Norwich 3-1

Independent:
Norwich City 1 Chelsea 3

Late goals from Eden Hazard and Willian secure win for Jose Mourinho's Blues
Portuguese manager's gamble pays off at Carrow Road

Aidan Semmens  

So Jose Mourinho is still waiting for the first Premier League goal of the season by a Chelsea striker – apart from those scored by Romelu Lukaku on loan at Everton. Not that the Chelsea manager will mind too much if his midfielders go on punishing opponents as thoroughly as they punished Norwich yesterday for the temerity of believing they could beat his side.

After finally neutralising an early Chelsea lead, Norwich were going all out for victory when they were stung by two late goals by players, Eden Hazard and Willian, who had only just taken the field. It was, admitted Mourinho, a gamble. “Substitutes are important if they come in well – if they come in and change the game the manager did very well.”
With Fernando Torres both injured and suspended and Samuel Eto’o relegated to bench duty, Mourinho placed a heavy striking responsibility on Demba Ba. And he delivered within four minutes, not by scoring but by creating the opening from which Oscar steered a first-time shot with the outside of his right boot inside keeper John Ruddy’s far post.
Norwich manager Chris Hughton’s decision to pack the midfield went some way towards stifling Chelsea, but left the lightweight Ricky van Wolfswinkel too often isolated up front. Despite decent shots from Jonny Howson and Leroy Fer (both saved) and Robert Snodgrass (over the bar), the home side’s dogged attempts to pass their way through seldom looked more likely to succeed than Chelsea’s favoured ploy of hitting long high balls up to Ba, which had achieved the desired effect once and repeatedly left Ruddy and his defenders with the sun in their eyes.
The most ambitious shot of the game came moments before half-time, a swipe by David Luiz from the halfway line that dropped inches beyond the Norwich crossbar.
The second half began with Ba glancing Ramires’s low cross past the far post when a clean connection would have put the game beyond Norwich. Mourinho confessed: “When he missed the easy goal I smelt that they [Norwich] would score one.”
They did, but not as soon as they might have. After 49 minutes Ramires went unpunished for felling Anthony Pilkington with a challenge that should have been a penalty and might have been a red card too as the Norwich man was clear and about to shoot. Hughton said: “Generally that’s a penalty,” but added generously, “I wasn’t sure at the time.” His view was not as clear as that of the referee, Neil Swarbrick, whose laissez-faire attitude was inexplicable.
Pilkington’s consolation came in the 68th minute when he scored a well-deserved equaliser, beating Luiz to the ball close in after Van Wolfswinkel had outjumped John Terry to head back a cross from Martin Olsson.
Nathan Redmond, sent into the fray by Hughton with nine minutes remaining, almost made an instant impact with a splendid run and a shot that stung Petr Cech’s palms. But it was the Chelsea substitutes who turned the game in the final five minutes.
From a Norwich corner, Chelsea broke rapidly for Hazard to get the better of Alexander Tettey and score with a shot that Ruddy slowed but could not prevent from crossing the line. In the next attack, Willian left Ruddy flailing with a superb shot into the far corner from just inside the right-hand side of the penalty area.
Mourinho’s gamble had paid off. “At 1-1 we could win or lose; we lost a bit of balance [bringing on Hazard for Ashley Cole] to try to create. We are trying to be top so one point would be a bad result for us,” he said.
No points was a disappointing outcome for Hughton, who said: “When you bring the quality of players they did off the bench it’s very difficult. But there were good phases when we were the better team. We deserved more.”

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Guardian:

Chelsea's Eden Hazard and Willian leave it late to earn win at Norwich
Norwich 1 Chelsea 3

