Source: Daily_Mail
Chelsea v West Ham live
Follow Sportsmail's coverage of the Barclays Premier League where the London derby between Chelsea and West Ham at Stamford Bridge wraps up Saturday's action. Carlo Ancelotti says his side need to win every game to stand a chance of retaining the title but the Hammers sitting in the relegation zone are just as desperate for the three points. Email me your thoughts on the game at dan.ripley@dailymail.co.uk[LNB] Chelsea 3-0 West Ham (5.30pm)Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, David Luiz, Terry, Cole, Essien (Benayoun 57), Mikel, Lampard, Kalou (Anelka 70), Drogba (Torres 76), Malouda.Subs: Turnbull, Zhirkov, Ferreira, Bertrand.[LNB]Goals: Lampard 44, Torres 84.[LNB]West Ham: Green, Jacobsen, Gabbidon, da Costa, Bridge, Spector, Noble (Keane 60), Hitzlsperger, Sears (Obinna 82), Cole (Piquionne 79), Ba.Subs: Boffin, Tomkins, Boa Morte, Kovac.[LNB]Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire) [LNB]19.25: Chelsea peg the gap back to six points to United at the top, but they have scored two goals more today that takes them to just a couple of strikes shy of the Red Devils' goal difference. It could be all the difference come the end of the season.[LNB]For West Ham they stay bottom, two points adrift of safety, but they did not play all that badly today and look far from a side doomed for the Championship.[LNB]Plenty of football to go yet but not today as that is all from me, thanks for following.[LNB]Full-time: Chelsea 3-0 West Ham[LNB]90+3min: GOAL! CHELSEA 3-0 West Ham[LNB]A harsh scoreline, but a fantastic strike. Florent Malouda latches on to a wayward pass on the edge of the box before blasting a first-time effort into the top corner.[LNB]90min: Four minutes added on.[LNB]89min: More importantly it puts this game to bed, and for the first time in this game Chelsea can breathe a little.[LNB]87min: From OptaJoe:[LNB]903 - Fernando Torres ends a run of 903 minutes without a goal (all comps for Liverpool/Spain/Chelsea) by scoring v West Ham. Patience.[LNB] Finally off the mark: Torres (blue) scores his first Chelsea goal[LNB]84min: GOAL! CHELSEA 2-0 West Ham[LNB]HE HAS DONE IT! Fernando Torres has scored his first Blues goal, and he does well to get it too.[LNB]After conditions force him to cut back on the ball inside the box he simply spins around and curls a left-foot effort into the bottom corner. The relief on his face is a picture and the crowd have gone absolute bonkers.[LNB]83min: Wayward from Ba, he cuts inside 25-yards-out but his shot for once careers off well over.[LNB]82min: As Ba is booked for a mis-timed tackle on Luiz, Victor Obinna replaces Sears.[LNB]80min: But that could have been that. Lampard picks out Torres on the edge of the box and the Spaniard does well to lay the ball off to Anelka, whose first time strike is net bound until Gabbidon heads off the line.[LNB]79min: Frederic Piquionne is on for Cole, West Ham have not gave up yet.[LNB]77min: Half-chance for West Ham as Da Costa heads a free-kick wide.[LNB]76min: Here comes our favourite goal machine, Fernando Torres who is coming on for Drogba. The Ivorian gets a standing ovation from the home fans.[LNB]74min: The 2008 Robbie Keane would have buried these chances all day long. The Irishman does well to latch on to a through ball but with just Cceh to beat, he fires over.[LNB]72min: Amongst all that Nicolas Anelka is on for Kalou.[LNB]71min: Must do better, Seares finds Cole inside the box but instead of shooting first time, he elects to twist and turn one too many times that enables Chelsea to clear their lines.[LNB]69min: Dashed unlucky, David Luiz looks up, clips a shot from 25 yard out that rattles off the crossbar and starts a West Ham counter.[LNB]Ba nearly finishes it with a stunning drive of his own that Cech does well to parry clear, before Keane wastes a chance inside the box by firing straight at the Czech stopper.[LNB]66min: Some handbags between Drogba and Da Costa is quickly nipped in the bud by referee Phil Dowd who has had a fantastic game so far.[LNB]64min: Liquid football, seconds after Lampard has a 30-yard effort parried away, Malouda picks up the pieces, showing neat skill to go around the defence before slamming a right-foot shot into the side-netting.