Match Report: Chelsea 7 - 0 Stoke City

Salomon Kalou's hat-trick helped a rampant Chelsea thrash Stoke and return to the top of the Premier League.

Kalou headed home Didier Drogba's cross before Stoke keeper Thomas Sorensen sustained a suspected broken elbow as Kalou slid in to score his second goal.

Lampard made it 3-0 from the spot after Robert Huth fouled Kalou, who then ran clear to complete his hat-trick.

Lampard hooked home a fifth and Daniel Sturridge's cool finish and a Florent Malouda tap-in completed the rout.

Chelsea's performance was an emphatic response to last week's defeat by Tottenham that had given Manchester United renewed hope in the title race.

United had beaten Spurs on Saturday to overhaul the Blues at the top of the table but, before they faced Stoke, Carlo Ancelotti's side still knew that they would win the Premier League for the first time since 2006 if they won their three remaining matches.

If the Blues felt the pressure, they did not show it; pouring forward from the start.

And, while next weekend's visit to Anfield is seen as Chelsea's most problematic fixture, the Potters are not known for being easily rolled over so the manner in which Ancelotti's side went about their task was even more impressive.

The Blues were also boosted by the return to action of Ashley Cole, making his first appearance since suffering an ankle injury on 10 Februay, and he had a useful run-out in front of watching England coach Fabio Capello.

Cole came close to getting on the scoresheet early on, following up after Sorensen had pushed away Lampard's 25-yard effort but seeing the Dane keep out his snap-shot.

Sorensen produced an even better stop to save Drogba's near-post header from Paulo Ferreir, before Drogba shot wildly over after he had taken the ball around the Potters keeper.

It seemed just a matter of time until Chelsea made the breaktrhough, and their opening goal duly arrived on 24 minutes.

Drogba brought down Florent Malouda's cross-field pass with brilliant touch and sent over an inviting cross from the right for Kalou to stoop and head home from close range.

A second goal quickly followed but there was controversy over the way Kalou followed up Lampard's first-time shot to put the ball in the net, with Sorensen taken to hospital after being caught by his wild challenge for the loose ball.

Stoke could also be unhappy about referee Steve Bennett's decision to let Lampard extend Chelsea's lead from the spot before the break, as Huth tangled with Kalou outside the box but the winger stayed on his feet until he got inside the area.

There was an element of lethargy about the Blues at the start of the second half, and it appeared they were happy to save their energy for that crunch clash with Liverpool on 2 May.

But the final 21 minutes saw a glut of goals which reflected the home side's complete dominance and could also prove crucial should the title come down to goal difference.

First Lampard released Kalou, who cut in from the right and fired home the rebound after Stoke's replacement keeper Asmir Begovic saved his first effort.

Malouda then somehow failed to convert Nicolas Anelka's cross despite being virtually on the goal-line and he was also denied by Begovic's instinctive save.

There was no stopping Chelsea, however, and Sam Hutchinson's superb cross from the right was brilliantly turned in by Lampard at the far post, for his 20th league goal of the season.

Before the end, Drogba set Sturridge free to round Begovic and slot home and Malouda met Joe Cole's cross to round off a stunning victory.

Joe Cole Tells Chelsea The Next Four Years Will Be His Best As Contract Confusion Continues

Joe Cole has admitted his future at Chelsea is still uncertain, but sent a message to both the Blues and any potential employers by claiming his next four years are going to be the best of his career.

The former West Ham United star is out of contract at the end of the season and has been linked with moves to the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United in the past.

The midfield fulcrum's priority remains staying with Chelsea though, and he says he's getting ready for his peak footballing years after returning from injury this season.

“I can’t wait to see what happens with the contract talks but I just need to keep on playing well,” he said to The Sunday Mirror.

“My best years are going to be my next four years. I don’t rely on pace, I keep myself fit and look after myself, so these next few years will be my best.”

Despite the uncertainties, Cole is fully focused on securing what would be a glorious Premier League and FA Cup double over the final weeks of the season.

“During my injury there were those bad thoughts that cropped up, but now I am back and concentrating on playing well,” he added.

“It’s been too long without the league title and we’ve got the cup final too. If we won both of them it would be perfect.

“I’m happy at Chelsea and my main concern is just winning games.”

Chelsea Insist Sex Allegations Won't Stop Them From Trying To Sign Franck Ribery

Chelsea have confirmed that they would not rule out a bid for Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery, who was questioned by French police last week as part of an investigation into allegations of illegal underage prostitution.

