Drogba double fires Chelsea 2-0 clear of Arsenal as Terry shrugs off pressure

Didier Drogba: more goals to celebrate / Fotosports.com

KEIR RADNEDGE / Sports Communications Features

LONDON, Feb 07: Two first-half goals from Didier Drogba saw Chelsea beating Arsenal in the last seconds of their crucial London derby at Stamford Bridge as the Blues strode imperiously back to the top of the Premier League.

Manager Carlo Ancelotti said: "We started very well by scoring two goals and then making a good defence. Fantastic."

For Chelsea fans, this match had also been about supporting and encouraging central defender John Terry at the darkest moment of his career, having been stripped of the England captaincy following the latest lurid allegations about his chaotic private life.

Terry played a key role in the opening goal in the eighth minute. He headed on Florent Malouda’s left-wing corner so that Drogba could jab Chelsea into the lead with a close-ranged, angled shot at the far post. It was almost too easy. Arsenal were betrayed by their failure to place a defender on the left-hand post.

Arsenal’s injuries, compounded by a failure to act during the transfer window, meant that they were restricted to using Andrey Arshavin up as centre-forward. Mostly he was too easily shaken off the ball. On the one occasion when he did find a gap, his close-range was blocked by keeper Petr Cech’s outstretched left foot.

The significance of that miss was underlined five minutes when Frank Lampard led a Chelsea counter-attack and sent in Drogba – again on the right - to lash home a superb second goal. It was his 12th goal in 10 appearances against the Gunners.

Contract offer

Lampard was proving more influential in midfield than Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas - who was reportedly about to be offered a five-year contract extension to try to fight off interest from Barcelona in taking him home to Camp Nou at the season’s end.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has always insisted that Fabregas is happy to stay in north London for the long-term and the contract offer will represent a chance to put belief into writing. However money is less a priority for Fabregas than his trophy-winning ambitions.

These appeared to be fading the further the game went on. Arsenal enjoy plenty of second-half possession but the closest anyone came to a further goal was when Drogba thrashed a 30-yard free kick against the Arsenal crossbar in the 82nd minute.

Afterwards Wenger criticised Chelsea's time-wasting at free kicks and goalkicks and insisted he had been proud of his team. He added: "We are outsiders [in the title race] but we will fight until the last day of the season. Everybody can drop points."

In an earlier Premier League derby, Birmingham City beat Wolves 2-1 after turning the game around with two late goals from veteran substitute Kevin Phillips.

Keywords · English football · Premier League · Chelsea · Arsenal · Lampard · Drogba · Fabregas · Terry

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