Football Insane

Embattled midfielder Frank Lampard inspired Chelsea to a 1-0 victory at his former club West Ham in the Premier League.

The England star’s all-action display fired an otherwise lacklustre Chelsea side, and he created the game’s only goal for Salomon Kalou on 55 minutes.

Petr Cech saved a second-half penalty from Mark Noble to secure three points that all but guarantees Guus Hiddink’s side a third-place finish at worst.

Having conceded defeat in Chelsea’s title bid after a midweek draw against Everton, Hiddink made several changes ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League trip to Barcelona.

Striker Didier Drogba and midfielder Michael Essien were both rested, while the Dutchman reshuffled his defence as Ashley Cole is suspended for the match at the Camp Nou.

Cole was left out of an experimental backline that had Jose Bosingwa at left-back, Michael Mancienne at right-back and John Terry in the middle with Branislav Ivanovic.

One man who always plays is Lampard, the only Chelsea player to start every Premier League game this season.

The 30-year-old is generally given a hostile reception when he returns to Upton Park, and he was subjected to even more derision following his impassioned call to a talk radio station on Friday to defend himself over claims about his private life.

Lampard is used to being jeered and the crowd could not prevent him from putting in a typically impressive shift – powering a midfield also containing a below-par Michael Ballack and John Obi Mikel, whose shortcomings have been shown up horribly by Essien’s magnificent recent form.

Drogba’s return to form and fitness has seen Nicolas Anelka shoved onto the wing or the bench, yet he is still the joint-leading scorer in the Premier League.

The Ivorian’s absence gave Anelka the chance to lead the line again, and he relished the role, linking up play nicely and sending a shot just wide from the edge of the box in the first half.

While Chelsea had more possession, the better chances fell to West Ham.

Diego Tristan might have opened the scoring with a better piece of control on the quarter-hour, and within 60 seconds Florent Malouda went close at the other end, dragging a left-foot shot wide on the counter-attack.

Then Tristan beat his man and slid a wonderful ball into the path of Kieron Dyer in the 20th minute, but Dyer hit a weak, low shot straight at Petr Cech.

The Spaniard was in the thick of it again just before half-time, as a corner was headed down to him and he prodded the ball goalwards from close range, only to see Mikel clear off the line.

Once again Tristan might have scored when Junior Stanislas found him early in the second half, but he refused to shoot and attempted to dribble around Ivanovic, allowing the Serb to block his eventual shot.

When the goal game, there was no surprise to see Lampard as the architect. He clipped a left-foot cross from the left byline that Robert Green dived for and missed, allowing Kalou to control and stab the ball into the top-right corner from close range.

West Ham looked to have no answer as their visitors dominated possession, but were thrown a lifeline when the goalscorer Kalou tugged Herita Ilunga needlessly back to concede a penalty.

But Cech produced a magnificent save, throwing himself full-length to the left to tip Noble’s effort behind.

Gianfranco Zola’s side drop out of seventh place, but the future remains bright for the Italian who has signed a four-year contract to stay at the club along with his assistant Steve Clarke.

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