Newcastle Utd 0 Chelsea2CHELSEA YET again paced themselves beautifully to stay in step with Manchester United. The reigning champions cannot exactly dread Sunday's trip to Wigan Athletic, when a victory will secure the title on goal difference, but they will go there with a discomfiting sense of claustrophobia because of Avram Grant's team. Breathing space ceased to exist when Alex Ferguson's squad lost at Stamford Bridge 10 days ago.
Newcastle United could not divert Chelsea from their course, and received confirmation of their suspicion that recent improvement reflected the limited nature of the opposition.
The scope of Grant's squad is great. The players may have been harangued at half-time, but it had always been probable that their talent would break loose at some point.
For the first time the Premier League goes into its final day with two clubs divided purely by goal difference.
Chelsea had no doubt they would bring the competition to a head in that manner and felt free to alter the line-up so that Frank Lampard cropped up merely as a substitute and Joe Cole did not take to the field at all.
That expertise included the element of calculation that undid Newcastle.
The opener, after an hour, had its origins in the free-kick that Florent Malouda induced from Abdoulaye Faye. After that came some feigned hesitation to fracture the defence's concentration, before Didier Drogba lifted the ball in for Michael Ballack to get in front of the substitute Alan Smith and tuck a downward header into the net.
Newcastle did have sporadic opportunities, usually involving Michael Owen. Early in the match he had volleyed over on the turn after a high ball over the back four by Nicky Butt. After 28 minutes Jose Enrique's cross was forced against Petr Cech by Mark Viduka and the rebound was met by Owen, but Terry blocked the attempt on the line.
The scavenger's instinct is undiminished in Owen and no one else on the field would have caught the scent of a goal as he did in the 73rd minute when he hared after a skipping, mis-hit drive from Butt, but could do nothing more than help it over the byline.
Not even the injury that forced Ricardo Carvalho from the field after 80 minutes awakened a faith in an equaliser among the home support.
Two minutes afterwards Chelsea put on a demonstration of their formidable ability. That incident alone could have provoked Kevin Keegan's doom-laden observations about the eternal domination of the existing top four. Still, the passing between Michael Essien, Ballack and Lampard was sharp and so absorbed defenders that they barely noticed Malouda moving into space to gather a ball from the England midfielder and shoot low past Steve Harper.
This Premier League will come to a close in a blaze of public fascination with Sunday's drama. Much of the football population is sure to express a dislike for the vulgar affluence of Chelsea and, for that matter, United, but that will not stop anyone from being intrigued by the outcomes at the JJB Stadium and at Stamford Bridge, where Bolton Wanderers will be vastly relieved that, thanks to goal difference, they are in effect relegation-proof.
The experience in the Chelsea ranks was telling when the time came to impose themselves. A bawling-out in the dressingroom did no harm, but the potential had to be lurking in the side if it was to be tapped. There was an immediate crispness as the passes continually found their target and Newcastle were allowed no respite.
There was the uncommon sight, too, of Drogba and Nicolas Anelka as a pairing in the middle of the attack. The Frenchman had not begun a match in the same line-up as the Ivorian since the English League Cup final on February 24th and even then he had opened, as he did yesterday, in a wide role.
It would be appealing to see how Anelka and Drogba evolved as a pairing, particularly since their talents are so complementary.
Nonetheless it is a combination that will probably be denied the right to evolve. There is scant appetite in modern football for risk-taking in attack.
Chelsea, even so, are an outstanding side and they are due gratitude for an absorbing pursuit of United that barely appeared feasible during the disruption when Jose Mourinho made way for Grant.
NEWCASTLE: Harper, Beye, Taylor, Faye, Jose Enrique (N'Zogbia 77), Geremi (Duff 71), Butt, Barton, Viduka (Smith 46), Owen, Martins. Subs not used: Forster, Cacapa. Booked: Faye, Jose Enrique.
CHELSEA: Cech, Ferreira, Terry, Carvalho (Alex 79), Bridge, Essien, Obi, Ballack, Anelka (Lampard 66), Drogba (Shevchenko 86), Malouda. Subs not used: Cudicini, Joe Cole. Booked: Terry, Malouda.
Referee: Steve Bennett (Kent).
