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  • Kick-off: 15:00
  • Venue: Craven Cottage
  • Attendance: 24290
  • Referee: Halsey, M

Live Commentary

90mins

0-2 The referee blows his whistle and Chelsea go top of the table for the first time this season thanks to a couple of goals from a back-to-form Frank Lampard.

88mins

Lampard is replaced by Bridge

88mins

Didier Drogba gets to the bye-line but his intended pull back misses its mark

84mins

Chelsea continue to force the pace leaving Fulham chasing the game with time running out

80mins

FULHAM 0-2 CHELSEA (LAMPARD): Frank Lampard grabs a second after great one-touch team play, sweeping the ball into the far corner of Anti Niemi's goal from the edge of the area

75mins

Shevchenko is replaced by Mikel

73mins

FULHAM 0-1 CHELSEA (LAMPARD): Frank Lampard drills his penalty kick straight down the middle as Niemi chooses wrong and dives to his right-hand-side, after Rosenior's clear hand-ball in the box.

68mins

Kalou weaves into the box but has his shot saved easily by Niemi who was well positioned

64mins

Drogba tries his luck back to goal with a bicycle kick but his effort is well off target

62mins

The best chance so far culminates in Drogba hitting the Fulham bar after two Chelsea shots from Kalou and Shevchencko are blocked by desperate Fulham defending

60mins

Bouba Diop misses an easy chance with his head after a terrific inch-perfect free-kick from Queudrue

56mins

Carvalho brought down Collins John at the edge of the box

56mins

Lampard's corner finds the head of Didier Drogba but his header lacks any real power and is picked up by Niemi

54mins

Kalou comes on for Robben as Jose Mourinho tries to regain control of the game

52mins

Fulham begin to turn the pressure up as a cross is cleared by Carvalho to give the home side a corner

50mins

Brown picks up thesave from Cech denies him ball from Volz inside the area but a brave

48mins

John looked to have broken free but is adjudged to be off-side, a marginal decision!

47mins

Robben floats a corner into the box that is picked up easily byNiemi

46mins

Lampard makes a vital challenge on Rosenior who beat Carvalho on a rare break from the home side

45mins

0-0 The whistle blows on a disappointing first period that saw few chances for either side

44mins

Rosenior makes a darting run down the flank but fails to feed John at the edge of the area

37mins

John conceeded a free-kick after being adjudged to have pulled Ashley Cole's shirt

34mins

Wayne Routledge skins Geremi and Ferreira is forced to make a last ditch tackle to rob him

30mins

Geremi has a strike at goal from a free kick that goes just inches wide

29mins

Essien has a shot from the edge of his area that Niemi comfortably deals with

26mins

Robben has a shot that hits the woodwork from the edge of the area!

25mins

Franck Queudrue has a speculative shot from the edge of the area that is closed down

20mins

Collins John has a shot from the edge of the area but is doesn't trouble Petr Cech

18mins

Arjen Robben crosses for Didier Drogba who struggles to make decent contact and heads wide

16mins

Franck Queudrue plays a good ball into the area but Paulo Ferreira heads it out for a corner

11mins

Petr Cech is forced into action saving from Wayne Routledge who had a shot on the break

10mins

A shot comes in from Didier Drogba that has the keeper scrambling but goes just wide

8mins

Geremi is forced to clear the ball after Wayne Routledge mounts the first serious attack from the home side

7mins

Frank Lampard has a shot from outside the box but Anti Niemi watches it rise over the bar

4mins

Arjen Robben goes down just outside the box but the referee allows play to go onArjen Robben goes down just outside the box but the referee allows play to go on

3mins

Ian Pearce wins the ball off Andriy Shevchencko to the cheers of the home fansIan Pearce wins the ball off Andriy Shevchencko to the cheers of the home fansIan Pearce wins the ball off Andriy Shevchencko to the cheers of the home fans

1mins

Zat Knight gets ahead of Didier Drogba and clears the danger as the Blues try an early long ball.

0mins

Whilst Chelsea captain John Terry is out with a back problem, Robben starts his first game since the premiership opener against Manchester City after recovering from a calf injury and Michael Ballck begins his three match ban.

0mins

Fulham go into this local derby against Chelsea without a host of players. Luis Boa Morte, Jimmy Bullard, Ahmad Elrich, Simon Elliott, Mark Pembridge and Philippe Christanval are all ruled out.

Match Report

Frank Lampard roared back to form with two goals, including one from the penalty spot to give Chelsea a 2-0 victory at Fulham.

Lampard has taken so much stick this season and even lost his job as penalty taker to Michael Ballack after missing one against Charlton.

But with Ballack suspended at Craven Cottage he thumped home a spot-kick after 72 minutes to break Fulham's hearts in a match in which the home side had battled superbly to that point.

As is the way of these things, the England midfielder then scored a superb second, firing home a trademark effort from the edge of the area following a Didier Drogba lay-off. It clinched a fantastic result for the champions who had to play the match without captain John Terry because of a back injury.

But it was terribly harsh on Fulham who had put absolutely everything into the opening 70 minutes without reward.

They did superbly in the first half to both keep Chelsea at bay and to pose problems of their own.

With Michael Brown buzzing around midfield like a man possessed and Liam Rosenior getting forward at every opportunity down the right flank, the visitors looked in trouble.

The Blues began the match without Terry, who injured his back before the game and was unable to play. That meant Paulo Ferreira stepping in at centre-back because first choice replacement Khalid Boulahrouz was ill with Geremi coming into the side at right-back.

It looked like a real chance for Fulham to repeat their heroics of last season when they beat the champions 1-0 here at Craven Cottage.

So the only disappointment was that manager Chris Coleman chose to play only one man up front, in the shape of Collins John, and fill his midfield instead.

It worked to an extent because Chelsea were rattled by Fulham's high-energy performance, but the problem for Fulham was that they never looked like creating chances. The only real one of the first half saw Wayne Routledge send in a curling shot from inside the area, which Petr Cech palmed away with both hands.

In contrast, Chelsea had Arjen Robben back from injury and firing on all cylinders. He came close to opening the scoring with a stunning left-foot shot that curled and swerved in the air from 25 yards before smashing against the crossbar after 24 minutes.

After the break Fulham continued their high-energy approach and if anything upped the tempo as the home crowd roared them on.

They almost grabbed a lead when Lampard's mistake allowed in Brown, but as he strode into the area Cech flung himself bravely and forcefully at his feet to deny him a goal. Papa Bouba Diop then missed a glorious chance for the home side, heading tamely wide at the far post from a Franck Queuedrue free-kick when it seemed easier to score. And that really was the turning point.

Chelsea brought on Salomon Kalou to liven things up and Chelsea suddenly moved up gear. But it took a terrible mistake from Liam Rosenior to gift them a lead when he fell to the floor as he tried to challenge Kalou in the box and clearly handled the ball.

Lampard smashed the penalty straight down the middle and minutes later he strode onto Drogba's flick to drive home Chelsea's second and decisive goal.

Fulham Team

Chelsea Team

Fulham

Chelsea

Corners

57

Fouls

199

Goal attempts

714

Shots off target

36

Offsides

31

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