Frank Lampard stole the show in his 350th league appearance for Chelsea at the Reebok Stadium, scoring a hat-trick and putting in a performance that will have more than answered his critics in the media.

The team lined up with Cech in goal, Luiz and Terry in the centre of defence with Cole and Bosingwa on the left and right respectively.

In mid-field, Villas-Boas opted to start with Ramires on the right hand side, Meireles in the middle and Lampard in his favoured position on the left of a middle three.

Drogba replaced the suspended Fernando Torres in the central striking berth with Mata to his left and Sturridge returning after injury to the right hand side.

The match got off to the best possible start when David Luiz picked up the ball in his own half and played Bosingwa down the right flank, the Portuguese crossed the ball in low and it was cleared for a corner. Mata put the ball in with pace and no-one in the Bolton defence picked up on the movement of Sturridge who headed home from five yards at the near post to make it 1-0 in 90 seconds.

The second goal came just 14 minutes later and it was via a lovely passage of football. Lampard was involved in the build-up and played the ball forward via Ramires, who passed to Mata who then played the ball to Sturridge, who in turn squared it back for Lampard to slot home from 12 yards. 2-0 Chelsea and only 15 mins on the clock.

Pre match predictions from many of a goal glut were looking increasingly likely, and it wasn’t long before Chelsea added the third. Another low ball from the back by Luiz found Sturridge wide right of the Bolton area, the striker cut back inside and unleashed a left footed shot that the Bolton keeper could only deflect high into the net. Sturridge’s second goal, and Chelsea’s third.

Just two minutes later Lampard added his second of the afternoon, David Luiz had stormed from the back and with no-one closing him down he kept on running and hammered as shot at the Bolton goal, with the keeper only able to parry it the familiar figure of Lampard was closing late into the box and slotted home to make it 4-0 in less than half an hour.

With the match almost a foregone conculsion at this point, Bolton’s heads dropped and Chelsea eased off the gas a little for the remaining 15 mins of the half, although did have a few more opportunities to add to the tally with Mata going closest but seeing his shot saved.

Bolton brought on Zat Knight during half time in order to try and close things up at the back yet it was at the other end that Bolton made an impression. An early free kick was sent into the box by Petrov and Boyata evaded everyone to plant his header past Cech to make it 4-1. The free kick was eerily similar to that conceded against United, and again showed our weaknesses at set plays.

Villas-Boas responded after ten minutes of seeing Bolton with their tales up following their goal, and a probable stern word or two from their manager at half time, introducing Ivanovic for Bosingwa and brining on Mikel for Ramires. The Nigerian slipped into the holding role moving Meireles to the right, leaving Lampard on the left.

Frank then became the fifth highest league goalscorer in the clubs history in the 58th minute after combining well with Didier Drogba in the box, for the big Ivorian to pull the ball back to the penalty spot for the advancing Lampard to slot the ball home first time to complete his hat-trick and make it 5-1.

Bolton continued to improve on their first half performance, looking dangerous at times however Chelsea were able to clear the danger the majority of the time, with JT and Luiz making some vital tackles and interceptions. There was however a contentious issue later on when a Davies shot was cleared on the line by Ivanovic, however replays looked to show that the ball had crossed the line.

In the end it wasn’t relevant, and for once the talk won’t be able a poor refereeing decision, it’ll be about one man; Frank Lampard. So often criticised in recent weeks as being ‘finished’, today he proved that was nonsense.

If this is what rest and rotation does for the man, then long may it continue.

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech; Bosingwa (Ivanovic 53), D Luiz, Terry (c), Cole; Ramires (Mikel 55), Meireles, Lampard; Sturridge, Drogba, Mata (Anelka 72).

Goals: Sturridge 1, 24, Lampard 14, 26, 58.

Chelsea continued their improvement in performances after notching up another win against the high-lying Bolton Wanderers with an impressive 4-0 win at the Reebok Stadium.

The build-up to this game was rather unusual with Bolton fans paying tributes to their Legend, Nat Lofthouse, who sadly passed away this past week.

On the other hand, the rest of the footballing community in England were busy casting their eye on the Sky Sports studios rather than on the team sheets.

The team news was more or less the same as expected. John Terry was declared fit to take his place in the starting line-up, but Frank Lampard remained absent after picking up calf injury in the warm up. John Obi Mikel took his place in the line-up, as he made his own return from injury.

After everyone in the stadium paid their tributes to Nat Lofthouse, the match began, with both teams starting in an aggressive manner. The teams looked up for it, with Chelsea looking sharper, much to the delight of the away fans.

Bolton were hoping that they will be able to pay Nat Lofthouse a fitting tribute with a win and thereby breaking their horrible record against Chelsea at the Reebok, no wins for the home side since 2004 in the League tells the story, but they were taken aback by the a sumptuous Drogba strike on the 10^th minute.

