Chelsea 4-0 Blackpool

helsea raced into a 4-0 lead by half-time with goals from Salomon Kalou, Didier Drogba and two from Florent Malouda, but for once the juggernaut slowed after the break.
The Blues back-line was made to work in a second period as Blackpool enjoyed their share of the chances and Chelsea's ruthlessness in front of goal deserted them. The momentum from a first-half in which the pace and counter-attack passing of home side had left the Premier League new boys trailing in our wake was lost while he teams in the dressing rooms for the break.
However a 4-0 win against any top-flight side is still a commendable one and it was a sure sign of Chelsea's strength of squad that such a win was achieved without Terry or Lampard, one watching from the stands with his twins on his knees, the other accompanied by his father. Terry's rib bruising, suffered a week ago at West Ham, was the reason for his absence.
Ivanovic and Alex were therefore the centre-back partnership with Drogba the stand-in skipper. Ramires was asked to take Lampard's place while it was Anelka's turn to be rested up front with Kalou coming in.
The element of surprise in Drogba taking a corner in only the second minute of the game may have gone following his success in the West Ham game last weekend, but that didn't prevent the delivery again proving unstoppable as Ivanovic flicked it on. It fell nicely for Kalou who with perfect technique, volleyed in at the far post for his fifth goal of the season. The Blues were beginning take off once again.
Drogba was denied by the offside flag when clean through without many more minutes played and then Essien rifled a shot just over the bar after Malouda had worked the ball out of a tight spot. It was already clear space among the visitors 4-1-4-1 formation was easy to find.
It was all Chelsea possession. Essien almost bundled the ball in from a scrum inside the six-yard area at the Shed End, but we only needed to wait until 11 minutes were on the clock for goal number two.
It came from a Chelsea break of breathtakingly swift efficiency. Kalou played the ball down the right-hand channel for Drogba to power into the area, and the square ball picked out Malouda for a straightforward finish.
Cech, with his best save of the season so far, prevented the Tangerines pulling one back when he dived low to tip Baptiste's 16th minute shot past the post.
Malouda skied a good chance as Chelsea threatened to make Blackpool pay for not marking Drogba at a throw-in, and on 24 minutes referee Clattenburg was unmoved when Cole collided in the Blackpool area with Eardley as he chased down a back pass.
Kalou was wrongly flagged offside after Drogba clipped a ball over the defence but the shot was saved anyway. There was no way this was remaining 2-0 for half-time.
It was Drogba who made it 3-0 on the half-hour, taking Cole's pass, spinning and shooting inside the area with the balance of a ballerina. It beat the keeper via a deflection off a covering defender.Cole had destroyed full-back Eardley to make the chance after Essien had pinged a ball 50 yards out to the left.
Within seconds Cole almost created a fourth as he rolled a ball right across the face of goal.
Drogba was booked for a frankly pointless pull of Grandin's shirt in the Blackpool half on 37 minutes before Eardley followed him into the book a minute later for shooting long after the whistle had gone.
Malouda made it 4-0 on 40 minutes with a sweet, low strike that gave Gilks no chance. Kalou had squared from the right after Drogba played the midfield general, winning possession in the centre circle and spraying the ball forward.
After four right-foot goals, Malouda now had two with his favoured left.
Drogba and then Essien weren't far away from adding a fifth before the break.
Ian Holloway put his right-back Eardley out of his misery at the break, replacing him with Taylor-Fletcher.
Chelsea were given a wake-up call three minutes after the restart when Campbell was played onside by Ferreira and managed to drill the ball through the legs of Cech but Ivanovic cleared off the line. Varney drilled the message home by volleying over the bar from a pass in behind Ferreira.
Vaughan was booked for Blackpool on 53 minutes for pulling back Ramires who was speeding past him as Chelsea flew forward on the break.
However the Blackpool chances kept coming and Cech needed to back-peddle fast and tip over a Taylor-Fletcher looping shot on 59 minutes.
There was little excuse for Kalou not scoring his second goal four minutes later after Essien won the ball and he and Drogba moved it forward fast, but Kalou's touch was too strong and the keeper saved, as he did from a bouncing Malouda shot soon after.
Kalou mirrored the team's overall display, excellent in the first half but tailing off in his effectiveness.
Malouda then hooked a shot wide on the turn but Blackpool continued to test the Blues at the back. Harewood looked certain to score on 71 minutes but smashed a close-range effort into the sidenetting.
Chelsea's first change was a return for Bruma after groin surgery. He came on for Alex. Ramires, who had shown plenty of running in a first Stamford Bridge start, was then replaced by Zhirkov.
A Chelsea fifth goal continued to prove elusive when Cole's shot was cleared from in front of a target it might have just been missing. Essien beat two tackles but his curler was blocked.
Benayoun was next to be added to the mix, coming on for Mikel, but the second half was summed up in the dying moments when Drogba skied a shot over the goal from eight yards, followed by some tongue-in-cheek mocking chants from the fans at that end.
Chelsea end the day four points clear at the top with Manchester City away and Arsenal home next to come in the league.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Ferreira, Alex (Bruma 71), Ivanovic, Cole; Essien, Mikel (Benayoun 77), Ramires (Zhirkov 74); Kalou, Drogba (c), Malouda.
Unused subs Turnbull, Kakuta, Sturridge, Anelka.
Scorers Kalou 1, Malouda 11, 40, Drogba 30.
Booked Drogba 36.
Blackpool (4-1-4-1): Gilks; Eardley (Taylor-Fletcher h-t), Keinan, Evatt, Crainey; Bapiste; Grandin (Ormerod 60), Vaughan, Adam (c), Varney (Harewood 60); Campbell.
Unused subs Halstead, Southern, Cathcart, Carney.
Booked Eardley 37, Vaughan 53.

Referee Mark Clattenburg.
Attendance 41,761.