Match Report: Chelsea 2 - 0 Stoke City

It did not rain goals at Stamford Bridge for a change but Florent Malouda and Didier Drogba still came up with two vital strikes to keep Chelsea's 100% record intact at the top of the Premier League.

Malouda expertly converted a first-half opportunity with his right foot against a Stoke side made of much sterner stuff than the Tony Pulis team who surrendered seven at the Bridge back in April.

And Drogba supplied the coup de grace with a second-half penalty after Thomas Sorensen had brought down Nicolas Anelka.

Chelsea even had the luxury of seeing Frank Lampard miss the tamest of first-half penalties.

Roman Abramovich certainly cannot complain with the entertainment on show at Stamford Bridge these days.

Nor with the battling qualities of a Chelsea side who dug out this win as opposed to destroying the opposition as they had done in previous weeks.

Chelsea's starting line-up showed just one change with Paulo Ferreira coming in for fullback Branislav Ivanovic. who was suffering from a back injury.

For Stoke, goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, linked with Chelsea and reported to have refused to play against Shrewsbury in the Carling Cup in midweek, was on the bench with Thomas Sorensen starting.

But while it was not the goal rout of recent weeks, Chelsea were by far the classier side, giving warning of what was to come within five minutes when Michael Essien split the Stoke defence with a pass into the path of Ashley Cole to set up a chance the England fullback pulled wide.

Stoke also had their chances early on, Dean Whitehead bringing a sharp save from Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech with a snap shot following a neat one-two with Kenwyne Jones and Jonathan Walters lifting a lob on to the top of the Chelsea net.

It would have made it even easier for Chelsea, of course, if Lampard had not missed that penalty on 10 minutes after Ryan Shawcross brought down Drogba.

It was a poor spot kick, side-footed to Sorensen's left-hand side and the Stoke goalkeeper had no problem falling on the ball.

Sorensen also punched away a savagely-struck free-kick from Drogba in a first-half which could easily have turned into another goal landslide.

Much of that was to do with Essien and Lampard who ran the midfield with precision passing and fluent movement. It was no surprise when the breakthrough came in the 32nd minute.

This time captain John Terry provided the killer pass, threading a ball through for Malouda to run on to and smash a right-foot shot past Sorensen for his fourth goal of the season.

When this Chelsea side get ahead they are difficult to catch. Carlo Ancelotti does not apply the brakes like Jose Mourinho, who was content to shut up shop from a winning position.

They surge forward looking for more goals, none more so than Cole who met a ball floated into the box acrobatically on the volley only to see his shot rattle the Stoke bar and rebound to safety.

Sorensen was required again in the second-half, most notably to save a point-blank header from Drogba following a floated cross from Anelka.

To Stoke's credit they did not capitulate. They dug in with substitute Glenn Whelan giving them more bite and direction.

Indeed, he provided the shot of the second-half, giving Chelsea something of a fright when he stepped forward and cracked a 25-yard shot against Cech's crossbar only to see the ball bounce down and away to safety.

But the game was sealed for Chelsea when Sorensen was bedazzled by Anelka's pace and Drogba slotted home from the penalty spot.

There was just time for Daniel Sturridge, on his 21st birthday, to come on for Anelka and Brazilian midfielder Ramires to make his debut from the bench.

So Chelsea march on. Fourteen league goals scored. None conceded. They look unstoppable.

Stoke City Want £10 Million For Chelsea Target Asmir Begovic

Stoke City reportedly want £10 million if they are to let go of goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.

The 23-year-old shot-stopper has been heavily linked with a move to Premier League champions Chelsea, and the 'keeper is believed to have refused to play in a League Cup fixture against Shrewsbury Town in the hope of making a switch to Stamford Bridge.

The Potters boss Tony Pulis had previously maintained that it was the player's decision not to take to the pitch, while the former Portsmouth custodian has since contacted the PFA to indicate that he felt mentally unfit to play.

Now the Daily Mail claims that the Staffordshire club have placed a £10m asking price if the promising 'keeper is to walk away from the Britannia Stadium.

Manchester City have also been linked with a move for Begovic.

Anelka Defended By Paclet

Former France team doctor Jean-Pierre Paclet has insisted Nicolas Anelka was not the problem at the World Cup.

Les Bleus endured a disastrous campaign on and off the pitch as they not only failed to advance past the group phase but were also beset by dressing-room disharmony.

Anelka was sent home following a bust-up with then manager Raymond Domenech, and the rest of the squad later refused to train.