Florent Malouda put Gretar Steinsson under pressure and took advantage of his bad first touch to release Drogba, whose strike from 30-35 yards was so full of venom that it gave Jussi Jaaskelainen absolutely no chance and even had the approval of the Bolton bench.

This took the wind out of the Bolton players and forced them to come out more. Still, this was a Chelsea team that wasn’t firing on all cylinders, which meant Bolton still had a chance.

As the half progressed both teams had their chances to score, Anelka had the opportunity to put double Chelsea’s lead after being released brilliantly by Mikel, but he delayed his shot and allowed Knight to make a last ditch block and the chance was gone.

At the other end, Matt Taylor forced Cech, who has never conceded at the Reebok, into a great save from a well-directed header.

As the match approached half-time Chelsea took the wind out of Bolton sails when Florent Malouda scored from a tight angle. Mikel shrugged off Taylor on the edge of the box and found Ivanovic who headed it down to the Frenchmen.

Malouda tried to pass the ball initially but was blocked, luckily though, the ball came back to him, giving him the opportunity to take another bite at the cherry and he did well to score from a tight angle.

Chelsea went into the half-time with a two goal lead; they were the sharper of the two sides and were good value for their two goals.

If Bolton had any thoughts of a comeback, Nicolas Anelka made sure that they won’t be fulfilled.

Malouda and Essien led a fantastic break by Chelsea and combined well on the left. Malouda released Essien who found Didier in the box, his shot was well blocked though, but it felt kindly to Anelka, whose first time shot was handled rather shabbily by Jussi, allowing the Frenchmen to score against his former side. The goalkeeper’s may be view wasn’t perfect, but still he should have done better.

After the goal went in Bolton player’s spirits looked broken and this clearly showed. Chelsea started to dominate even further and displayed some of their flair.

Josh McEachran came on for Obi Mikel on the 70 minute mark; the Nigerian showed what we were missing in his absence with a calm and composed display in front of the defence, the ball to Nicolas Anelka in the first half being the cherry on the top.

Chelsea were now on top and added another goal to round off a great night for the Blues, Ramires getting his first ever goal for the club with a guided finish after some nice work by Essien again on the left hand side, much to the delight of the travelling supporters.

The Brazilian was soon replaced by Kalou though; Carlo giving him an early break for his tireless effort and running throughout the match.

We could have added another goal had it not been for Mr.Foy, he ignored the blatant foul by Paul Robinson on Nicolas Anelka inside the box and waived play on, the appeals from Chelsea players was less vociferous than what it would had been had the score line been close, but the four goal difference made it a little easy to digest.

The Referee had a terrible night, giving Bolton players the leeway to foul, Muamba’s first half antics on Ramires being the perfect example of that.

The match ended with Chelsea players enjoying themselves on the field again and the Reebok wearing a deserted look as most of the Trotter fans decided to leave early after they started the game with much fanfare.

It was a particularly sweet victory for the travelling fans, which were in less than usual numbers, owing to the inconsiderate scheduling by the broadcasters. Despite being a little less on numbers they were in full voice and didn’t forget to remind the Sky duo about their intolerable demeanours as well.

The fact that Chelsea have now got four away matches out of the next five also played its part in this.

This victory also gives Carlo Ancelotti and his men a welcome boost in their flagging title campaign. It was also a welcome return to form for Didier Drogba, who had shown signs of a return to full fitness and form lately, as he looked much sharper and involved.

Carlo Ancelotti, who finally had something to smile about, also now believes that his team are back and it’s now possible to look ahead to being challengers again, rather than concentrating on getting the fourth place, he said; “I think we have turned the corner.”

“We played good football and have come back to play our football. We had a good attitude, a good mentality and the performance was very good. It was an important step and now I think we are coming back to fight for everything.”

“It is not easy to close the gap, but we have to try now we have the possibility. We are playing well, we are in a good condition and we will try to do everything to close the gap.”

Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry (c), Cole, Ramires (Kalou 77), Mikel (McEachran 72), Essien, Anelka, Drogba, Malouda.

Goals: Drogba 11, Malouda 41, Anelka 56, Ramires 74.

When I first heard Chelsea would be missing Frank Lampard this season, I felt that we could cope without him considering the form the team was in (that was back in August).

My hope was short-lived though as Chelsea started to slump, and eventually lost their place at the top of the table, slipping to fifth in the worst run of form for 15 years.

Even after Lampard’s comeback against Spurs, our performance still hadn’t been up to the standard and things started to look more troublesome than anticipated.

Yet after the match against Ipswich in the FA Cup, our win over Blackburn made me feel that we might just have turned the corner, and even Carlo agreed.

Now this week came the news that we may miss the both JT and Lampard for the tough away clash at Bolton. If they do miss the match, I am not confident we will or even draw.

