Reigning champions Chelsea opened up a nine-point gap at the top of the Premiership table after a stunning 4-1 demolition of Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
Jose Mourinho’s side look unstoppable after cantering to their eighth successive league triumph following a stylish performance.
Frank Lampard set Chelsea on their way from the penalty spot before Steven Gerrard equalised with his first Premiership goal of the season.
Damien Duff restored the visitors’ lead before Joe Cole and substitute Geremi completed Liverpool’s misery after halftime as the Merseyside club conceded four at home in the league for the first time in 36 years.
The European champions, who now trail the Londoners by 17 points, have now failed to record a win in four games and enter the two-week international break firmly anchored in the bottom half of the table after suffering their heaviest defeat to date under Rafael Benitez.
Mourinho later hit out at his team’s detractors who have criticised the club’s style.
”It’s eight matches, eight victories, 18 goals — I think it’s time to respect my players, my team and Chelsea Football Club,” Mourinho told Sky Sports.
”We are not a perfect team. I am not saying we are the best team in the world.
”I am saying we are a very good football team with everything a football team should have — big ambition, defensive quality, attacking quality, individual players, creativity.”
Benitez believed his team were in with a chance at 1-1 but were always in trouble once Chelsea had edged ahead.
”For the first 25 minutes we played very well, and for the first half I saw a very good Liverpool,” said the Spaniard.
”We played at the same level as them in the first half — but if you concede goals then you must play with risk. That is when you are likely to concede another.”
This was the seventh meeting in 12 months between the two clubs and the second of the week following Wednesday’s goalless stalemate in the Champions League.
Mourinho reacted to that result by making two changes to his starting line-up with Holland striker Arjen Robben relegated to the bench while there was no sign of Portuguese defender Paulo Ferreira as Asier Del Horno and Cole, who scored the winner in the corresponding fixture last season, returned to the team.
Liverpool’s only change saw Djibril Cisse, scorer of seven goals this season but only one in the Premiership, dropped in favour of John Arne Riise as Peter Crouch once again operated as a lone striker.
Both sides were heavily criticised in the wake of their uneventful midweek European showdown but there was more action in an enthralling opening 45 minutes on Sunday than there was in the whole 90 minutes four days earlier.
Liverpool started brightly but found themselves trailing to Lampard’s well executed spot-kick after Djimi Traore had brought down Côte d’Ivoire striker Didier Drogba in the 25th minute in front of The Kop.
Goalkeeper Jose Reina guessed the right way but Lampard kept his composure to beat the Spanish keeper for pace and power.
Liverpool had not scored in front of their own fans for three games and it was going to take something special for them to put that statistic right.
And special it certainly was.
Just as Chelsea looked like taking a stranglehold on proceedings up popped Gerrard to rifle home an unstoppable 36th minute equaliser after Chelsea had failed to clear Riise’s corner.
For a brief few moments the reigning champions were rattled, yet by half-time they had restored their lead thanks to another quality finish from the boot of Duff.
Once again Drogba, who was later booked after an ugly confrontation with Xabi Alonso, was involved as he left Sami Hyypia trailing in his wake before teeing-up Duff to beat Reina from an accute angle.
Liverpool simply had no answer and were fortunate not to escape a bigger hiding.
Drogba failed to make the most of a glaring defensive error by Hyypia before redeeming himself by setting up Cole to score his second of the season from close range after 62 minutes.
Crouch, who has yet to score in a red shirt since his seven-million-pound move from Southampton in the summer, spurned a glorious chance to reduce Liverpool’s deficit when he blazed over the bar from close range before Geremi completed the rout nine minutes from time after Liverpool’s defence had been carved open yet again. – Sapa-AFP