Stoke 3-0

Independent:
Chelsea 3 Stoke City 0
Frank Lampard keeps ‘impossible dream' alive

Jose Mourinho might have given up on the League title but Chelsea return to the top of the table thanks to an outstanding display from their long-serving midfielder
Steve Tongue 

A week after Jose Mourinho announced that it was “impossible” for Chelsea to win the Premier League amid the disgruntlement of defeat at Crystal Palace, his team returned to the top of the table, albeit only a point ahead of Liverpool, who play at West Ham this afternoon.
Manchester City, a point further back and with an extra game in hand, remain best placed but Liverpool’s home games against the two other contenders – City next Sunday and Chelsea three weeks today – still hold the key to the outcome of an unpredictable season.
Not that Mourinho was prepared to change his assessment significantly, even if leading 3-0 with fully 20 minutes left thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, the outstanding Frank Lampard and Willian allowed thoughts and tactics to turn towards making up the 3-1 deficit in Tuesday’s second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Paris St-Germain.
Chelsea will at the very least approach it in good heart and with the full support of a noisy home crowd who saw them overwhelm a disappointing Stoke City; the total of 18 shots to four in favour of the hosts was a fair reflection of the balance of play.
“If we concede one against Paris or have a clean sheet we have a chance, so it’s important to defend well,” the manager said. As for the position at the top, he added: “The situation is the same. The table is again fake, with lots of matches in hand.” With Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore standing at the back of the room, he added a new criticism: “I don’t think it’s the best image, playing matches in the last midweek of the season.”
What would have made Mourinho happier would have been a goal for Fernando Torres, who said in an Independent interview this week that he wanted to make himself Mourinho’s best option on a regular basis. Allowed a start, unlike last Wednesday, while Eden Hazard and Oscar were rested, he ran willingly but still without registering a first Premier League goal since early January, or coming close.
Fortunately the Egyptian Salah, starting for the first time, and Andre Schürrle were more effective down the flanks. Nemanja Matic, ineligible for the Champions League, was back in midfield and much more solid than David Luiz, which crucially allowed Lampard to do much more of what he should have done last week at Selhurst Park, bursting forward in support of the attack. Despite the changes further forward, Mourinho stuck with his now regular back four, having tempted fate by praising them so fulsomely before the “joke” goals conceded in Paris. They were untroubled almost all game, Petr Cech having only one straightforward save to make, when Peter Odemwingie, after four goals in three games, chanced his arm from 20 yards.
Stoke, revitalised under Mark Hughes, know they have much to play for despite this result: a highest finish for almost 40 years; most points, wins and goals in a Premier League season; even ending the campaign as highest placed Midlands side for what would be the first time ever.
Already they have completed more passes in a season than under Tony Pulis’s more fundamentalist regime. They were not averse to longer balls to try to turn the Chelsea defence but the confidence gained from three successive victories was only in evidence briefly before the home side began pushing them back. “I was disappointed because in recent weeks we’ve been better than that,” Hughes said.
Lampard was the key figure, even though not involved in the opening goal. In the 10th minute he took part three times in the move that set up up Torres, who dragged a shot wide from 20 yards – an early indication that this might be one of those days when things just did not go his way. Asmir Begovic pulled off the first of several saves, this one from Willian’s deflected shot and then redeemed himself after a bad clearance by smothering Torres’s effort from close in as Erik Pieters unwisely chested down a cross. The goal Chelsea deserved arrived just after the half-hour mark and could be said to have stemmed from smart work by a young ballboy, who caught a Stoke clearance to applause and immediately gave it to Cesar Azpilicueta. His throw-in sent Matic to the byline to cut back a low pass that found Salah for a left-footed shot that flew past Begovic’s outstretched leg.
It would have been 2-0 at the interval had Ivanovic pushed his head forward a fraction later before turning Lampard’s centre into the net. The offside decision was about as close as it was possible to be.
Two half-time substitutions indicated Hughes’s displeasure with his team’s performance while the introduction of Hazard only 13 minutes after the resumption suggested Mourinho was anxious about the single-goal margin. He need not have been. The Belgian’s first intervention, twisting and turning before supplying Salah, led to a penalty and the overdue second goal.
Andy Wilkinson clearly brought down the Egyptian and although Begovic beat out Lampard’s spot-kick, the midfielder beat him to the rebound to score.
The crowd were willing a goal for Torres, but the best he could do was taking a defender away as Willian curled in a fine third goal to relax the manager and those supporters who may believe their team are not entirely out of contention yet.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Matic, Lampard (Luiz, 70); Willian (Cole, 77), Salah,  Schürrle (Hazard, 58); Torres.