The £50 million-rated France winger is currently being interviewed as a witness after allegations that he paid a 17-year-old girl for sex.

Paying for sex is legal in France as long as the consenting party is an adult. Ribery’s lawyers claim the player was unaware the girl was a minor.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has ordered a crackdown on players’ behaviour to improve the image of the club after the publicity created by Ashley Cole’s extramarital affairs.

But Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti says that while the club will not rule out any player because of past behaviour, it will be impressed on any new signings this summer that they are expected to maintain a high standard once they join the club.

Ancelotti said: ‘We don’t have to look to the past of people. If we need to have new players, they will know how they have to behave when they are at Chelsea.’

Chelsea have long harboured ambitions to sign Ribery, although the Frenchman’s preference is for Real Madrid and the Spanish club are expected to complete the transfer this summer.

Chelsea took on Stoke on Sunday without suspended captain John Terry, although they were boosted by the return of Cole after two months out injured. In the wake of last weekend’s defeat at Tottenham, which may yet undermine their title hopes, Abramovich met Ancelotti at Chelsea’s training ground last Tuesday.

But the Russian owner did not address the players, as he did when the club went out of the Champions League against Inter Milan, which suggests that Abramovich is content with his Italian manager.

The Chelsea owner has been advised by consultant Guus Hiddink that what the club needs now is stability as it seeks the Double for the first time in its history.

Ancelotti said: ‘He (Abramovich) is very excited and he has great passion. He’s very involved in the squad. I enjoy talking with him because he has a lot of knowledge of football and he likes to speak about it. It was a personal conversation but we spoke about the tactics against Tottenham. He is competent to discuss such things.’

But Abramovich and Ancelotti have already decided they need to bring down the average age of the squad to inject fresh energy into the club for next season, with five members of the youth academy — Jeffrey Bruma, Gael Kakuta, Fabio Borini, Patrick van Aanholt and Nemanja Matic — to be promoted into the first-team squad.

Next season, Premier League teams will be limited to squads of 25, with at least eight players to have been at the club since the age of 18, meaning Chelsea will have to re-structure.

With Michael Ballack, 33 and Joe Cole, 29, out of contract in the summer and as yet having failed to agree new deals which involve taking a pay cut, Chelsea are making a concerted effort to cut costs after recording further losses of £44.4m in 2009.

Nicolas Anelka, 31, is also out of contract but is close to agreeing a new deal but Paulo Ferreira, 30, Deco, 32, and Juliano Belleti, 33, are all likely to depart. But Abramovich now has to decide whether to inject more money to secure another superstar transfer.

Midfielder Deco Reveals Chelsea Summer Exit Plan

Chelsea's Portuguese international Deco plans to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer to go back to Brazil to help run a school he has founded.

The 32-year-old Brazil-born midfielder had previously said he will quit the international game after the World Cup.

Deco joined Chelsea from Barcelona in 2008 and told the Sunday Times he would be "nostalgic" when he left the club.

"In football you must achieve something when you are young, stay as long as you can, then it's over," he said.

Deco was born in the Brazilian city of Sao Bernardo do Campo and moved to Portugal at the age of 19, gaining Portuguese citizenship in 2002.

He said it had always been his intention to go back to Brazil to work with the poor, but he gave no hint about whether he planned to play for a Brazilian club once back there.

"It will be strange to leave Chelsea but with football this is always the way," he said.

"My friend Mike, a doctor in Brazil, was telling me that one day I will be an ex-footballer but he will never be an ex-doctor.

"In most jobs you do not become an ex-doctor or an ex-engineer or an ex-dentist, you build up your career slowly, getting better and better at what you do.

"With a footballer you can't do that."

Chelsea Track PSV Eindhoven Starlet Labyad

Chelsea are monitoring PSV Eindhoven wonderkid Zakaria Labyad, who is wanted by some of Europe's top clubs, according to the News of the World.

The 17-year-old midfielder has developed through the ranks of the PSV Eindhoven youth system and this year has broken his way into the first team.

Although he has made only a handful of appearances, Labyad is considered to have enormous potential and scored twice during last week's 3-1 win over Groningen.

However, should Chelsea step up their interest in Labyad, they will reportedly face competition from the likes of Barcelona and AC Milan, who are also tracking his progress, according to the News of the World.

Labyad can play in either the centre or on the right of midfield and is a Dutch under-17 international.

Chelsea have made it a priority to search the continent for top talent in recent years and will weigh up whether to make a move for Labyad before he attracts further attention from rivals.