Dominic Fifield at Carrow Road

The risk-taker in José Mourinho is alive and kicking. This contest had been drifting away from Chelsea when, a quarter of an hour from the end, the Portuguese gambled his team's shape by flinging on more attacking pace and invention, with such bold ambition rewarded at the last. A first away win in the Premier League since returning to the club sent the Portuguese into the international break with his team upwardly mobile.
Whether Ashley Cole is quite so encouraged as he awaits the results of a scan on his ribs remains to be seen, though the England left-back was due to be withdrawn from the fray regardless of the discomfort he was experiencing as Mourinho sought a change in momentum. To witness Chelsea switch to three centre-halves, with André Schürrle and Oscar nominally filling in as wing-backs with little defensive brief, conjured up memories of those sweeping changes the manager was prone to implement when dissatisfied last time round.
Back in his first spell he would tinker mid-game fairly regularly: occasions against Everton and Reading standing out as victories where the tweaking worked; away at Fulham as a defeat where it did not. The Midas touch appeared to have deserted himon his return, all the shape-shifting at Goodison Park and against Basel this term having merely provoked confusion, but the manager could point to all three of his substitutes contributing heavily to the late goals which deflated a spirited Norwich.
"If they come on and change the game, the manager did very well," said Mourinho. "If they make it worse, it's a very bad decision. But we had to risk a bit to try and see if Norwich could cope. A point here would be a bad result for us. We played with three at the back, Schürrle open, Eden [Hazard] central, and lost a bit of balance, and we left the road a bit open for them too. If they'd scored a second goal we'd probably lose. But we're trying to be top." The pace of City's own substitute, Nathan Redmond, had hinted at exploiting the gaps behind the improvised wing-backs but where they lacked bite, Chelsea were ruthless.
It was from the home side's own corner five minutes from time that the balance tipped, one of the visitors' replacements, Hazard, helping to clear the wayward delivery from the edge of the box before charging upfield in search of Oscar's diagonal delivery. The retreating Alex Tettey inadvertently laid it off with a heavy touch, though the Belgian's shot should still have been saved by John Ruddy only for the ball to squirm through his grasp and in. At a time when English goalkeepers are under such scrutiny, it was a weak error. He had no chance seconds later as Samuel Eto'o and Willian, substitutes both, combined for the Brazilian to belt in his first Chelsea goal from distance five minutes into his Premier League bow.
That added gloss to the scoreline, even if the manager's punching of the air in the dugout suggested relief that the pursuit had paid off. Mourinho had sensed his team's first-half dominance, which had yielded nothing more than Oscar's wonderfully clipped opener early on from Demba Ba's lay-off, might be undermined from the moment the Senegalese forward had flicked Ramires's centre wide of the post 56 seconds into the second half.
"He has to score the goal and at 2-0 we go home and no heart attack, but when it was missed I had a smell," Mourinho said. "I could smell them scoring a goal." His reaction was to dispatch Hazard immediately down the touchline to warm up, even if he would wait half an hour to come on.
Chelsea should have prospered more when Norwich's players had been blinded by the sun, forever undone by first-half passes lofted into their penalty area. The profligacy almost proved costly. Norwich grew into the contest, Anthony Pilkington increasingly influential and Petr Cech reacting smartly to turn aside David Luiz's attempted clearance. Pilkington might have had a penalty at Ramires' challenge but wWhen the equaliser came it seemed merited.
Martin Olsson, a menace down the left, flung over a cross which Ricky van Wolfswinkel – above John Terry – nodded back for Pilkington to convert after edging away from David Luiz. "That was fair reward for our effort and determination, but for them to get a second goal from our corner where we were set up very well …" offered Chris Hughton, his thoughts rathertailing off with his team slipping into the relegation zone and a trip to the leaders Arsenal up next. "Their power and pace on the counter-attack got the better of us." Mourinho's gamble had paid off.
Man of the match Oscar (Chelsea)

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Telegraph:

Norwich City 1 Chelsea 3
Better late than never: Chelsea scored twice in the closing stages to seal victory
Oliver Brown