Stoke (4-2-3-1): Begovic; Cameron (Wilkinson, 46) , Shawcross, Wilson, Pieters; Nzonzi, Whelan; Odemwingie, Palacios (Adam, 46), Arnautovic; Crouch (Walters, 77).

Referee: Lee Probert
Man of the match: Lampard (Chelsea)

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Observer:

Chelsea 3 Stoke 0
Willian rounds off comfortable win against Stoke City to take Chelsea top
Paul Doyle at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea's inability to lure a deadly striker in the last transfer window has complicated their quest for honours but here the two players they did sign in January were instrumental in sending José Mourinho's team back to the top of the Premier League. Nemanja Matic bestrode midfield with mighty authority while Mohamed Salah marked his first start by scoring a goal and creating another. Ultimately the destiny of the title could be determined by how often other Chelsea players can compensate for their forwards' bluntness.
Fernando Torres started up front against Stoke after being omitted from the midweek defeat to Paris Saint-Germain but his performance was hardly sufficient to convince Chelsea not to spend heavily on a new forward in the summer. The more immediate matter for Mourinho here, of course, was to get his team back to winning ways after three defeats in their past five matches.
Having spent most of the season talking down his team's chances of winning the title, the manager seemed to realise that a new psychological ploy was required, so railed against negativity before the visit of Mark Hughes's men, who arrived in buoyant mood having won four of their past five games to banish relegation fears.
Stoke made a vibrant start but Chelsea, accused by Mourinho of being too timid during last week's defeat at Crystal Palace, were not prepared to be pushed around on their own patch and soon took control. Torres was given the game's first chance when, in the third minute, Willian won possession in midfield and threaded an inviting ball through to the forward. Alas, the Spaniard no longer has the pace that he used to and was nudged off the ball by Marc Wilson before Asmir Begovic tidied up. The muscularity of the general play was not matched by the finishing, which was feeble by both sides early on. Torres was presented with another opening in the ninth minute when Matic nicked the ball to him after Chelsea's high pressing had again forced Stoke to cough up possession, but the Spaniard's 20-yard shot hurtled wide.
André Schürrle was guilty of a particularly lame finish moments later, offering Begovic an easy save after being put through. Then Branislav Ivanovic nodded a weak effort wide from a corner.
Peter Odemwingie fired off Stoke's first shot from long range in the 13th minute but that, too, was soft and posed no problem for Petr Cech.
Begovic had to be more sprightly in the 18th minute to turn away a curling effort from the edge of the area by Willian. Chelsea were now well on top – all they were missing was a cutting edge. Wilson almost gifted them a way through when he negligently chested a cross into the path of Torres, but Begovic hurled himself at the striker's feet to smother the danger.
Stoke's resistance eventually gave way. After a throw-in on the left in the 32nd minute, Matic shrugged off Odemwingie and banged a low ball across the face of goal to Salah, who lashed it into the net from 15 yards.
Hughes introduced two substitutes for the second half and one of them, Charlie Adam, was quick to make an impact – on Schürrle's foot. The midfielder, making his first appearance since being banned for stamping on the Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud, caught the German with a late tackle.
Schürrle was not seriously injured but was soon replaced by Eden Hazard anyway as Mourinho sought the killer goal. The Belgian immediately showed Adam how to make the right sort of impact, artfully rolling the ball into the path of Salah, who was chopped down by Andy Wilkinson. Begovic saved Frank Lampard's penalty but not the rebound.
Chelsea beat Liverpool to the signing of Salah from Basel in January thanks to the money they generated from the sale of Juan Mata, and that could yet have ramifications for the title. "We sold a great player who was in the best moment of his career and bought a kid from a different habitat," Mourinho said. "An Egyptian playing in Switzerland, we knew it would take time for him to adapt. But already you can see the connection between him and the crowd. They like him."
His connection with his team-mates was obvious too. With Matic laying a solid platform, Salah, Willian and Hazard darted around in all directions and at times Stoke seemed caught in a whirlwind. Willian eventually blew them away, curling a sumptuous shot beyond Begovic from the edge of the area in the 72nd minute.
With his side back on top of the league, Mourinho reverted to talking down his team's chances of staying there. "The table is again fake," he said, insisting the fact that Liverpool and Manchester City have games in hands means they still have the advantage.