[LNB] Punched clear: West Ham keeper Robert Green is first to a Chelsea cross to clear[LNB]63min: What a great chance for Chelsea. Drogba's ball into the six yard box is perfect and needing just clean contact, Lampard somehow scuffs his effort straight at Green.[LNB]60min: And now Mark Noble needs to be stretchered off. Plenty of players are sliding about, almost aquaplaning on the surface water.[LNB]We may have a nasty incident in this game, and I would not be surprised if the officials were just keeping an eye on these conditions.[LNB]Robbie Keane is on for Noble.[LNB]57min: After a brief warm-up former Hammer Yossi Benayoun is on for Essien.[LNB]55min: Remember that Essien injury in the first-half? Well this looks like the end for him. After receiving the ball, he pulls up in agony before putting the ball out of play and limping off.[LNB]52min: Some hope for West Ham yet, Hitzlsperger's corner is headed on target by Da Costa but Jon Mikel Obi manages to clear it off the line.[LNB]51min: That isn't though, a fine Chelsea move ends with Malouda laying the ball back for Kalou to fire wide when he really should make it 2-0.[LNB]50min: In fitting fashion, this half has been a wash-out so far, neither side can adapt to these conditions and the passing has been quite woeful. Understandable though.[LNB]47min: A downpour at half-time has left plenty of surface water on the pitch. This is perfect conditions for trying your luck from 30 yards out.[LNB]Second-half: A clap of thunder as Chelsea get us going again.[LNB]18.30: Much like the Blues' title chances, the lights are back on at the Bridge.[LNB]18.25: Slightly harsh on West Ham that scoreline but Chelsea took their chances and West Ham didn't.[LNB]In a division like this, you just can't afford to be as wasteful as the Hammers have been this season.[LNB]Half-time: Chelsea 1-0 West Ham[LNB]45min: Two minutes added on, and the electrics have failed in Stamford Bridge due to the thunder storms in London. Still enough daylight to prevent it being a major concern though.[LNB] Slam home: Lampard struck just before half-time[LNB]44min: GOAL! CHELSEA 1-0 West Ham[LNB]Slightly harsh on the Hammers. Ashley Cole manages to escape down the left and his cut-back is buried into the net from close range by Frank Lampard.[LNB]42min: Slight delay in play after David Luiz's brave defending is rewarded with a left elbow from his own keeper. Some time-out while he readjusts to 2011.[LNB]40min: More Hammers chances! Cole is through on goal down the left but his inability to control a ball means Chelsea can get back in numbers and block his shot before scrambling the ball clear.[LNB] Fend off: West Ham's Danny Gabbidon (right) holds off Chelsea's Didier Drogba[LNB]38min: Moments after Drogba claims he should have won a free-kick, West Ham counter with Cole's shot deflected behind for a corner.[LNB]35min: What a goal that would have been! John Terry flicks the ball to Drogba who heads into the path of Ivanovic, but the full-backs first time effort with the volley is closer to the corner flag.[LNB]32min: And from the corner West Ham have the chance of the match! Sears improvises well to flick an effort goalwards but the combination of Ashley Cole and Cech just manages to keep it out.[LNB]31min: Fair play to the Hammers, they are coming back into this and win a corner after Michael Essien turns a cross behind.[LNB]The Ghanaian looks to have tweaked his knee there, worth keeping an eye on.[LNB]29min: Ivanovic is booked after hauling down Ba, but it looks to be his dissent after that's earned him the caution.[LNB]28min: Da Costa is having a mare, his miss-kick allows Drogba a shot on goal but the Ivorian's effort is well over the bar.[LNB]26min: So unlucky from the Hammers! Freddie Sears skins Ashley Cole for pace on the counter and after a delivering a cross to the back post, Jonathan Spector's near-post header is well tipped behind by Cech.[LNB] Weather the storm: West Ham did well to hold out Chelsea early on[LNB]25min: Well hit and well tipped over. Demba Ba unleashes a drive from 25-yards-out which aided by the wet surface is too much to hold for Cech.[LNB]23min: This game is lacking a little bit or urgency. Despite their perils West Ham look content with a point.[LNB]20min: It's coming. Drogba plays in Kalou with a lovely ball over the top but the striker misjudges the bounce and the ball eventually falls for Green.