Ivanovic: The Only Option

Branislav Ivanovic reverted to the centre of defence for this Sunday's clash against Stoke City, knowing nothing less than a win will do.

It will be only the eighth time this season the versatile Serb has started in the middle, with his 30 other appearances coming from right-back in the absence of Jose Bosingwa, missing since October with a knee injury.

For the first time in the Barclays Premier League this season, we will be without the leadership of John Terry, suspended after his red card at Tottenham last weekend, so it is Ivanovic who steps in to fill the vacancy.

'Who else can play there?' joked the 26-year-old, who has looked so comfortable on the right flank for most of the campaign. 'It is always difficult the first game when you change position but it doesn't matter, the first, most important and only thing is that we have to win this game.

'We play at home and we know how we have to play against Stoke, we already played them at home in the FA Cup. In the moment this is the only important thing.'

Anything less than a victory means we hand Manchester United the opportunity to overtake us in the title race, yet despite their safe mid-table position, with no threat of relegation nor chance of qualifying for Europe, Ivanovic is only too aware that Stoke will be giving nothing away.

'The Stoke mentality is that they can play without pressure, when you play against big teams you always want to show everything, show your best, and with no pressure you can be more relaxed,' Ivanovic explained. 'We have to stay focused and we know what we have to do on Sunday and we will do everything to win the game.

'In Serbia maybe, probably a team like Stoke would give up against Chelsea, but I have been here two years and I see everything about the smaller teams. Here every team can win against big teams, it is what makes football in England so exciting.'

As much as we love the drama, we would all appreciate there being no tales of the unexpected this afternoon.

Youth Report: Chelsea 3 - 2 Cardiff City

Another committed performance from a Chelsea youth side earned Chelsea threee points at home to Cardiff City on Saturday.

Two goals from Bobby Devyne and a winner from captain Daniel Philliskirk ensured the three points stayed in Cobham, with most of the side eligible for FA Youth Cup Final action this midweek rested by coach Dermot Drummy.

Goalkeeper Sam Walker, impressive throughout, was the only regular in the Youth Cup run to feature, as we named a similar side to the one that lost so narrowly to Leicester last weekend.

The Blues raced into a two-goal lead in the first half courtesy of Devyne, who had missed an early chance but made amends when he converted a cross from the left at the second attempt, and then latched onto a George Saville through ball to slot home and double the lead.

Six minutes before half-time Cardiff pulled one back on the breakaway, and equalised a minute before the break to send the lads in at 2-2.

In the second half, we sealed victory when Toddy Kane made a run from full-back, through midfield and ended up on the left-side bye-line, cutting the ball back superbly for Philliskirk to smash home into the corner.

Once again Drummy was pleased with the effort and attitude of his players after a win that leaves them fourth in the Academy Premier League Group A table.

'We finished with two Under-15s (Kane, John Swift) and an Under 16 (Nathaniel Chalobah) and they all acquitted themselves well, so that was good for their development,' he said, 'and I was really pleased with the attitude of the lads, those on the periphery of the Youth Cup squad are doing really well in trying to prove themselves and wanting to be a part of it.'

Alan Hansen: A Jittery John Terry Could Hamper England's World Cup Hopes

Liverpool legend and television pundit Alan Hansen feels that Chelsea captain John Terry's recent out-of-sorts displays could cost England World Cup glory this summer.

The Chelsea skipper’s form has dipped after a turbulent season that has seen him lose the England captaincy and endure a very public clash with former team-mate Wayne Bridge.

Hansen told Daily Star Sunday: “By his standards he’s had an indifferent season.

“He has been on the deck more times than he has in the last four seasons put together.

“Terry has never been the quickest. He’s always been a brilliant positional player, brilliant in the air and very good on the ball.

“But this season he’s had one or two niggles.

“What happens with centre-backs is they got older and suddenly they lose that bit of pace they had. They tend to go to ground more.”

Despite his problems, Hansen thinks Capello will start with Terry against the United States in England’s first game on June 12.

Hansen added: “If he is fit and playing well, it enhances England’s chances of getting to the semi-final.

“Rio Ferdinand has also been injured. It’s a big risk to throw two rookies into the World Cup finals, who’ve never played alongside each other.

“That’s where the manager earns his money.

“He’s got to have a look at Michael Dawson.

“But I imagine he’ll be inclined to play Ferdinand and Terry all the course.

"If you’ve got a concern about them would you take Ledley King who can potentially get injured?