The first goal of Willian’s Chelsea career could yet turn out to be the ­finest. A sumptuous strike, laced with the inside of his left boot, finally broke the obduracy of Norwich City as Jose Mourinho’s players claimed their maiden away victory of the season with a devastating late salvo.
For all the elegance of the winner, this was a reprieve for Chelsea. After Oscar’s sharp opener had threatened a thrashing, the home side somehow fashioned a path back into this engrossing contest, Anthony Pilkington’s equaliser proving a just reward for a period of sustained pressure. But once Eden Hazard rounded off a lightning counterattack, the stage was left for the £30 million man from São Paulo to apply his memorable flourish.
One could quibble that Alex Tettey ought to have been more alert with his attempted clearance as Hazard bore down on goal, or that John Ruddy should have saved the Belgian’s low shot, but ultimately Mourinho executed a masterstroke as his two substitutes combined to deliver the two decisive goals.
The victory could not have made the happiest viewing for England manager Roy Hodgson, with his squad due to assemble at St George’s Park today, as Ashley Cole had to leave the pitch with a rib injury. But the zeal with which a certain Portuguese gentleman celebrated here left no doubt as to how much this victory meant to Mourinho. Following the 4-0 dispatch of Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League, Chelsea are at last beginning to resemble the sum of their extravagantly assembled parts.
The manager could be forgiven for having expected a more restful afternoon, after Oscar’s fourth-minute breakthrough. As ­Mourinho reflected with a smile on Demba Ba missing a straightforward chance early in the second half: “He has to score the goal, easy. Two-nil, go home, no heart attack. After that, you don’t score, you leave the door open for them.”
Or, as he expressed it in his ever-eccentric English: “I have feelings. I smell things. And when that easy goal was missed, I had a smell.”
His senses had not deserted him, as Chelsea let slip all the momentum generated by their fine early goal. All it required was a direct ball over the top to Ba, who controlled it with the neatest of touches to tee up the onrushing Oscar, making sure to place his shot comfortably beyond Ruddy and into the far corner.
Gradually, however, Tettey and Leroy Fer began to carve out greater possession, and Petr Cech needed the quickest of reactions to tip Jonny Howson’s snap shot over the bar. Ba miscued a chance early in the second half to drag his shot fractionally wide, and Mourinho’s body language on the touchline suggested he did indeed detect an ominous odour.
Norwich, just as he forecast, pounced for their equaliser. Martin Olsson hared down the left to supply a fine cross for Ricky van Wolfswinkel, who rose at the far post to head back across goal for Pilkington to nudge the ball past Cech.
Pilkington was culpable, however, in the unravelling that ensued. His poorly-taken corner was the cue for Chelsea to hit back with interest, David Luiz and Willian combining beautifully for Hazard to apply the coup de grâce. Despite the Belgian’s cultured finish, it had arisen from an end-to-end catalogue of Norwich errors.
Manager Chris Hughton, increasingly under pressure, said: “It’s our corner, and you can look at it as a process from there. We needed to clear the ball, be stronger. That’s why Chelsea spun it around. But this is no time to apportion blame.”
Norwich slipped into the bottom three last night as Hughton faced up to a familiar arduous struggle to safeguard his team’s Premier League status. In mitigation, Norwich’s signings over the summer added up to a good deal less than Chelsea’s game-changing substitutes: a fearsome trium­virate of Willian, Hazard and Samuel Eto’o. Mourinho said: “The situation had become difficult at 1-1. We all knew that a point here would be a bad result for us, but I think the team coped well with the pressure. We could gamble and risk a bit to try and bring something different to the game to see if Norwich could cope.”
They could not. If they had been unsettled by their litany of lapses in the build-up to Hazard’s goal, then Willian’s intervention, the most delightful curler from 20 yards out, poleaxed them to extinguish any hope of recovery.
The profound contentment could not have been written any more starkly across Mourinho’s face. Another stumble here, and those lingering anxieties about the wisdom of his Chelsea comeback would have resurfaced. Instead, he marched into the quieter times of international week looking quite the most relieved man in Norfolk.

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Mirror :

 Norwich City 1-3 Chelsea: Late goals from Eden Hazard and Willian sink Canaries
By James Nursey

