’re champions,” even Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United cannot argue with that.
Chelsea’s long wait since 2006 ended, fittingly, with a ­performance that was the embodiment of Ancelotti’s vision, even if it took not one goal to quell the nerves cascading round Stamford Bridge, but two.
Indeed, even though Nicolas Anelka drilled home after just five minutes, from Chelsea’s first attack, it was Wigan who looked far more composed. But Roberto Martinez’s men, nice on the ball but without any real punch, have a worse goal difference than ­Portsmouth and soon it was easy to see why.
Maynor Figueroa casually squandered possession, Salomon Kalou fed Drogba and as he slipped into Lampard’s path, Gary Caldwell’s response was to grab a big handful of the midfielder’s shirt and haul him to the ground. An easy double decision for Martin Atkinson – a spot kick and a red card – but what followed from Drogba was pathetic.
Despite Ancelotti having made it clear on Friday that Lampard was his penalty-taker, Drogba would not accept the situation, having to be calmed down by Florent Malouda and Kalou even as Lampard prepared to rifle into the bottom corner.
That was just the beginning of a 15-minute public tantrum by the striker, who showed no interest in playing, moaned constantly and even went over to Ancelotti to complain at the injustice.
No wonder Drogba was given the mother of all dressing downs at the break, emerging sheepishly to join the huddle before the restart and deciding he was one of a team and not a petulant little boy.
About time and it meant Drogba joined the ­celebrations that kicked off for real nine minutes into the second period. Kalou spotted Lampard’s overlap and then slalomed past the last defender as he took the cut-back before sliding home.
And soon after, as Anelka met Branislav Ivanovic’s cross with a textbook volley that again gave poor Mike Pollitt no chance, it became a question of how many. The century was clocked up as Lampard teased in a cross that allowed Drogba to get that crucial strike to nudge him ahead of Wayne Rooney and when Mario Melchiot clipped Ashley Cole’s heels, the African was given his spot-kick chance.
Drogba converted off the inside of the post, completing his hat-trick as he stabbed home the rebound from Joe Cole’s shot before the ­substitute, in perhaps his last appearance for the club, crossed for his namesake to hammer home the eighth.
This was Chelsea’s day, Chelsea’s season. Ancelotti deserves his tributes, too. This is his side. And boy do they look a good one.