Match rating: 6/10

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 3 Stoke City 0: match report
By  Jason Burt, Stamford Bridge

“You have to adapt. If I go to a wedding I don’t go in jeans, right?” Jose Mourinho said. But if you play a Stoke City side that is safe from relegation and in danger of switching off – as manager Mark Hughes admitted after this insipid performance – then you can afford to turn up in carpet slippers.
Ahead of Paris St-Germain this was a PSG performance for Chelsea: a Pretty Straightforward Game. But it was a perfect run-out for Mourinho’s players before Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg.
Chelsea had better not turn up in jeans for that one – Mourinho’s analogy was about how they had arrived mentally ill equipped for last Saturday’s defeat away to Crystal Palace – as it will be an occasion for best bib and tucker. Suited and booted or Chelsea will be booted out.
There was a bit of booting yesterday, or at least seemed to be with Charlie Adam again appearing to demonstrate an uncanny ability to catch his opponent late as André Schürrle found out to his cost as the Scot stood on the top of his foot.
But Mourinho was not going to engage with that. “I like aggressive football and I can’t go inside the player’s brain to make the decision whether the intention was to hurt or not to hurt,” he said dismissively.
The Portuguese did not want to pick a fight, and Hughes was equally emphatic. He had not seen the incident and no one had brought it to his intention. Maybe the Football Association will take a look at it.
This was emphatically restorative for Chelsea who, almost apologetically, also returned to the top of the Premier League – at least until the final whistle today at Upton Park.
But Chelsea are still fighting at the top despite the sense of despondency that Mourinho has projected of late in his attacks on his attackers. Fernando Torres again drew a blank – and the kind of backhand praise that must hurt a £50 million striker.
“As normally, he gave everything he can,” Mourinho said damningly. “A pity he did not score a goal because strikers need goals. But he participated; he worked hard.”
And he should have scored. His biggest moment came with the game goalless. Foolishly Erik Pieters attempted to chest the ball to Asmir Begovic and it dropped short. Torres reacted quickly to gain possession but his shot was quickly smothered by Begovic from close-range.
Mourinho’s face, as he sank back into his seat, betrayed his frustration. Later he was sanguine. “We deserved the three points and go back to victories,” he said. “Important for the Premier League but one thing is to start the match on Tuesday after another defeat, the other is to start with a victory.”
Chelsea are at home then also. Despite their problems away from Stamford Bridge, it is five league victories in a row and 17 unanswered goals. PSG will be aware of that.
Mourinho rested Oscar; rested Eden Hazard, who came on as a second-half substitute; and gave a chance to January signing Mohamed Salah to make his full debut and shine – and he did, claiming his second goal for the club with aplomb.
There was also another goal for Frank Lampard, a landmark one at that, his 250th in club football, although his penalty kick, after substitute Andy Wilkinson had scythed down Salah, was saved. Lampard hammered home the rebound with Begovic grounded.
That doubled Chelsea’s advantage and, frankly, it was game over. But then it had been game over from the moment they had taken the lead, which came after Nemanja Matic had cleverly rolled Geoff Cameron from a throw-in and crossed low. Salah’s confident, powerful first-time shot skimmed off Begovic’s boot and into the net.
“We did not ask enough questions of a good Chelsea team who did not have to get out of second gear to take the game away from us,” Hughes later lamented before saying he would “address” it if his players were switching off.
Stoke were curiously flat having attempted to start brightly. But nothing happened for them. Nothing. Instead it was simply a question of how many more Chelsea would score. There was just the one more with Hazard involved, as he had been for the penalty, sliding a pass to Salah who moved it on to Willian.
Wilkinson was again culpable, standing off the Brazilian who strolled on, shifted the ball and curled his right-footed shot around the defender and high beyond Begovic.
There was a late appearance for a heavily-bearded Ashley Cole, brought on in left midfield. It was his first game since Jan 11 – the last time Torres scored in the league – while Mourinho even fielded post-match questions on John Terry’s future.
“The club want him to stay, he wants to stay, so normally he stays,” Mourinho said of the prospect of the defender agreeing a new contract when his current deal expires. It sounded straightforward enough. A bit like this fixture.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Cech 6; Ivanovic 6, Cahill 7, Terry 6, Azpilicueta 6; Matic 7, Lampard 6 (Luiz 70); Salah 7, Willian 8 (Cole 78), Schurrle 6 (Hazard 59); Torres 5. Subs Oscar, Ba, Schwarzer, Kalas.

