Chelsea 7-1 Aston Villa

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Chelsea threw down the gauntlet to Manchester United with a stunning demolition of Aston Villa.

The Blues took an early lead when Frank Lampard slid in at the far post to convert Florent Malouda's cross, but John Carew soon equalised for Martin O'Neill's side. However as the interval loomed, Yuri Zhirkov was hacked down by James Collins and Lampard emphatically lashed the resultant penalty beyond Brad Friedel.

The gap was increased moments after the break when Florent Malouda volleyed home Zhirkov's teasing cross and a second Lampard penalty - again won by the Russian defender - saw the Chelsea number 8 complete a stunning hat-trick and score his 150th goal for the club.

Lampard then set up Malouda for his 13th goal of the season as the Blues continued to toy with their Midlands opponents.

Substitute Salomon Kalou then clinically netted his 8th strike of the season after superb skill by Nicolas Anelka, and Lampard completed the historic rout for his fourth of the day and his 21st of the season; equalling his best-ever tally from midfield.

And there were nowhere near enough superlatives to describe Chelsea's magnificent performance in what is surely one of the greatest team displays in Premier League history.

It is the second time this season that Chelsea have scored seven goals at Stamford Bridge, having thumped Sunderland 7-2 in January, and after Wednesday's 5-0 demolition of Portsmouth at Fratton Park, there is evidence that Carlo Ancelotti's side are again nearing their unplayable best.

Ancelotti's team selection may have raised a number of eyebrows with the omissions of Didier Drogba and Michael Ballack, but every single player the Italian coach called upon was brilliant. Lampard's contribution was clear. Deco and Anelka were instrumental; effortlessly knitting the midfield and attack together with incredibly fluidity. Zhirkov was tireless, and Florent Malouda may well have been arrested for the way he terrorised the visitor's defence.

Lampard's quatrick saw him eclipse Roy Bentley and the late, great Peter Osgood to emerge as the club's third top goalscorer of all-time with 151 on a historic day at Stamford Bridge, whilst John Terry captained the side for the 325th time on his 450th appearance in the famous Blue of Chelsea. It is also Aston Villa's biggest defeat in the top flight for some fifty years.

Interestingly, Villa had dented Chelsea's title challenge with a 2-1 win in the reverse fixture back in the autumn thanks to two set-piece goals from Richard Dunne and James Collins, and the Villains had an opportunity to add to Chelsea's defensive woes early on, but Petr Cech made a confident early take.

Anelka and Lampard fired early, dangerous shots from range that tested Friedel, but the visitors failed to heed the warning as the latter stole in to convert a low cross from the superb Florent Malouda.

It was Lampard who had both started and finished the move for Chelsea's equaliser, but Villa soon restored parity with a goal very similar in its creation; Ashley Young's low ball evading all but John Carew who tapped home.

But Chelsea were not to be denied a half-time lead, and their commitment to attack was rewarded when Zhirkov drew a foul from ex-West Ham defender Collins. Lampard, reliable from the spot, hammered home despite Friedel's best efforts to ensure that the hunt for the title remained on course.

Paulo Ferreira tustles with England's Stephen Warnock

The lively Anelka was off-target with Chelsea's first effort following the interval, but they soon extended their lead with Russian defender Zhirkov the instigator.

The Russian first bombed down the left flank and was picked out by a glorious cross-field pass by the creative Deco. Without hesitation he lashed the ball into the box, where Malouda fired home on the volley from eight yards out.

And mere moments later he was again involved when he won a second penalty. Steaming into the box after combining with Malouda, Zhirkov was clearly hacked down by Richard Dunne, earning the Villa man a caution. Lampard was again ruthless, finding the bottom corner with unerring accuracy.

Paulo Ferreira then turned provider as he crossed for Lampard in the box, who rolled the ball into Malouda's path to rifle into the net courtesy of the crossbar. It was a sumptuous finish by the Frenchman for a career-best 13th strike of the campaign.

And five soon became six as Kalou was the beneficiary of some stunning footwork by Anelka. The French striker had gone 10 matches without scoring, and after working a yard of space he set up his strike partner to smash beyond Friedel.

The Heavens then began to open as Chelsea continued to stroke the ball about with delightful ease. Patrick van Aanholt came on to make his home league bow and Michael Ballack made a return from a foot injury as the superb trio of Deco, Joe Cole and Zhirkov were withdrawn. O'Neill also made a number of changes to counter Chelsea's dominance.

However, Villa were beyond well-beaten at this point. This was a humiliation.

The closest they came to responding was when substitute Delfouneso's shot deflected less than a foot wide with Cech stranded, but the Villa fans were superb in their support; singing despite the scoreline. They were, however, drowned out by choruses from the Matthew Harding End.

Delfouneso looked to inject some enthusiasm into the visitor's attack, but it was John Terry's time to shine with two magnificent challenges to first deny the young winger a clear run at goal, and then to steal it off his toe as he again broke forward into the box.

But Chelsea were keen to have the last word and Lampard swept home from another Malouda centre for his fourth of the game, 21st of the season and 151st of his Chelsea career.

And confirmation of the victory was made all the sweeter when news filtered through of Arsenal's draw with Birmingham - leaving Chelsea and Manchester United as favourites for the title.

And, as fate should have it, the two teams meet at Old Trafford next weekend. No pressure.

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Chelsea: Cech; Ferreira, Alex, Terry ©, Zhirkov (Van Aanholt 75); Deco (Ballack 71), Mikel, Lampard; J Cole (Kalou 75), Anelka, Malouda

Aston Villa: Friedel; L Young, Collins, Dunne, Warnock; Sidwell, Petrov © (Downing 62); Agbonlahor (Beye 71), Milner, A Young; Carew (Delfouneso 62)

The TalkChelsea.net Man of the Match was Chelsea's number 8 - SUPER FRANKIE LAMPARD