[LNB]18min: Lovely from Malouda. He picks it up on the left before easily coming inside two defenders, but his right foot shot is poor as he drags it well wide of the post.[LNB]17min: Nothing is your answer as Mark Noble sends a long pass straight down Petr Cech's throat.[LNB]16min: Wait, West Ham have a chance here. They win a free-kick on the left 35 yards out, let's see what they can do with it.[LNB]13min: One man I feel sorry for is David Luiz. He must have half the ground's fallen rainfall inside that big hair of his.[LNB]Still Chelsea press with Malouda seeing a goal bound effort blocked inside the box.[LNB]10min: Nice effort from Drogba, his shot skids off the soaked grass 20 yards out but Green shows smart keeping to get his body behind it and keep the low shot out.[LNB]9min: Not too many chances and the under dressed Chelsea fans are taking to the covers inside the ground to get away from the rain. Big softies.[LNB]7min: Thomas Hitzlsperger has already produced three clumsy challenges and it's the third that gets him booked after a silly trip on Salomon Kalou.[LNB]6min: Early closure for the Hammers, they have shut up shop and stuck the two banks of four in front of their 18-yard-box already. All Chelsea.[LNB]3min: Too easy, Manuel da Costa is in no-man's-land as Florent Malouda latches on to a Didier Drogba pass, but Robert Green is quickly off his line to get a crucial block from close range. Big let-off for West Ham as the Frenchman really should score.[LNB]2min: No hand-shake between John Terry and Wayne Bridge by the way...[LNB]Kick-off: West Ham get us going in the rain.[LNB] Snubbed: Terry and Bridge (centre) once again failed to shake hands[LNB]17.27: Hopefully we should have quite a game on our hands, can't see these two teams settling for a draw somehow.[LNB]My pointless prediction:[LNB]Chelsea 4-0 West Ham (brutal I know)[LNB]17.24: It is April after all, glorious sunshine has been replaced by showers in west London as the teams make their way out.[LNB]17.21: As far as being up against it goes, Avram Grant really has a big job on his hands today.[LNB]His side have fallen to the bottom of the table, he is away from home, he is visiting the Champions, his best player is out and his captain is out.[LNB]Is there any cause to be optimistic at all for West Ham fans?[LNB]17.18: Fernando Torres stays on the bench as Carlo Ancelotti takes no chances with his line-up for Chelsea's Barclays Premier League game against West Ham.[LNB]Ancelotti makes just one change from Wednesday night's 3-1 win over Birmingham, recalling the fit-again Branislav Ivanovic at right-back.[LNB]West Ham suffered another massive blow to their survival hopes after captain Matthew Upson is forced out with a chest infection, joining Footballer of the Year Scott Parker and Gary O'Neil on the sidelines.[LNB]17.15: That gap is back up to nine points at the top of the table, but can Chelsea keep their title hopes alive by grabbing three points at Stamford Bridge?[LNB]In doing so they will leave today's opponents West Ham in deep, deep trouble with the Hammers sitting bottom of the Premier League.[LNB]Team news:[LNB]Chelsea v West HamChelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, David Luiz, Terry, Cole, Essien, Mikel, Lampard, Kalou, Drogba, Malouda. Subs: Turnbull, Torres, Benayoun, Zhirkov, Ferreira, Bertrand, Anelka.West Ham: Green, Jacobsen, Gabbidon, da Costa, Bridge, Spector, Noble, Hitzlsperger, Sears, Cole, Ba. Subs: Boffin, Tomkins, Boa Morte, Kovac, Piquionne, Obinna, Keane.Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire)[LNB] Blues brothers: Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou (left) starred in Chelsea's win against Birmingham[LNB] The title race is alive! Chelsea have Fergie and Man United in their sights...West Ham's talismanic midfielder Scott Parker voted player of the year by the Football Writers AssociationAll the latest Chelsea news, features and opinionAll the latest West Ham news, features and opinion[LNB] Explore more:People: Carlo Ancelotti, Matthew Upson, Gary O'Neil, Fernando Torres, John Terry, Wayne Bridge, Robert Green, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Didier Drogba, Petr Cech, Freddie Sears, Ashley Cole, Michael Essien, Frank Lampard, Robbie Keane, Nicolas Anelka Places: London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Spain
