Gerrard gift lifts Chelsea

Blues have one hand on Premier League trophy

Steven Gerrard's astonishing blunder allowed Chelsea to take a giant stride towards the Premier League crown with a 2-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield.

Gerrard was left with his head in his hands in the 33rd minute after his attempted backpass to Jose Reina was seized upon by Didier Drogba, with the Ivory Coast international rounding the goalkeeper before slotting home.

Chelsea felt they should have had a penalty moments before the interval with Salomon Kalou going down after tangling with Lucas, but referee Alan Wiley was uninterested, much to the Blues' fury.

But they did not have to wait long to double their advantage after the interval with Frank Lampard sliding the ball home from close range after Nicolas Anelka's low cross from the right.

Carlo Ancelotti's men now boast a four-point cushion over nearest challengers Manchester United, who must beat Sunderland at the Stadium of Light later on Sunday to keep the title race alive, given the Blues' superior goal difference.

Liverpool, who had more than matched their opponents until the opener, rarely looked like getting back into the match from that point and saw their faint UEFA Champions League hopes finally extinguished.

Chelsea were undoubtedly the better side in the end but the match may have turned out differently had they not been gifted a 33rd-minute lead in a moment which will allow the conspiracy theorists to have a field day.

Bustling

Some fans had been suggesting all week they would rather Chelsea win at Anfield than beat the Stamford Bridge side and hand United the chance to eclipse the club's tally of 18 league titles.

However, even they could not have prophesied the manner of Chelsea's goal as Gerrard failed to notice Drogba when he passed back to Reina and the Ivory Coast international nipped in to score.

Prior to that, the early exchanges had been open. Lampard shot wide and Anelka forced Reina into a low save while Liverpool's Maxi Rodriguez and Javier Mascherano, standing in at right-back because of Glen Johnson's calf injury, saw shots deflected wide.

There were also three penalty claims in what was a bustling first half, with the two for Chelsea involving Kalou.

His first looked to be a dive in the ninth minute under Mascherano's challenge but referee Wiley allowed that to go unpunished, and the official was again unimpressed after the tangle with Lucas just before the interval.

Alberto Aquilani had a 26th-minute penalty shout rejected as he went down under Branislav Ivanovic's challenge as he raced on to Rodriguez's chipped pass.

The loss of Rodriguez to injury just before half-time, when he was replaced by Ryan Babel, was a blow to Liverpool as the January signing had looked lively.

Influential

Six minutes into the second half Kalou muscled his way past Mascherano to drill a cross into the six-yard area, where Anelka failed to get the touch which would certainly have brought a second Chelsea goal.

But the Frenchman played a more influential role in the 54th minute when his cross picked out Lampard who bundled home from close range.

If that was not bad enough for Liverpool, they then lost Carragher to injury which meant 19-year-old Daniel Ayala was thrust into the action.

It would have been 3-0 in the 67th minute had it not been for Reina's excellent one-handed save from Florent Malouda's well-struck low shot.

David Ngog replaced Aquilani for the final 15 minutes but Liverpool were a spent force with only Reina keeping Chelsea at bay, punching away Michael Ballack's 25-yard free-kick and then producing a smart double save from Anelka and then Kalou.

The defeat meant Liverpool will finish the season with their lowest points total in five years, since accruing 58 in Rafa Benitez's first campaign in charge back in 2004-05.

Whether the Spaniard, strongly linked with Juventus, is around next season to rectify that remains in doubt.

Sky