Stoke (4-2-3-1) Begovic 6, Pieters 5, Wilson 4, Shawcross 6, Cameron 4 (Wilkinson 45); Whelan 5, Palacios 4 (Adam 45); Arnautovic 5, Nzonzi 5, Odemwingie 3; Crouch 4 (Walters 78). Subs Munesia, Guidetti, Etherington, Sorenson.

Referee L Probert (Wiltshire).

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Times:

Chelsea 3 Stoke City 0: All-change Chelsea stroll back to top
John Aizlewood

As the old saying goes ‘you can only beat what’s in front of you’. Faced with a wretched Stoke side, Chelsea cruised home by three goals and have now kept eight consecutive home clean sheets. Stoke offered no response of any kind and seem to have already knocked off for the season. The hosts have certainly had harder games; they will surely have had harder training sessions.
The three points returned Chelsea to the Premier League summit, but manager Jose Mourinho was still maintaining his twinkle-eyed insistence that the title is beyond his team. “The table is fake,” he insisted. “Teams playing games in hand on the last week of the season isn’t a situation adapted to high-level football.”
With a two-goal Champions League deficit to overcome on Tuesday, Oscar, Eden Hazard and David Luiz were exiled to the bench, while Ramires, who completed his domestic suspension yesterday evening, should also return to face Paris Saint-Germain. Nemanja Matic and Mohamed Salah are ineligible in the Champions League; they both started at Stamford Bridge. Such ferocious plate-juggling meant that much hinged on the performances of Frank Lampard, Fernando Torres, Andre Schurrle and Willian, but such was Stoke’s feebleness that none enhanced or reduced his prospects.
“Today gave us self-esteem,” explained Mourinho. “To face Paris after a defeat is one thing, but to face them after a victory is better. If we keep a clean sheet that will be perfect, but we have to adapt to the situation: if I go to a wedding I don’t wear jeans.”
Having dropped only one point in their previous five games, but not having taken one at Stamford Bridge since 1984, Stoke arrived with nothing to play for. And how it showed.
“I expected better,” admitted the Stoke manager, Mark Hughes. “We can’t carry as many players as we did today. Chelsea didn’t have to get out of second gear. I hadn’t seen this coming and we’ll have to jump on it straight away. This is a wake-up call.”
Initially, though, Chelsea were sluggish. A frustrated Lampard and Matic found themselves edging further and further forwards. The Schurrle, Willian and Lampard midfield were less than the sum of their parts and consequentially, Fernando Torres found himself isolated. “He participated,” noted Mourinho archly. “He gave everything he can and he won with the team.”
Stoke passed neatly in unthreatening areas, but their horizons were limited and the more the game progressed the more Chelsea oozed menace.
 Nature took its course just after the half-hour. Matic controlled a throw-in on the left, shrugged off Peter Odemwingie’s powder-puff challenge, hurtled to the byline and crossed low. The unattended Salah met it first time to handsomely thunder his second Chelsea goal past Asmir Begovic. “He’s a kid from a different habitat,” said Mourinho of the Egyptian winger. “He needs time to settle. Next season he’ll be a real player.”
Hughes, clearly unimpressed that Petr Cech had been neither tested nor troubled in the first half, made two substitutions at the break but the visitors remained somnambulant. Chelsea surrendered possession and they surrendered cheap free kicks, but they never looked like surrendering their lead. Soon, Mourinho had seen enough. Shurrle hobbled off following an unpleasant challenge by Charlie Adam - “I like aggressive football, but I can’t get in people’s minds to tell their intentions,” shrugged Mourinho – and on came Hazard.
Almost instantly, the lambent Belgian’s penalty-area backheel took out three Stoke defenders before reaching Salah. The winger sprinted for goal, only to be crudely upended by Andy Wilkinson. Lampard’s penalty was hard but straight at Begovic. The loose ball cannoned off the Bosnian, Lampard reacted quicker than the dawdling Stoke defence and Chelsea were home and dry.
From there, it was merely a question of goal difference and soon, Chelsea added a third when Hazard expertly found Willian 20 yards out. Ryan Shawcross unaccountably retreated, allowing Willian the time and space to curl an exquisite third around Begovic from 20 yards. After that both teams allowed the clock to roll down. In Chelsea’s case that was understandable; in Stoke’s it was inexcusable.