Anthony Pilkington's second-half header looked to have given Chris Hughton's side a share of the spoils, but the Blues struck late to take the win
Jose Mourinho claimed his powers of smell inspired Chelsea to their first Premier League away win of the season.
The Chelsea boss admitted his heart-rate was quickening when Demba Ba missed a gilt-edge opportunity to make it 2-0.
Mourinho sensed the hosts would equalise which they duly did when Anthony Pilkington cancelled out Oscar's opener.
But the Chelsea boss already had the attacking trio of Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto'o and Willian warming up to come on after "smelling" the danger.
Chelsea then dispensed with their trademark pragmatic approach under Mourinho to go all-out for victory.
It was cavalier attacking football as the match opened up for a frantic finale as Mourinho did not want to drop more points away.
But Mourinho's bold tactics were rewarded as subs Hazard and Willian both scored in the last five minutes.
It was tough on Norwich who battled back superbly and were caught by two late sucker-punches to floor England hopeful John Ruddy in goal.
Mourinho said: "I smell things and when that easy goal was missed, I had a smell that they would score a goal.
"That's why I had Eden warming up at 1-0 because I smelled that.
"Ba has to score in the first minute of the second half, an easy goal then it's 2-0 and go home and no heart attack.
"The situation then became difficult at 1-1.
"We all knew that a point here would be a bad result for us so we gamble and risk a bit to try and bring something different to the game.
"We could have won or lost it at 1-1 because we didn't want a point.
"We're trying to be top. After a point at Spurs, a point here would have been a bad result for us. So we tried to win it."
Chelsea started in storming fashion as Ba won the ball and laid it off for Oscar to score in the fourth minute.
The Brazilian dispatched it low first time with a right-foot effort that curled away from Ruddy into the bottom corner.
It then took good saves by Ruddy from Ba and David Luiz to prevent the visitors running riot.
Ba, making only his second League start this term upfront, caused Norwich huge problems with his power and movement.
In the 19th minute he nearly scored after Ruddy unsuccessfully came for a high ball with the sun in his eyes.
It took the hosts until the 22nd minute to worry Chelsea keeper Petr Cech when Luiz nearly scored an own goal from Ricky van Wolfswinkel's dangerous cross.
But after being put on the back-foot by Chelsea's fast start, Norwich gradually got a foot-hold.
Leroy Fer and Jonny Howson won them more possession in the middle and Alex Tettey shot wide before the break.
Cech made another save seconds before half-time from Bassong after Michael Turner's knock-down at Robert Snodgrass' corner.
After the re-start, Ba remained the dangerman - flicking an effort just wide when Mourinho felt he should have scored.
Norwich appealed in vain for a penalty when Pilkington went down under a Ramires challenge.
But Norwich still deservedly equalised in the 68th minute.
Defender Martin Olsson crossed from the left, Van Wolfswinkel leapt superbly to head it back across goal and Pilkington glanced in.
Starlet Nathan Redmond then came off the bench for Norwich and forced Cech into another good save.
But as City piled forward, Chelsea's subs punished them.
First Hazard capitalised on a poor touch by Tettey to score under Ruddy with a tame shot in the 85th minute after breaking from a Norwich corner.
And fellow sub Willian, recently signed for £30million, scored his first goal for the club with a superb left-foot curler into the top corner from outside the box.
Canaries boss Hughton reflected: "We couldn't have asked for any more effort and determination but the second is a poor goal for us to concede."

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Mail:

Norwich 1 Chelsea 3:
Blues return to top three after Hazard and Willian strike late... but Ruddy is left red-faced after mistake

