Lampard leads assault as Blues fire title warning

Chelsea 5 Newcastle United

Claudio Ranieri was a lone voice last night. The only man in Stamford Bridge who does not believe Chelsea are Premiership contenders.

Frank Lampard, who followed up his goal in the sacking of Lazio with another in this humbling of Newcastle, admitted: "For the first time we can honestly say we really believe we can win something - win the title." Damien Duff, who also scored in both games, said: "I know the gaffer is saying we're not expecting to win it but with the squad we have we're confident."

Celestine Babayaro, the club's longest-serving professional, added: "This [season] is the first time I've sat down and thought to myself 'we can win the league'." Bobby Robson, whose team were utterly outplayed yesterday, concluded: "They are good enough to to win the championship. They are a tremendous threat to Manchester United and Arsenal. We contributed to our own downfall but I wouldn't take anything away from their class and style. They have a nice shape, a solid back four, a good crowd and fine players."

Ranieri was not, however, going to add to the pressure on his players or himself. He said: "Frank and Damien are young. They don't know how long the League is. Last season at Christmas we were very close to Arsenal. Then Mancehster United and Arsenal whizzed past and said goodbye."

We will know more about Chelsea's credentials after their next Premiership game at the Bridge: Manchester United on 30 November. In the meantime the evidence of yesterday is that Chelsea are contenders, but the Premiership's increasing lack of depth must be taken into account. Newcastle had pretensions pre-season but their squad has not withstood injuries, notably to Jonathan Woodgate and Craig Bellamy. Yesterday they had to field a significantly weakened XI and were blown away.

Robson claimed the match turned on the contentious dismissal of Andy O'Brien shortly before half-time but Chelsea were already two-up and strolling. The home side did not even need to demonstrate their squad strength. Ranieri chose an unchanged side for the first time this season to "check my players had their feet on the ground - they do".

The anoraks among Newcastle's support arrived pondering two contrasting statistics. Their team had won their last four away games, but they had never won a Premiership match at Stamford Bridge. The latter fact seemed to be more on Bobby Robson's mind as he fielded a five-man midfield. This, though, had less to with superstition than the absence of Alan Shearer, who reported sick before kick-off, Bellamy and the injured Kieron Dyer. Nor was the formation as negative as it looked. Lee Bowyer, Hugo Viana and Laurent Robert operated as an advanced trio ahead of Jermaine Jenas and Gary Speed.

On reflection, Robson may feel he should have played a defensive quintet. Viana was utterly anonymous. Bowyer's form confirmed the dramatic decline in his career. Robert, though a threat going forward, caused even more problems for his own defence through his reluctance to track back. Chelsea's right-back, Glen Johnson, scored the first goal and made the second.

Johnson was playing for a place in the England party to meet Denmark at Old Trafford on Sunday. Sven Goran Eriksson, who will announce his squad during a reconnaissance visit to England's Portuguese Euro 2004 base today, was at Stamford Bridge hoping the defender would redeem himself after his needless dismissal in Rome.

Although his inexperience was evident at times, Johnson's rich promise shone through. The 19-year-old was a composed and athletic presence throughout and took his goal with the coolness of a veteran striker. Chelsea had quickly dominated possession, switching play with swift ease, but clear chances were few before an Adrian Mutu run pulled Newcastle's defenders out of position after 25 minutes. The ball ran to Wayne Bridge on the left, his cross eluded everyone but the unmarked Johnson who took his time before volleying in.

Johnson's cross provided the next goal. It reached Duff whose mis-hit shot was smartly turned in by Hernan Crespo. O'Brien then lost the ball to Mutu and tugged his shirt as the Romanian raced clear. It looked outside the box but there was other contact inside. Besides, O'Brien escaped dismissal for tripping Ryan Giggs earlier this season and these things tend to even themselves up. O'Brien walked and Lampard converted the penalty.

With Chelsea easing up and Newcastle settling for defence, the second period was quiet until Duff collected a poor clearance by Shay Given, skipped past Stephen Caldwell and scored with a low drive. Eidur Gudjohnsen, unmarked, then headed in Bridge's cross to seal a 19-pass move and confirm, to everyone but Ranieri, that Chelsea are contenders.

And even the Italian, when he arrived home last night, and perhaps opened a bottle of Barolo, surely admitted to himself they are.

Goals: Johnson (25) 1-0; Crespo (40) 2-0; Lampard pen (42) 3-0; Duff (78) 4-0; Gudjohnsen (84) 5-0.

Chelsea (4-3-1-2): Cudicini 7; Johnson 8 (Huth, 89), Terry 8, Gallas 7, Bridge 8; Lampard 8, Makelele 7, Veron 6; Duff 7; Crespo 7 (Gudjohnsen 7, 68) Mutu 8 (Cole 7, 64).Substitutes not used: Ambrosio (gk), Gronkjaer.

Newcastle United (4-2-3-1): Given 3; Hughes 4, O'Brien 4, Bramble 2, Bernard 4; Jenas 4, Speed 5; Bowyer 3, Viana 2 (S Caldwell 4, h-t), Robert 3 (LuaLua, 76); Ameobi 4. Substitutes not used: Harper (gk), Solano, Chopra.

Referee: P Durkin (Portland) 6.

Sent off: Newcastle: O'Brien.

Man of the match: Lampard.

Attendance: 41,332.