Star man: Nemanja Matic (Chelsea)

Chelsea: Cech 6, Ivanovic 6, Cahill 6, Terry 6, Azpilicueta 6, Matic 7, Willian 7 (Cole 78min), Lampard 6 (Luiz 70min), Salah 7, Schurrle 6 (Hazard 59min 7), Torres 6

Stoke: Begovic 7, Cameron 6 (Wilkinson h-t 5), Wilson 6, Shawcross 5, Pieters 5, Whelan 5, Palacios 5 (Adam h-t 6), N’Zonzi 5, Arnautovic 5, Odemwingie 4, Crouch 5 (Walters 78min)

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Mail:

Chelsea 3-0 Stoke: Salah inspires Mourinho's men to victory at Stamford Bridge
By Patrick Collins

When the biggest teams conduct the final arguments of this tumultuous season, then Chelsea will have their say.
An ultimately comfortable victory at Stamford Bridge lifted them to the top of the pile. And while they are unlikely to remain at the summit to the end, they have shown that anybody with serious designs on the title must finish in front of Jose Mourinho’s side.
Stunning goals from Mohamed Salah and the brilliant Willian, along with a penalty from Frank Lampard, carried them past a Stoke challenge which slowly ran out of energy and ambition.
After a few alarms, they enter a critical week of their season in decent heart and reasonable shape. It is all they could have asked.
On Tuesday, they face the formidable Paris St Germain, 3 – 1 down in the Champions’ League quarter final. 'It is one thing to start Tuesday’s match after another defeat’, reasoned Mourinho last night.
'It is another thing to start with a victory’. The manager believes, as he has to believe, that his team have a chance of progressing. The quality of the football they produced, after a tentative, uncertain start, will assist his task of persuading his players.
On Saturday, Mourinho picked a side equipped to carry the title fight. Frank Lampard, now a squad player, came into midfield, while David Luiz and Eden Hazard started on the bench, but Chelsea were strong and competent.
As for Stoke, their approach justified the contention that their ways really are changing. Their manager Mark Hughes was displeased with the way things worked out: 'We weren’t able to troublke a very good Chelsea side today’, he said.
'We wanted to make a better fist of it’. Yet no longer were passes launched exclusively high and hopeful. Instead, defenders who once were encouraged to put their foot through the ball now played it out with some care from the back, and they looked a more effective team for it.
True, a fair number of their attacking ideas involved floated offerings towards the head of Peter Crouch, but, until fatigue sapped their creative ambition, they were far from the primitive Stoke of old.
Chelsea’s main creative source – and the player most responsible for guiding them through their early uncertainty --was the lively, resourceful Willian, pushing forward nimbly from midfield. He ran through his repertoire; the feint, the flick, the startling change of pace, But nothing was successfully constructed until the 31st minute when Nemanja Matic made a strong run down the left and selected Mohamed Salah on the far side of the box with his cross. Salah’s response was dramatic, a stunning left foot drive which fairly exploded past Asmir Begovic for the opening goal.
In truth, Chelsea were faintly flattered by the advantage, but it was a score which settled the side, and the balance of the contest tilted firmly in their favour.
In 40 minutes, they seemed to have taken a firm hold on the match, when Branislav Ivanovic met a deep cross.As the header bulged the net, a distant linesman could be seen, waving an offside flag. Replays showed that he was correct, by perhaps a single foot. Mourinho threw a small, predictable touchline tantrum, but  he wasn’t really trying too hard.
Stoke brought on Charlie Adam in place of Wilson Palacios, and Andy Wilkinson for Geoff Cameron at the start of the second half.
Adam announced himself with a dubious lunge at Andre Schurrle which brought the Chelsea physio racing from the bench. The tackle went unpunished and Adam seemed relieved.
He was equally relieved some half an hour later, when his high, reckless boot thudded in the chest of the substitute David Luiz, and once again the referee Lee Probert saw nothing worth censuring. Stoke will argue that Adam’s reputation precedes him. The rest of us will recall with a shudder just how he acquired that reputation.
Stoke were still struggling to supplement the efforts of their lone striker Crouch. He worked as hard as ever, chasing endless lost causes, but he was outmuscled and heavily outnumbered by Chelsea’s defenders.
Despite their reconstruction, Stoke have been relying on his efforts for so long, that they are perilously short of a Plan B when the Crouch ploy is unsuccessful.
The course of the seemed decisively set on the hour, when Eden Hazard came on for Schurrle. Inside a  minute, the little conjurer was teasing and turning the Stoke defence, as he would hope to bewilder PSG on Tuesday.
A deft backheel sent Salah running to the byline, only to have his legs taken away by the artless assault of Wilkinson. Begovic saved Lampard’s penalty, but the Chelsea ancient was offered the rebound, and the invitation was accepted.
A dozen minutes later, the excellent Willian terminated the argument. The ball was worked pleasingly across the face of the Stoke defence, and Willian advanced upon Ryan Shawcross. Unwisely, the Stoke captain stood off his man, whereupon Willian unfolded a sumptuous curling effort which lodged inside the far post.
Testing trials lie in wait, but for the moment, Chelsea are still stating an eloquent case. Their arguments should not be discounted.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech 5; Ivanovic 6.5, Cahill 6.5, Terry 6.5, Azpilicueta 6.5; Lampard 7 (Luiz 70), Matic 7; Willian 7.5 (Cole 78), Schurrle 6.5 (Hazard 59, 6), Salah 8; Torres 6.

