28/12/2003  Chelsea 3 Portsmouth 0
 
Frank Lampard learned much of his footballing craft under the stewardship of Harry Redknapp.

This afternoon there must have been a warm glow somewhere deep beneath the disappointment of Portsmouth manager Redknapp as he watched the boys he nurtured at West Ham turn in a superb performance to get Chelsea's Premiership challenge back on core.

Lampard scored the second Chelsea goal with a powerful right-foot strike after the Londoners had laboured for more than an hour against the huge endeavour of a Portsmouth buoyed by their Boxing Day victory against Spurs.

Wayne Bridge had earlier scored his first Premiership goal for Chelsea and Geremi later weighed in with a spectacular volley for his first goal for the club as the festive season finally produced some cheer for Claudio Ranieri's money-bags team.

Stunned by a 4-2 defeat at Charlton on Boxing Day Chelsea needed a performance of spirit and style if they were to fulfil the promise of Ranieri that ``the season starts here''.

For more than an hour they struggled and if it had not been for the enterprise of Lampard in midfield their season could have taken a decidedly downward turn considering they had won only one of their last four games.

Lampard however showed just why he has been their most consistent player this season and why he could be the architect of England's European Championship hopes in Portugal next summer.

His composure on the ball was superb, passing pinpoint and his galvanising example shining beacon for the more expensive talent around him.

It was just what Ranieri had called for if Chelsea are to compete with English football's big two in the second half of a season which is already developed in to a three-horse race.

``Last year Manchester United didn't lose a premier league game after New Year. The year before Arsenal didn't,'' Ranieri wrote in his match day programme.

``This is incredible. These teams know how to get themselves in the right attitude for the second half of the season. Our job is to stay close to them.''

It meant Chelsea could afford nothing less than victory today against a Portsmouth side who beat Spurs on Boxing Day but will still struggle to beat relegation come the season's end.

Ranieri dropped captain Marcel Desailly to the substitutes' bench as he rang in five changes following that defeat at Charlton.

John Terry took over the skipper's armband as William Gallas came in to a back four reinforced by the return of Mario Melchiot at the expense of Glen Johnson.

Second string goalkeeper Neil Sullivan replaced Carlo Cudicini who is suffering with a thigh strain and Joe Cole and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink were relegated to the bench with Geremi and Eidur Gudjohnsen preferred.

The changes however took their time to bare fruit. Worryingly for Ranieri, for too long Portsmouth's work ethic negated his side's superior class and for an hour the air of frustration around Stamford Bridge was obvious.

It took a genuine touch of class from Lampard to lift the spirits, the midfielder withering in the 40th minute to strike a trademark thunderbolt which beat the flying dive of Portsmouth goalkeeper Harald Wapenaar but cannoned back off the left hand post and was scrambled to safety.

Stand-in goalkeeper Sullivan was also required to pull off the save of the game in the 47th minute for the impressive Yakubu had embarrassed Melchiot down the flank.

When the breakthrough arrived it came from the most unlikely source. Bridge stormed down the left flank before cutting inside to unleash a left-foot shot which fizzed past Wapenaar into the far corner of the net.

It was Bridge's first Premiership goal for Chelsea and it completely dispelled the frustration swirling around West 
            Now full of confidence Chelsea added to their tally in the 70th minute when Mutu fed the irrepressible Lampard who fired a superb right-foot shot into the net for Chelsea's second.

The third arrived via the spectacular antics of Geremi to wrap Chelsea's victory in a somewhat flattering light but they will not worry about that. It was the three points they were after today.

The New Year however will require more style and a lot more of that Lampard enterprise if they are to fulfil the ambition of billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.

For Redknapp there was much industry to admire but 2004 threatens to be a long, long haul.