By Matt Lawton

This time Jose Mourinho was less offended by questions  concerning players he had omitted from his starting line-up. On the  contrary. Chelsea’s manager was as delighted to discuss Eden Hazard’s slightly  fortuitous second goal as he was a quite brilliant strike from Willian.
There was no walking out in a huff; no premature end to his press conference. Just a smile of  satisfaction when he could even point to the fact that the other player he sent on from the bench, namely Samuel Eto’o, also played a significant part in securing  Chelsea’s first away win in the  Barclays Premier League this season.
‘If they come on and make it worse, it’s a very bad decision by the manager,’ he said with a wry smile.
But His Specialness was feeling pretty damn pleased with himself, insisting he made the changes because he could ‘smell’ a goal from Norwich before it arrived — scored by Anthony Pilkington in the 68th minute, it cancelled out Oscar’s early opener — and even delivered some wise words for his adopted footballing home.
At a time when England frets about its style of football, of its apparent inferiority to the Germans and Spanish, Mourinho boasted of employing a very English approach to trying to win this game.
It was distinctly route one, launching the ball up to Demba Ba in a manner that certainly troubled the Norwich defence. It produced that fourth-minute goal.
Long ball from Frank Lampard, laid off by Ba and finished quite wonderfully by Oscar, who beat John Ruddy with a first-time effort off the outside of his right boot.
‘He did what I was expecting Demba to do,’ said Mourinho. ‘This kind of match, very direct, small pitch, very British. He has to score the goal in the first minute of the second half, an easy goal. 2-0 and go home and no heart attack.
‘But I thought to start the game would be better for Demba.’
‘I think that, if you try to play like other people do and you have no players for that, you are very  stupid,’ he said. ‘I won the league in Spain with 100 points and my team were not playing like Barcelona. If you try to play like someone else does, you never reach their level.
‘You have to try and be the best to the style of your players. Why would you want to play like another team? Don’t try to be clever because you’ll become stupid.’
Had he been there, Roy Hodgson might have been tempted to applaud. He might also have been pleased to hear Mourinho saying he hoped Ashley Cole is OK because he wants England to do well.
Interestingly, Mourinho said he had already decided to take off Cole — and switch to a three-man defence — before his left back walked off clutching his injured ribs.
By then Norwich had scored their equaliser and were very much in the hunt for a second.
While certain Chelsea players were impressing — Oscar was involved in all three Chelsea goals — Mourinho was clearly feeling uncomfortable.
The decision to omit Gary Cahill from his defence for the third game on the trot (something that will concern Hodgson) looked like a prudent one given how well David Luiz and John Terry were coping with Norwich’s determined approach.
But, when Ricky van Wolfswinkel beat Terry in the challenge for  Martin Olsson’s cross and Luiz failed to prevent Pilkington from glancing the ball home, Chelsea suddenly seemed vulnerable
‘It was why I already had Hazard warming up,’ said Mourinho. ‘I could smell it. We played with three at the back and, at 1-1, we could have won or lost because we lost a bit of balance. We left the road a bit open. But we didn’t want a point. We’re trying to be top.’
It was a gamble that paid off handsomely in the end, although Hazard’s 85th-minute goal owed much to Alex Tettey’s failure to deal with Willian’s knock-on from an Oscar cross and Ruddy’s failure to make the save.
What then followed was entirely down to Willian, the Brazilian  scoring his first Chelsea goal a  minute later with a magnificent curling left-foot strike.
Norwich manager Chris Hughton had every right to feel frustrated given how hard his side had worked to avoid a third defeat in four games. He also pointed to a penalty claim for a foul on Pilkington by Ramires.
But there were no such issues for Mourinho, who took real satisfaction from Willian’s performance.
‘He was injured in the week and  the kid made himself available,’ said Mourinho. ‘Good for Willian.’

Norwich City: Ruddy 6, Martin 6, Turner 6, Bassong 6, Olsson 6, Tettey 5, Snodgrass 6 (Redmond 81, 6), Howson 6, Fer 6, Pilkington 6, van Wolfswinkel 6 (Hooper 72, 6)
Substitutes not used: Whittaker, Johnson, Bunn, Elmander, Ryan Bennett
Scorer: Pilkington 67
Booked: Tettey

Chelsea: Cech 7, Ivanovic 6, Luiz 6, Terry 6, Cole 6 (Hazard 74, 7), Ramires 7, Lampard 7, Mata 6 (Willian 81), Oscar 8, Schurrle 7, Ba 7 (Eto'o 72, 6)
Substitutes not used: Essien, Schwarzer, Cahill, Azpilicueta
Scorer: Oscar 4, Hazard 85,Willian 86
Booked: Oscar
Referee: Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire)
Attendance: 26, 840

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Express:

