Chelsea 4-1 Norwich

Chelsea preserved their four-point lead
at the top of the table and left Norwich
languishing in the drop zone with a
thumping 4-1 win at Stamford Bridge.
Grant Holt had put the strugglers
ahead with a fierce early strike but
Fernando Torres soon replied and
further goals from Frank Lampard and
Eden Hazard sealed the result before
the break.
Branislav Ivanovic (76) ensured it was a
welcome return to business on the
pitch for Roberto Di Matteo's side after
the FA's damning John Terry
indictment but an ominous third
defeat in a row for Norwich.
Terry had been recalled to the starting
line-up but could only lunge helplessly
at Holt's feet after Alexander Tettey's
knockdown sat up nicely.
That served only to galvanise the hosts
and not long after Torres had nodded
past John Ruddy (22), Lampard lashed
in a loose ball to assert his side's
authority (22).
Norwich were ragged and undone by a
third of real quality when Juan Mata
ran with the ball from one box to the
other, the pass as clever as the run
Hazard made before slotting into the
corner (31).
Half-time did little to temper Chelsea
swagger and Leon Barnett should have
gifted them a chance from the spot
when he checked Hazard's run with an
errant leg.
Torres scented a fourth, only to be
denied by an outrushing John Ruddy,
but Ivanovic went better with a fine
strike from the far post, the deficit
richly deserved.