Subs not used: Oscar, Ba, Schwarzer, Kalas.

Stoke (4-5-1): Begovic 5; Cameron 5 (Wilkinson 46, 4.5), Wilson 5, Shawcross 5, Pieters 5; Odemwingie 6, Whelan, Palacios 6 (Adam 46, 4,5), Nzonzi 6, Arnautovic 6; Crouch 5 (Walters 78).

Subs not used: Muniesa, Guidetti, Etherington, Sorensen.

MOM: Salah

Referee: Lee Probert - 6
*Player ratings by SAMI MOKBEL at Stamford Bridge

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Mirror:

Chelsea 3-0 Stoke City: Blues make light work of the Potters to keep pace in Premier League title race
 
By Dave Kidd

Mohamed Salah, Frank Lampard and Willian found the net as Jose Mourinho's side bounced back from their midweek defeat to PSG

So, the daring hijack routine Jose Mourinho performed on Liverpool to snap up Mohamed Salah in the January transfer window might just have an impact on the title race.
The Reds certainly haven’t been pining the loss of the ­Egyptian winger, who so nearly moved to Anfield before Chelsea snaffled him by striking an £11million deal with Basel.
But it was Salah’s first-half strike which sent Chelsea on their way to a victory that propelled them back to the top of the Premier League at ­Liverpool’s expense – for 24 hours at least.
The rocket-fuelled wideman had illuminated plenty of Thursday nights as Basel made a habit of defeating English sides in the Europa League. Now, he is on centre stage – scoring a crucial opener as Mourinho’s men obliterated memories of their season’s worst week.
Plastered in Paris and at Palace, Chelsea were glad to be back home. They simply do not lose League games here under Mourinho – and these days they do not even concede goals.
This was an eighth straight clean sheet at the Bridge and another one is sure to be required against Paris Saint- Germain on Tuesday if Chelsea are to progress to the last four of the Champions League.
Mourinho may not have a “real striker”, but he has a thick blue line of four bona fide ­world-class defenders.
The Portuguese dropped Eden Hazard for the first League match in six months, but, with Stoke virtually failing to turn up, this never looked like any sort of gamble, as Chelsea carved out a series of chances. Fernando Torres sent a ­firecracker just wide, Salah had a tame shot saved and Willian had a shot deflected by Glenn Whelan and turned around by Asmir Begovic.
Then, Torres might have capitalised on a double dose of dozy defending. Peter Odemwingie, dawdling in his own half was mugged by Cesar Azpilicueta, whose cross was chested by Stoke left-back Erik Pieters into the path of Torres, only for Begovic to smother the ball at the Spanish striker’s feet.
Torres had a penalty shout turned down after a Geoff Cameron challenge and you were beginning to wonder whether it might be another day when Mourinho would pay for the absence of a world-class striker, which he had bemoaned after the 3-1 defeat in Paris.
Yet, on 32 minutes, Chelsea were in front – thanks to their two January signings.
Nemanja Matic cut back for Salah to hammer home a shot, which Begovic could only help on its way with a leg. Salah gave the Stamford Bridge turf a prolonged smacker and, within minutes, Chelsea thought they had doubled their lead.
Frank Lampard crossed from the right and Branislav Ivanovic headed in, but some lengthy celebrations were curtailed when a late – but correct – offside flag was spotted.
Lampard might have scored in first-half injury-time when he had the time to pick his spot, only to see his shot blocked. Mark Hughes made a double change at the break, sending on Charlie Adam and Andy Wilkinson.
Adam was straight into the action with a tasty challenge – this one hard, but fair - which left Schurrle needing treatment. When Hazard arrived, in place of Schurrle on the hour, his influence was almost immediate.
A cunning back-heel from the Belgian picked out Salah, who was wiped out by Wilkinson.
It could not have been a clearer penalty, had the Stoke defender driven an articulated lorry at the Egyptian. Lampard’s initial spot-kick was well saved by Begovic, diving to his right, but the England veteran raced in to steal home the rebound.
Salah then teed up Willian for a gorgeous third, curled home from the edge of the box.