But Paclet, in extracts from his book L'Implosion reproduced in the Sunday Times, has played down the player's perceived disruptive influence and insisted Domenech was aware of the 31-year-old's feelings on his lone striker role, which appears to have been the root cause of the dispute.

"When Domenech went to see Anelka at Chelsealast season, Anelka warned him, let him know that there was no point taking him to South Africa if it was to play him in a position he didn't like," he wrote.

"The problem with the French team wasn't Anelka. You have to understand he is loved within the squad, immensely popular, even if he's introverted."

One French player not to make the World Cup squad was Samir Nasri but Paclet has criticised the Arsenal midfielder for his attitude.

Paclet alleges that the 23-year-old was a source of a disquiet which dates back further than June after upsetting captain Patrice Evra and senior professionals Thierry Henry, William Gallas and former Marseille team-mate Franck Ribery.

"Here was a kid with a dozen caps looking down on players with a hundred. Scarcely believable," Paclet claimed.

"His behaviour gets on the nerves of almost everybody and he has the gift of really annoying Henry, Gallas and Patrice Evra.

"Most of all, the relationship between Nasri and Ribery was very tense, from the time they were together at Marseille. They were more like kids in a playground rather than professionals on a pitch.

"Ribery would cause general laughter if, say, he put salt in my coffee. If he did it to Nasri, there would be no sense of humour from him."

Drogba Rested Again By Ivory Coast

Didier Drogba will sit out a second successive international for the Ivory Coast, who have left him out of the squad for next Saturday's African Nations Cup qualifier against Rwanda.

The same privilege has not be accorded to any other of the team's big-name players such as Emmanuel Eboue, Kolo Toure, his brother Yaya and Salomon Kalou, who are all in the 20-man squad for the Group H game in Abidjan.

Drogba's place is taken again by Monaco's Yannick Sagbo, who won his first cap earlier this month when the Ivorians beat Italy 1-0 in London earlier this month without the Chelsea forward.

Sagbo is one of only three squad members who did not go to the World Cup in South Africa as new coach Francois Zahoui, only last week confirmed as the replacement for Sven Goran Eriksson, kept faith with his predecessor's choices.

The midfield pair of Kafoumba Coulibaly and Emerse Fae from French club Nice have both returned to the squad after being overlooked for South Africa.

Chelsea Confirm Frank Lampard Out Of England's Euro 2012 Qualifiers Against Bulgaria And Switzerland

England will be forced to make do without the services of midfielder Frank Lampard for their forthcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers after Chelsea confirmed the midfielder will undergo surgery in midweek.

Fabio Capello’s men open their campaign against Bulgaria on Friday night at Wembley before heading to Switzerland the following Tuesday with the Italian set to name his squad on Sunday night.

Lampard started Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Stoke City today, missing a first half penalty and was substituted in the second half with Saloman Kalou the man to replace him.

The club has subsequently confirmed to the BBC that Lampard will have hernia surgery in midweek and will therefore miss England’s next two matches, although they club haven’t revealed exactly how long the 32-year-old is expected to be out for.

However, manager Carlo Ancelotti told the club's official website: "He [Lampard] has a problem on his groin.

"He had the surgery ten years ago and this week was not very good. He also didn't feel well in the game.

"So the only solution is to have surgery this week, maybe he will do this Tuesday or Wednesday. It means he is not able to play for the national team.

"He'll be ready in one week or two weeks. We have experience because it is the same surgery as [Didier] Drogba and Drogba took one week before he was able to train.

"It is not a big problem. It is very easy surgery but he needs it because he started to feel pain."

The news will be a blow to manager Capello who is already under pressure to get the Three Lions off to a good start following their dismal showing at this summer’s World Cup.

John Terry Out Of England's Euro 2012 Qualifiers Against Bulgaria And Switzerland With Hamstring Injury

Chelsea captain John Terry will miss England’s Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland, the club has confirmed.

Terry played for the Premier League champions in their 2-0 win against Stoke on Saturday but has picked up a hamstring injury that has hampered him since the start of pre-season.

After the defender spoke to Chelsea and England doctors it was decided that Terry’s injury would benefit from a period of rest and rehabilitation.

This will come as a blow to England manager Fabio Capello ahead of the qualifiers next week, having already lost midfielder Frank Lampard who needs a hernia operation and with doubts surrounding Bobby Zamora who was injured in Fulham’s draw with Blackpool.

