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By Martin Samuel
Perfect start: Salomon Kalou is congratulated by Florent Malouda after scoring Chelsea's opening goalIf this had been a cricket match it would have been one of those investigated by the ICC for suspicious scoring patterns.
Chelsea were four goals up before half-time, at which moment anything was possible, even double figures.
The sole final score that nobody considered probable was 4-0. The prospect of Chelsea failing to add to their first-half total was unthinkable.
In the circumstances — and ruling out the potential for foul play — bookmakers must have cleaned up.
Hit a little, block a little, is supposed to be the formula for successful spot fixing in one-day cricket, and score plenty, score none at all, would certainly work equally well in football.
There is no question, however, of Chelsea deliberately failing to grind Blackpool into the dust, their surprising 45-minute drought being a combination of ennui, desperate defending, poor finishing and a revival that, incredibly, saw the opposition amass the best chances of the half.
Branislav Ivanovic cleared off the line and Petr Cech made several good saves, enabling the visiting supporters to add genial mockery to their appealing disposition by informing Chelsea that they were not as good as Arsenal (who beat Blackpool 6-0 at home).
‘You’ve only got four,’ they teased to the tune of Sloop John B and, ironic or not, there was the odd boo from the home support when Mark Clattenburg brought the game to a halt, Chelsea no further forward than they had been at the break.
Still, mustn’t grumble. Even an average Chelsea performance is a thing of beauty these days, and this was a completely average Chelsea performance, in that before the game they had scored 40 goals in 10 games and after it they had scored 44 in 11.
Doubling up: Florent Malouda celebrates his second goalSo easy has their procession through the Barclays Premier League fixture list been that the sole worry could be that they travel to Manchester City at the end of the week undercooked.
‘We can achieve great performances against very big teams,’ said Florent Malouda, once again exceptional in his wide forward role.
‘People are too concerned about the Manchester City game; they do not give us credit for what we have done before.’
Malouda did, however, add that Chelsea could be more focussed, while Didier Drogba blamed a lack of concentration for Chelsea’s journey backwards through the gears.
They will need to be sharper for longer in Manchester on Saturday, make no mistake about that.
Blackpool could not even afford a meal at Stamford Bridge, let alone attempt to compete with the many millions thrown at the team.
Too easy: Drogba scores Chelsea's fourth goalThey asked Chelsea to cost portions of lasagne to be consumed on the return journey north, and the quote came back at £15 per head.
Too rich for Blackpool’s blood, apparently. The chairman had a pink fit when Newcastle asked them for a fiver each for lasagne earlier this month. Sandwiches it was, then.
They would certainly have worked up an appetite, though. Even playing within themselves, Chelsea’s movement is exhausting and in the first half they were a big blue perpetual motion machine.
A cynic might argue the game was won within 72 seconds when Chelsea scored their first, but they maintained a stunning tempo for the 2,628 seconds that followed, too, and Blackpool were no match.
In addition to the goals, there was a solid penalty appeal from Ashley Cole against defender Dekel Keinan, several near misses and one save from goalkeeper Matthew Gilks that denied Drogba one of the greatest goals of his career.
He started it with a back-heel and one touch later took three defenders out of the game; still, it was not to be.
Family affair: Injured midfielder Frank Lampard watches on from the stands with father Frank, and girlfriend Christine BleakleyBlackpool have only themselves to blame for the day turning sour so quickly, however.
Chelsea won an early corner, Drogba whipped it in, Ivanovic flicked the ball on and Salomon Kalou finished comfortably at the far post.
Stage fright struck Ian Holloway’s men instantly, with unsurprising results. In the 12th minute, a fine pass from Michael Essien found Drogba on the right and Malouda hit a low shot from his cross for the second.
Cole, in brilliant form this season, then made the third after 30 minutes, his cross picking out Drogba, whose shot wrong-footed the helpless Gilks thanks to an unfortunate deflection.
By now, Chelsea were playing for fun as several outrageous Drogba tricks indicated, but the fourth goal encapsulated the quality that truly makes them special: sublime skill married to a magnificent work ethic.
Cole had gone forward, so Drogba took his place at left back and from that position chased across into midfield to dispossess the slow-witted Elliot Grandin.
Black humour: Charlie Adam's tumble summed up Blackpool's lotHis forward pass from deep was the highlight of the day and was seized by Kalou, who found Malouda for a low shot across Gilks. Perfection.
Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea manager, said it was a pleasure to watch his team play in the first half, before acknowledging that greater challenges lie ahead.
He added that it was hard to maintain the intensity after the fourth goal went in; a frequent problem for him, but one that would delight other managers.
Holloway, for instance. ‘Some of the movement Chelsea showed was just different, my players had never seen anything like it,’ he said.
‘They are a credit to the club. Anyone who beats them must have a fantastic team.
'In some ways this was always going to happen. The fact is, we’ve got to get closer to these teams than we are now, because we’re light years away.’
Perhaps the moment that summed up that fact came in the 62nd minute when Blackpool captain Charlie Adam began to sprint with the ball down the left flank. Malouda kept him company, almost coasting.
On Adam went, lacking the speed to leave his man behind, or the flair to beat him with a cunning turn. Malouda maintained his pace, almost curiously by now, waiting for the denouement.
Adam reached the by-line, still resolutely one paced, shaped to cross, stubbed a foot in the turf and fell over. The ball rolled into touch. Everyone laughed, even the Blackpool contingent.
Well, what else was there to do?
Match facts
Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech 7; Ferreira 6, Alex 6 (Bruma 71min, 6), Ivanovic 7, Cole 8; Essien 8, Mikel 7 (Benayoun 77), Ramires 7 (Zhirkov 74, 6); Malouda 8, Drogba 9, Kalou 7. Subs not used: Turnbull, Sturridge, Anelka, Kakuta. Booked: Drogba.
BLACKPOOL (4-1-4-1): Gilks 7; Eardley 4 (Taylor-Fletcher 46, 6), Keinan 5, Evatt 5, Crainey 5; Baptiste 5; Grandin 5 (Harewood 60, 5), Vaughan 6, Adam 5, Varney 5 (Ormerod 60, 6); Campbell 5.
Subs not used: Halstead, Cathcart, Southern, Carney. Booked: Eardley, Vaughan.
Man of the match: Didier Drogba.
Referee: Mark Clattenburg.
Attendance: 41,761.
source: dailymail
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