Source: Daily_Mail
Portsmouth 0 Chelsea 5: Jinxed James starts rout as Blues close title gap
To begin with, Chelsea owed much to David James and the one member of the groundstaff he might now be glad to see the back of.It was a calamitous error from James that enabled Didier Drogba to open the scoring on Wednesday night, but a nasty bobble on a patchy Fratton Park pitch that sent the ball looping over the Portsmouth goalkeeper's foot as he attempted to make the simplest of clearances. After the break, however, Portsmouth had to accept they were second best against a Chelsea side who will feel they are right back in the title race. They are only one point adrift of Manchester United and level with the champions on goal difference.Blue day: Florent Malouda fires home Chelsea's secondFor Carlo Ancelotti, it was a timely result. He might have said he had nothing to fear from Roman Abramovich but defeat to Avram Grant after the humiliation he suffered at the hands of Jose Mourinho in the Champions League might have proved too much for Chelsea's owner. To lose to one predecessor may have been regarded as a misfortune by Abramovich; to lose to two in little over a week would have looked like carelessness.Ancelotti avoided such an accusation thanks to Drogba and Florent Malouda, who rattled up four goals between them before Frank Lampard added a fifth in stoppage time. It marked the end of a shocking run of results that has seen them go out of the Champions League, and drop eight of the last 15 Barclays Premier League points. Changing history still looks like quite a challenge, because this was not Chelsea at their best. On a roll: Malouda celebrates with DecoThey were up against a Portsmouth side lacking any real incentive after their nine-point deduction and a side that suffered the further distraction of nasty injuries to Ricardo Rocha and Tommy Smith and the news that they may lose players after the Premier League allowed them to sell outside the transfer window.Rocha suffered a suspected fractured cheekbone after an arial clash with Malouda, and Grant was sufficiently worried to go straight to the hospital after the match. Smith had a broken nose from what appeared to be an elbow from Daniel Sturridge that is sure to attract the attention of the FA.For Portsmouth there was also the embarrassment of that opening 32nd-minute goal. While James might have seen to it that four members of the training ground staff keep their jobs during these difficult times at the club, he will be glad to bid farewell to the Fratton Park groundsman after this Top Drog: Didier Drogba beats Finnan to the ball to fire home Chelsea's fourthBob Jones will not be alone if he blames James for the manner in which Drogba was allowed to steal a lead. For any goalkeeper it was the stuff of nightmares. But the replays will prove just how significant a role Jones also played on his last night as groundsman after 20 years, because the playing surface has to take some of the blame. Jones is not among the dozens who have been made redundant in recent weeks. He instead had the opportunity to retire. But he will wince when he sees how James' attempt to clear a simple header forward from Deco was seriously undermined by a wretched bobble.'He was unlucky,' said Ancelotti. 'The bounce was not good.' Heated: John Terry argues with Hermann HreidarssonComparisons with Paul Robinson's howler against Croatia will inevitably follow but had it not been for James the score could have been considerably higher. MATCH FACTS PORTSMOUTH (4-4-1-1): James 5; Finnan 6, Rocha 6 (Basinas 45, 5), hreidarsson 6, Mullins 5; Smith 6 (Owusu-Abeyie 46, 5), Wilson 6, Mokoena 6 (Kanu 71), Hughes 6; O'Hara 7; Piquionne 5.Booked: O'Hara, Hughes, James.CHELSEA (4-3-3): Cech 6; Paulo Ferreira6, Carvalho 6 (Alex 37, 6), Terry 7, Zhirkov6 (Van Aanholt 71); Lampard 6, Mikel 6,Deco 6; Sturridge 5 (J Cole 55, 6),Drogba 7, Malouda 8.Booked: Malouda, Mikel.Man of the match: Florent Malouda.Referee: Lee Mason. There was, however, nothing he could do to stop Malouda increasing the lead five minutes after the break. The Frenchman accelerated on to a neat pass from Lampard, much better here after his recent dip in form, and smashed the ball into the roof of the net.James then did well to deny Joe Cole, on for a nervous-looking Sturridge, and saved the initial effort from Lampard before Malouda seized on the rebound to make it 3-0 in the 61st minute. But, again, he was helpless when it came to the fourth and fifth a close-range shot from Drogba, who took his season's tally to 30 after chesting down a ball from John Mikel Obi and then holding off the challenge of Steve Finnan, and a simple header from Lampard.Ancelotti said: 'I hope the bad moment is finished. But we have to wait because Saturday against Aston Villa is a very important test. We played well tonight. We were lucky for the first goal but after that we did well. One for luck: Lampard seals victory'This performance will improve our confidence. We are involved in the Premier League and the FA Cup and we have to remember that.' He insisted Malouda's foul on Rocha was an accident. The Sturridge incident? He said he did not see. But for Chelsea's manager there were other issues to consider. Not least the state of the team and their ability to finish the season with a flourish. On Saturday we will have a much better idea. PREMIER LEAGUE LIVE: Latest news from Villa, Blackburn, Man City and PortsmouthWhich clubs will pounce on the Portsmouth players up for grabs in the Fratton Park super sale? Ribery snubs Chelsea move as Bayern star eyes Real Madrid and Barcelona