Capello Didn't Know How To Talk To Players

Fabio Capello was grumpy, hard to talk to and unwilling to discuss tactics with his players.

Carlo Ancelotti is not talking about the World Cup in South Africa.

In his new autobiography, the Chelsea manager admits he learned much from Capello when his fellow Italian took charge of AC Milan in 1991 for what turned out to be Ancelotti's last season as a player.

But the England stars gathering for Euro 2012 qualifiers may also recognize the character flaws Ancelotti spotted almost 20 years ago.

Ancelotti said: "Capello was a very serious manager. He demanded discipline and understood intuitively how to shape his team to disrupt his opponents' play.

"He was a master at reading a match, that was his strongest skill. From that point of view, I had to tip my hat to him. But as a human being - well, that's another matter. He was a grouch, he didn't know how to talk to players and, most importantly, he didn't like discussing technical matters with us.

"An exchange of views on strategy was alien to him and so it never happened.

"Maybe that's why there were so many verbal clashes with the players.

"Maybe that's why one day Ruud Gullit hung him up on the wall in the locker room. Once again I had to tip my hat. The Italian for hat is 'cappello' and Capello was dangling from a hat rack - it almost seemed predestined - with his shoes a few inches from the floor.

"Capello, reading the newspaper: 'Ruud, you said things here that weren't true. You're a liar.'

"Gullit, without reading the newspaper: 'Now I'm going to set you straight.' Brawl. I'm pretty sure that a lot of the players were rooting for Gullit, but we all pitched in and separated them.

"But to Capello's credit, after anything of the sort happened he just cancelled it from his memory. As if nothing had happened. He started over from nothing. He pretended not to remember, for the good of the team and for his own good."

There is clearly no love lost between Capello and Ancelotti and the Chelsea boss recalls that in 2006 he signed a pre-contract with Real Madrid, but AC Milan Vice-President Adriano Galliani refused to release him.

Only then, says Ancelotti, did Real move for Capello.

"I called up Real Madrid and told them about my conversation with Galliani," said Ancelotti.

I told them: 'Galliani told me that I can't accept your offer. But I thank you; it has been an honour to negotiate with you.' At home, I still have that pre-contract in a box with all my most important things. It's a souvenir of a nice, adrenaline-charged period. At that point, they focused their attention on Capello, who had already worked for them once.

"The Spanish press began pairing his name with mine in articles. The way they told it, it had turned into a battle between him and me, an all-Italian derby.

"In reality, I had signed a pre-contract but I had also already rejected their offer. At a certain point, Capello issued a statement: 'You think Real Madrid wants Ancelotti? Excuse me, but whom did they call first?' He thought he was the only candidate. Often my friends make jokes about that famous phrase. Whenever I invite them for dinner, they say: 'Sure, Carletto, we will be there. But whom did you invite first?'"

But Chelsea fans will not be laughing if Real president Florentino Perez one day gets his man. Ancelotti said: "There have been numerous contacts between Florentino Perez and me.

"He is a person I respect. He knows what he's doing and what he wants.

"He's a romantic, like me. We see eye-to-eye on many points. The last time we talked, he told me: 'Carlo, someday you will be my coach.'

Youths Draw On Wednesday

Chelsea's youths ground out a hard-earned goalless draw at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.

Dermot Drummy's side was up against a more experienced and bigger Owls side, but battled well to earn a point on a difficult away day.

In the first half, Jamal Blackman pulled off a fantastic save to keep the scores level, palming a long-range effort up and over the bar.

Chelsea's best chance fell to Bobby Devyne, who saw his close-range effort cleared off the line. Philipp Prosenik also had a couple of chances, and towards the end of the game Milan Lalkovic almost converted a fine individual run but shot just wide.

'We had three or four good chances but the best thing was, they were very physical but we matched them mentally, and didn't pull out of any tackles,' said coach Dermot Drummy.

'They were really good the boys, they had to stay switched on. Sheffield Wednesday was very physical and we had to match them for that with a really good team ethic, and that's what we did.'

Chelsea team: Jamal Blackman, Toddy Kane, Archange Nkumu, Aziz Deen-Conteh, Ben Sampayo, Anton Rodgers, George Saville, Danny Stenning, Milan Lalkovic, Bobby Devyne, Philipp Prosenik.

Schoolboy Nathaniel Chalobah has represented England Under 17s twice in the last week, first as a 72nd minute substitute in the 2-2 draw with Turkey on Wednesday, and then as a starter in the 4-0 win over Australia on Friday, when he was replaced just before half-time.