FA Premiership/ Chelsea 4; Southampton 0: Outside Stamford Bridge on Saturday billboards assured Chelsea supporters of the imminent arrival of David Beckham much as sandwich boards used to advise crowds of the Second Coming.
Inside, Chelsea did much to assure themselves of coming second by reducing Southampton's initially rock-like resistance to the consistency of a meringue.
The victory means that Claudio Ranieri's team, which it is unlikely to be for much longer, can afford to lose at Manchester United and still finish runners-up in the Premiership by beating Leeds United at home. Automatic qualification for next season's Champions League, therefore, is within Chelsea's grasp, less so a place in this season's final.
On Wednesday they will be required to repair the damage of the opening leg of their semi-final, when they lost 3-1 to Monaco. On the face of it, a 4-0 win would appear to be the perfect preparation, yet the scoreline flattered a fitful Chelsea.
Three of the goals arrived in 10 minutes late in the match when the opposition had abandoned their trenches and were pushing forward in search of respectability, if not salvation. In fact, Chelsea might have found themselves chasing the game had Carlo Cudicini, back in goal after a six-week absence with a broken hand, not spared his defenders the consequences of two unforced errors.
With Antti Niemi in agile form behind them, Paul Sturrock's defenders frustrated Chelsea through their composure and discipline. For an hour the best player on the pitch was Darren Kenton, who in only his second start for Southampton thwarted Joe Cole, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink with well-timed tackles in areas where defenders can so easily give away penalties.
Chelsea's defence, by contrast, practically had the afternoon off, which might explain the casual backheaders from first John Terry and then Mario Melchiot that let in Phillips and Brett Ormerod for a lob and a shot that Cudicini caught and blocked.
Paradoxically, each escape was quickly followed by a Chelsea goal, the first the result of the sort of good fortune they will surely need on Wednesday. Two minutes before the hour Jesper Gronkjaer's corner skimmed the head of Gudjohnsen but then ricocheted into the net off the cranium of Martin Cranie, Southampton's 17-year-old midfielder, playing his first senior match.
The second, after 75 minutes, followed a typical burrowing run by Gudjohnsen, who was blocked before he could shoot but saw the ball sit up nicely for Frank Lampard to thump it into the net. Up to then the latter had had a quiet match, but in the 83rd minute he set up a move that led to Niemi parrying Hasselbaink's narrow-angled drive before Lampard, following up, again scored from the rebound.
Two minutes later Johnson, who had replaced Gronkjaer, began and finished a move with Hasselbaink and Gudjohnsen that exposed a Southampton defence by now bereft of Kenton.
Guardian Service