Later, of Willian, Frank Lampard said: “He was brilliant in the No.10 role. He shifts the ball so quickly and gets his shots away. He does it better than anyone I’ve ever played with. And he works back too.”
Willian was another of ­Chelsea’s hijack jobs, swiped from under Tottenham’s noses last summer.
Who says crime doesn’t pay?

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Express:

Chelsea 3 - Stoke 0: Willian leads charge at Stamford Bridge
CHELSEA cantered back to the top of a league Jose Mourinho reckons they can’t win – even though it could be just for 24 hours – and fired a warning to Paris St-Germain in the process.

By: Colin Mafham

Mourinho’s men will find the French champions much tougher to topple than sorry Stoke were yesterday.
But there is nothing better than an easy victory like this to get Chelsea believing they still have a chance of progressing in Europe – even if their tongue-in-cheek manager does tip Liverpool or Manchester City to pip them on the home front.
The big question now is will they persevere with a Fernando Torres who doesn’t appear to be able to hit a proverbial barn door right now?
Whether he can rectify that in the next 48 hours is a matter for serious consideration.
Mind you, if anyone took to heart what Mourinho said about some of his players last week it was Willian.
No one could accuse him of lacking that special quality – the five-letter word begins with b and ends with s – his manager chose to write home about.
The Brazilian, starting probably only to give Eden Hazard and Oscar a rest, staked an early claim for a place against PSG on Tuesday with a great effort that Asmir Begovic clawed away.
A pity for Chelsea that poor Torres didn’t do the same.
It’s difficult to tell whether the Spaniard is sulking or sorry. But whatever it is he looks a shadow of his old £50million self, despite Mourinho’s assurances that he still has a big future at the club.
Even when Erik Pieters mistakenly chested the ball into Torres’s path just a few feet out, keeper Asmir Begovic reacted quicker to deny him the goal he looks so desperately in need of.
Needless to say he had little say in Chelsea’s opener on the half-hour when Mohamed Salah made it a dream Premier League start for him with a clinical strike after Nemanja Matic set him up.
It was no more than Chelsea deserved, though, in a first half in which Stoke showed little sign of making it a happy return for their manager, Mark Hughes, who enjoyed some glory years as a player at Stamford Bridge.
They produced virtually no threats before the break and would have gone in two down if Branislav Ivanoic hadn’t been denied a super-looking goal for being a mere fraction offside.
No wonder Hughes’s hair looked like turning a whiter shade of grey! Or that he brought on the more creative Charlie Adam for Wilson Palacios in the second half.
Not that it appeared to make a huge difference, even if Chelsea continued to take little advantage of their territorial supremacy.
Until, that is, young Salah capped a great day for him when he tempted substitute Andy Wilkinson into the sort of rash challenge that gave referee Lee Probert little choice but to point to the penalty spot.
Frank Lampard did the rest, even if Begovic did manage to save his first attempt.
It might have been three soon afterwards but the chance fell to sorry Torres – and you didn’t need JK Rowling to write that script. He missed, of course.
Willian didn’t, though, with a 72nd-minute super-strike that used to be a trademark for Torres. And didn’t he just deserve it?
There didn’t really seem a lot on when the diminutive South American picked the ball up outside the box.
But his superb, curling effort into the roof of the net was just reward for his efforts.
A little surprising then, that Mourinho chose to take him off soon afterwards and replace him with Ashley Cole.
Could it be he was already pencilling him in for that Champions League crunch game on Tuesday?
It was by then, though, well and truly over as a contest.
And Stoke – and Hughes in particular – looked as if they couldn’t wait for the final whistle.
When it did finally come, the previously forgotten Cole threw his team shirt to a fan as he left the pitch after just 10 minutes on it.
Was that a goodbye, do you think?