“There will always be a problem with the goalkeeper. I don’t think there’s one who stands out.

“Joe Hart’s had a great season but he’s a kid.

“Would you as a centre-back want to play with a kid? No.

“Paul Robinson has had a fantastic season. Will Capello pick him? Probably not.

“And Robert Green and David James are not playing for strong sides.

“They’ve been picking the ball out of the net consistently all season.”

Roman Abramovich Blundered By Letting José Mourinho Leave Chelsea

José Mourinho proved himself at Porto, won two titles at Chelsea and is on the verge of a second Champions League final

Ten years ago this month Chelsea took a 3-1 lead to the Camp Nou in the knockout stages of the Champions League, only to have their European ambitions put into firm perspective by five Barcelona goals before a crowd of 100,000, even if they did take the second leg into extra time.

At that time Barcelona were the third best team in Spain, at least on the evidence offered by Valencia knocking them out in the next round and going on to contest the final with Real Madrid. As they have since improved to the tune of accumulating two European Cups, three La Liga titles and unofficial status as the planet's favourite team, Internazionale's 3-1 advantage from the first leg of this year's semi-final does not quite entitle the Italians to begin booking hotels in Madrid.

Yet Inter can approach Wednesday's away leg with confidence. They have the hottest property in management in charge of their team, something Chelsea in 2000 had to wait another four years for Roman Abramovich to bring about. If it is true that Abramovich's main priority has always been to win the Champions League then he should be disappointed with José Mourinho and with himself in equal measure. With the coach because, although he came close on a couple of occasions, Mourinho never managed to reach a European Cup final in his three years at Chelsea, despite a level of financial backing that was the envy of most of his rivals. With himself because the team Mourinho had moulded did reach the final in the season Abramovich prematurely called time on his turbulent coach, and would have done so again the following year but for the most erratic display of refereeing the competition has ever witnessed. It seems impossible to believe, in the light of the way Mourinho has transformed the perennial European underachievers he took over at San Siro, that a Champions League trophy would not now be sitting on Chelsea's shelf had Abramovich not chosen to waver from his original bold but beautifully simple plan.

It may not appear to have been all that bold of Chelsea to buy up the dashing young manager who had just won the Champions League with unfancied Porto, though in 2004, just before Mourinho cavalierly announced himself as the special one, it was not obvious he would be an instant success. His Uefa Cup win the previous season was chiefly recalled for a dull final against Celtic. Porto finished second behind Real Madrid in their Champions League group, though Mourinho did manage to get a good look at Didier Drogba when beating Marseille home and away. The defeat of Manchester United that pushed Mourinho unblinking into the spotlight owed everything to a Tim Howard fumble and a legitimate Paul Scholes goal that was incorrectly disallowed, while, thanks in part to excessive tinkering by Claudio Ranieri in Chelsea's semi-final first leg, Porto only had to beat the similarly unheralded Monaco in the eventual final.

The point is that Mourinho was not then the best coach in the business. He may certainly have been the sharpest, swankiest and most entertaining, but he still had something to prove in a bigger league with a bigger budget. By bringing Chelsea two league titles in his first two seasons he proved it, and Abramovich should have noted that and found a way of putting up with the background noise. Because if Inter hold on to their advantage and Mourinho takes a second team into a Champions League final, even the possibility of Louis van Gaal staking a similar claim to immortality the previous evening will not disguise the fact that Chelsea had the top man at the peak of his career and blundered by letting him go.

Mourinho's age alone makes him an attractive proposition for leading European clubs looking for longevity, not that many of them actually seem to be. At 47 Mourinho could easily enjoy another decade or longer at the top. When Chelsea got him he was three years younger than Sir Alex Ferguson when he joined Manchester United, and he rewarded them with instant success. Now it looks as though Mourinho could eventually succeed Ferguson at Old Trafford, and Chelsea would only have themselves to blame. They may have to plead with him to return to Stamford Bridge to avoid that embarrassment, although, given United's financial uncertainty and Manchester City's as yet unsecured Champions League status, a stay at Real Madrid still appears a stronger possibility. Successful or not, Mourinho could not have made it any plainer that he does not feel at home in Italy.

So the scene is set for football's showiest character to make more showy history. Should Inter conquer Barcelona and whoever they meet in Madrid, two sizeable ifs, Mourinho will not be the first coach to win the European Cup with two different clubs. Ernst Happel and Ottmar Hitzfeld have done that. Mourinho might, just might, become the first manager to win a second Champions League medal with a second club and walk away without a second glance.