We don’t look the same team without those two and these days none of our regular strikers are producing the goods either. Neither Drogba, Anelka, nor Kalou can pose the potential threat in opposition box. Malouda’s form has been poor in recent weeks and Essien is misfiring too.

So the question is how will we line up against Bolton? No JT means we don’t have any option but to start with Bruma at the back. Bruma is good talent but will he be able to survive against hard tackler Davis?

Still the defense tactic will be same, two back with Ashley and Bosingwa attacking the flanks, trying to provide crosses to the strikers. Bosingwa has been poor since his return, has forgotten how to cross and was never great in defence, so already we are looking flimsy at the back.

Talking about midfield, Zhirkov still won’t be available because of injury and although Mikel is on the verge of return, will he be able to play full match? If not, who will start? McEachran? Kakuta? Or will Malouda be shifted back to midfield?

Personally I would like to see McEachran starting the game instead of other two options. Not only because he has performed well in last few games but he can sit little deeper and help control the game. Kakuta is more attack minded so he will be found more in the opposition half than in midfield, and also starting both Malouda and Kakuta doesn’t quite fit in my opinion.

In the midfield, If McEachran starts then for me I would prefer Essien as holding midfielder than Ramires, as Ramires has shown more capacity when played in front of holding midfielder.

McEachran will stay on the left hand side of midfield and will probably be able to have more of an impact on the game from there instead of going forward. Both Ramires and McEachran, if needed then will have to play bit wide to control the wing play of Bolton.

Now talking about attacking options, I would prefer to go with regular front three of Anelka, Drogba and Malouda. Anelka and Malouda can also act as wingers to keep the midfield tight when needed.

In the absence of Lampard these two will have to drop little deeper to collect the ball but this may also create the problem while counter-attacking as there will be shortage of players going forward. This has been a critical in factor our poor form over last couple of months.

So as per my thinking, I expect we will go 4-1-2-3 against Bolton, basically using a modified version of regularly used 4-3-3.

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Chelsea extended their lead at the top of the English Premier League to four points with four games to play, by defeating a spirited Bolton Wanderers outfit 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.

As expected, Michael Ballack and Salomon Kalou returned to the lineup, the latter starting up front with both Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba. It was Anelka’s goal that proved the difference just before half time.

A clash of heads between Kevin Davies and Yury Zhirkov resulted in length treatment for the Russian international, who re-emerged with a Terry Butcher style bandage to protect a head wound.

Salomon Kalou nearly gave Chelsea the lead after Drogba’s powerful free kick was parried by Jussi Jaaskelainen, but the Ivorian couldn’t react quickly enough to turn the ball home.

When Chelsea did take the lead, it was a lesson in fluid forward play and understanding. Drogba drifted out to the left, allowing Anelka space to pop up in the middle. Drogba’s perfectly weighted left footed cross was easily headed home by the perfectly positioned Anelka, for his first goal in 13 matches.

Jaaskelainen made a good save to deny Kalou at the start of the second half, before referee Lee Probert waived away a handball shout against John Terry. Jaaskelainen then made another good stop to deny a well struck Zhirkov effort.

Lampard struck the post and Ivan Klasnic, the Bolton substitute, missed a very presentable effort late on, as Chelsea hang on to record a vital, vital win in the title race. Four games to go, and the double is well and truly alive.

Chelsea have the opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the English Premier League to four points, by beating Bolton Wanderers tonight at the Stamford Bridge.

Branislav Ivanovic may be fit to start, but Paulo Ferreira’s excellent form of late means he may well keep his spot. Michael Ballack and Salomon Kalou will both start in place of Deco and Joe Cole, whilst there could be further rotation up front.

Bolton, in 15th place and six points from safety, will most likely use Kevin Davies as the lone forward in a 4-5-1 formation, despite Owen Coyle partnering him with Johan Elmander of late.

Chelsea and Bolton have clashed twice already this season, once in the Carling Cup and once in the league. Both matches finished 4-0 to Chelsea, thanks to goals from Kalou, Malouda, Deco and Drogba in the cup and a double from Drogba, plus goals from Deco and Ivanovic in the league encounter.

In the corresponding match last season, the Blues went 4-0 up after Ballack, Drogba (twice) and Lampard scored. Bolton though, scored three goals in nine minutes with Andy O’Brien, Chris Basham and Matt Taylor taking advantage of some shaky goalkeeping from Petr Cech.

Didier Drogba is closing in on Wayne Rooney in the race for the Premier League golden boot and he’ll be looking to fill his boots against a Wanderers outfit ready for the taking. His tally of 25 is just one short of the Manchester United striker.

Ladbrokes has Chelsea as unbackable 1/7 favourites to extend their league lead. The draw is 13/2 and Bolton are rank outsiders at 16/1.