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Star:

Chelsea 3 - Stoke 0: Frank Lampard makes history as the Blues cruise to victory
FRANK LAMPARD chalked up another career milestone yesterday – at the second attempt.

By Tony Stenson

The veteran midfielder, 35, scored his 250th competitive club goal but he did it on the rebound after seeing a soft second-half penalty saved by Asmir Begovic.
Lampard’s latest strike came almost 19 years after his first – scored on loan for Swansea and helped Chelsea on their way back to the top of the Premier League table.
Lampard said: “I am enjoying playing at the moment and being one of the older heads.
“I want to keep playing for another two or three years and as long as I can contribute.
“It’s different when you get older and you have to stay sharper.
“Will I play against PSG? If the manager wants me to. We need to win 2-0 to get through and with the players we have who says we can’t do that?”
Despite Lampard’s input it was Mohamed Salah, the man from the land of the pharoahs, who stopped Chelsea’s season turning to sand.
The Egyptian international, making his first full start since his £11million transfer from Basel, scored their opening goal to calm nerves and end Stoke’s hopes of inflicting an unheard of third successive defeat on Jose Mourinho’s men.
He was later fouled by Stoke sub Andy Wilkinson for Lampard’s 61st minute spot-kick.
He also played a part in man of the match Willian striking a beauty from 18 yards to round off a perfect day.
Mourinho said: “He will be good. There was a feeling between him and the crowd. They love a winger.
Next season he, along with Oscar and Eden Hazard, will take this club forward.”
Victory gave Mourinho’s side a timely boost before they take on PSG in the return leg of the Champions League quarter-final.
They trail 3-1 and the men from the Potteries proved just as tough as the monsieurs of Paris.
Stoke are the kind of side you wouldn’t want to watch every week but are the ones you would want in the trenches alongside you in times of trouble. They never give in, are constantly in your face and Chelsea needed to dig in for victory.
The game didn’t start on a happy note with Chelsea boss Mourinho ear-bashing a TV camera crew who picked out Fernando Torres before the match.
Mourinho might not always pick his misfiring striker but he defends him to the last.
He said: “I was unhappy with camerman chasing Torres before the game. It wasn’t professional and I told him so.”
Mourinho’s men were everything that had been missing in each of their two previous league defeats. Gone was the arrogance and in its place was a fierce desire not to fail again.
They were quicker to the ball, went flying into tackles and Stoke were forced back. It was no surprise when the home side took a 32nd-minute lead.
Nemanja Matic broke clear on the right and his cross was met first time by Salah.
Stoke staged a fierce late rally but the final magic came from Brazilian Willian with a stunning 18-yard strike.
Stoke boss Mark Hughes said: “It’s a wake-up call and we need to get back to what we have been doing previously. I hope some don’t think it’s holiday time. It’ll be my job to remind them otherwise next week.”
★ PSG warmed up for their trip to Chelsea by beating Reims 3-0. Boss Laurent Blanc made eight changes to his side but Edinson Cavani opened the scoring, before blundering Reims defender Aissa Mandi scored TWO own goals.

 

 

 

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