Norwich 1 - Chelsea 3: Jose Mourinho sniffs at the thought of defeat

JOSE MOURINHO turned gambler at Carrow Road to ensure his Chelsea team got their first away win of the season.
By: Simon Yeend
After taking the lead in just four minutes through Oscar, a Chelsea victory seemed a certainty. Especially with Norwich’s England keeper John Ruddy having a turbulent 45 minutes facing the bright sunshine, dropping high balls and causing panic in his defence.
Demba Ba missed a great chance to make it 2-0, causing anxiety in his manager. And Norwich refused to wilt, seized control and deservedly equalised after 68 minutes.
Mourinho’s sense of smell did not let him down. He feared more away misery and went bold with his substitutions.
Ba was replaced by Samuel Eto’o, then Mourinho went with three at the back – Ashley Cole sacrificed before the manager knew he had a knock. On came Eden Hazard, then Willian for Juan Mata.
The response was emphatic. Hazard struck first on the break in the 85th minute, a minute later it was 3-1 with Willian curling a beauty into the top corner after another lightning break.
Mourinho’s well-aimed dig that his players lack the mental strength to be title winners had certainly brought the required response.
He, of course, took his share of the credit for his reaction to the danger Norwich posed.
“The situation had become difficult at 1-1,” he said after his first away victory as Chelsea manager since winning at Reading in August 2007. “We all knew that a point here would be a bad result for us, but we could gamble and risk a bit to try and bring something different to the game to see if Norwich could cope.
“During the game I have feelings. I smell things. And when that easy goal was missed, I had a smell.
“I smelt that they would score a goal. That’s why I had Eden warming up at 1-0 because I smelled that. We could have won or lost it at 1-1 because we, at that moment, we didn’t want a point.
“If they’d scored a second goal we’d probably lose. But we’re trying to be top. After a point at Spurs, a point here would have been a bad result for us. So we tried to win it.”
Norwich boss Chris Hughton said defeat was hard to take.
“It’s disappointing,” he said. “The second goal – it was our corner and we were set up very well, but their power and pace on the counter-attack got the better of us. It’s a poor goal for us to concede.”
Again Chelsea won without a striker troubling the scorers. Remarkably, all of their goals in the Premier League this season have been scored by midfielders or defenders. Ba was brought in to try to alter that statistic and had an impact after four minutes.
For all the creative talent at their disposal, the goal came via route one.
Lampard speared a 50-yard pass to Ba in the area. His control and lay-off were spot-on, Oscar’s finish even better, curling the ball into the far corner. But the expected rout did not materialise. Norwich kept their shape, won more ball and started pressing.
Chelsea were rattled, surviving optimistic penalty appeals.
Terry blocked bravely from Pilkington, Cole miscontrolling the ball under little pressure, revealing the anxiety running through the team. Then came the equaliser.
Martin Olsson escaped Oscar and his powerful cross was met at the far post by Ricky van Wolfswinkel, who cleverly nodded it back into the six-yard box.
Anthony Pilkington nipped in ahead of David Luiz and headed past Petr Cech. Norwich substitute Nathan Redmond then caused more unrest in the Chelsea defence with his direct running and Norwich scented victory.
Redmond won a corner but Pilkington’s delivery was poor, swinging the ball out to the edge of the area. Hazard headed away to Oscar and the Brazilian darted clear.
Alex Tettey will have nightmares about his attempted clearance as he failed to put his foot through the ball allowing it to run to Hazard.
The Belgian shot low but straight at Ruddy – and in a wretched week for England goalkeepers, the country’s NoSHrS2 dived over the ball and failed in his attempt to claw it back off the line.
When Willian’s shot scorched past Ruddy, Mourinho was off the bench, fists pumping, breathing a huge sigh of relief.

NORWICH (4-2-3-1): Ruddy 5; Martin 6, Turner 6, Bassong 6, Olsson 7; Howson 7, Tettey 6; Snodgrass 6 (Redmond 81), Fer 7, Pilkington 7; Van Wolfswinkel 7 (Hooper 73, 6). Booked: Tettey. Goal: Pilkington 68.

CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Cech 7; Ivanovic 7, Luiz 7, Terry 7, Cole 6 (Hazard 75, 7); Ramires 7, Lampard 7; Mata 7 (Willian 81), Oscar 6, Schurrle 6; Ba 7 (Eto’o 73, 6). Booked: Oscar. Goals: Oscar 4, Hazard 85, Willian 86.

Referee: N Swarbrick (Lancashire).

