Stoke City 0 : Chelsea 2

Chelsea scored either side of half-time to underline their title credentials with a deserved victory over a battling Stoke side.

The away side ran the show from the start with Frank Lampard the architect of most of their positive play. They weren't ahead however until the 37th minute when Lampard's pass found Jose Bosingwa who controlled the ball on his chest and fired past Sorenson from a tight angle for his first Chelsea goal.Chelsea lead by one goal. Stoke had only just begun to settle into the match before the goal and it knocked the stuffing out of them.

Chelsea began the second half as they had finished the first and made it 2-0 in the 76th minute. Stoke failed to deal with a Bosingwa cross and Nicolas Anelka gratefully accepted the gift, firing the ball under Thomas Sorenson. Lampard and Michael Ballack should have increased the visitors' advantage but put their shots wide.

Stoke never gave up the game and chased every ball but their only real chance came from a Salif Diao header which was cleared off the line. They missed their throw-in specialist Rory Delap who was out with a hamstring injury, and the result was never really in doubt.