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Star:

Chelsea see off Canaries

Substitutes Eden Hazard and Willian were on target as Chelsea beat Norwich 3-1 to claim a first away win of the Barclays Premier League season.
 Jose Mourinho's men made the 120-mile journey to Carrow Road by plane on Saturday and made a flying start when Oscar gave them a fourth-minute lead after Demba Ba's lay-off from Frank Lampard's lofted pass.
Victory from then seemed a formality for Chelsea but it appeared anything but until a late rally.
Ba might have netted early in the second half following a cross from Ramires, who was relieved not to concede a penalty when challenging Anthony Pilkington in the box.
Norwich levelled when Pilkington headed in from close range and had further opportunities, but Hazard finished off a ruthless counter attack and Willian curled in his first Chelsea goal to complete the win.
There were moments of alarm for England boss Roy Hodgson ahead of the World Cup qualifiers with Montenegro and Poland.
Ruddy, who had an opportunity to show he should be England's number one ahead of Joe Hart, should have done better in two aerial duels in the Norfolk sunshine with Ba and allowed Hazard's weak shot to beat him, while Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole departed 15 minutes from time clutching his ribcage.
Preferred to Samuel Eto'o in place of the injured and suspended Fernando Torres, Ba quickly got the better of his marker, Sebastien Bassong, who was the solitary Norwich change following the win at Stoke.
Chelsea might have had a penalty in the opening skirmishes, but referee Neil Swarbrick merely shook his head when Ba went down softly between Bassong and Michael Turner.
It mattered not as Chelsea soon took the lead through Oscar, who began in the play-maker role behind Ba, with Juan Mata on the right.
Lampard's pass from inside his own half was brought down by Ba inside the City box and the striker, with Turner backing off, laid the ball off for Oscar to hit it first time with the outside of his right boot into the bottom corner.
It was a fine goal, but Norwich made it all too easy for the visitors.
Mata was then granted space to pick his pass after drifting in field and found Ba, whose effort was well saved by Ruddy.
Ruddy lost an aerial duel with Ba, who turned and shot only for Bassong to block.
Norwich enjoyed some openings down Chelsea's right, with Martin Olsson and Leroy Fer's pace troublesome, but it was from down their own right flank that they nearly equalised when Ricky van Wolfswinkel's cross was prodded wide by Jonny Howson.
Ruddy recovered to concede a corner after Ba won another aerial challenge with Turner and the goalkeeper before Norwich pressed again without testing Petr Cech.
David Luiz had Ruddy back-pedalling with a shot from a yard inside Norwich's half as the ball landed on the roof of the net.
Cech was called into action for the first time when Bassong shot straight at him from a corner as the half came to a close which Chelsea dominated without adding to Oscar's early effort.
The visitors so nearly made a flying start to the second half as Andre Schurrle and Ramires combined down the left and the latter crossed for Ba.
With just Ruddy to beat, Ba failed to cleanly connect and the ball went wide.
Ramires was soon in action at the other end, dispossessing Pilkington, who went down, but Swarbrick was unmoved as the hosts appealed for a penalty.
John Terry got in ahead of Van Wolfswinkel and then blocked from Pilkington as Norwich threatened again before equalising.
Olsson's deep cross from the left created havoc and found Van Wolfswinkel.
The Holland striker met the ball at the back post and centred for Pilkington, who got the wrong side of Luiz and headed past Cech, who should have done better.
Cole's departure forced a change in tactics for Chelsea, who threw players forward.
Branislav Ivanovic, popping up on the left, forced a save from Ruddy and then Hazard, Cole's replacement, fired narrowly wide.
Norwich had chances, too. Nathan Redmond, on for Robert Snodgrass, had an effort saved by Cech before Olsson lost his balance in the act of shooting.
Redmond was lively and won a corner with five minutes remaining - but it led to a goal for Chelsea.
The Blues broke and Alexander Tettey was unable to deal with Oscar's cross-field pass, allowing Hazard to pounce.
The Belgium forward's shot squirmed under Ruddy, who could only scramble forlornly as the ball went over the line.
A minute later, Ruddy could do nothing as Willian put a gloss on proceedings by curling into the top corner.