Zola leaves Bruce on long and grinding road

Birmingham City 1 Chelsea 3

As a player with Manchester United, Steve Bruce viewed relegation as an issue that affected other people. As the manager of Birmingham City, though, he is now one of those "others" and the fight to avoid the drop is very much his problem. Yesterday's defeat to a highly professional Chelsea side was City's seventh in the last eight League games. No wonder they are hovering precariously close to the trapdoor to the Nationwide.

"My job now is to keep everybody's spirits up," Bruce said after the game. "This has been a tough run, but people need to remember that we were mid-table in the First Division this time last year. This has been a big jump, but I still believe we can stay up. All the bottom teams are yet to come here, and if we're not good enough to beat them, then we're not good enough to be in this League."

Birmingham competed for 40 minutes yesterday, with Christophe Dugarry trying his best to inject some savoir flair, but his team-mates were several notches below the Frenchman's standard. However, what Bruce's men lack in ability, they more than make up for in determination, and Stan Lazaridis was unlucky not to give the home side the lead when he saw his 14th-minute half-volley from a Jeff Kenna cross well parried by Carlo Cudicini.

Birmingham were dominating, but could not find a way to break the deadlock. Dugarry was at his creative best when, on the half-hour mark, he made a bit of space for himself in central midfield and then fed Jamie Clapham down the left wing. The former Ipswich player took one touch to cut inside, before shooting at goal with his right foot. Cudicini needed to be at his elastic best to keep the scores level.

That save proved to be crucial, as Chelsea absorbed the pressure and, in the the manner of all good sides, took their one clear chance of the half. The goal, a stunning Gianfranco Zola right-foot volley on the stroke of half-time, came at the end of a wonderful passing move. Most of the Chelsea players had had a touch when Emmanuel Petit chipped inside the box to Eidur Gudjohnsen, who brought the ball down on his chest before feeding the unmarked Zola on the penalty spot for an emphatic opener.

"That first goal was the key," Bruce said, "because we'd had good chances up until then and looked likely to score ourselves. After that, our confidence drained a little, but that's hardly surprising after the run we've had."

The acrobatics proved to be Zola's last contribution of the half, but also the match, as the Italian hobbled off and failed to re-emerge after the break. No wonder the Chelsea manager was unperturbed, though, as he could call on the club's leading striker, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, as replacement. It was Birmingham who had the first chance after the restart, though, when Lazaridis was again presented with a good chance to the left of goal, but his shot was too close to Cudicini, who managed to beat the ball away.

Once more, the keeper's intervention proved vital, as the visitors doubled their lead moments later. Dugarry tried a trick too many inside the Chelsea half, lost possession, and could do nothing as the ensuing break led to Gudjohnsen heading Jesper Gronkjaer's pin-point cross home for the second. End of contest. "Carlo is so consistent," Ranieri said of his Italian 'keeper, who could now qualify to play for England if he so wished, "and he is always there when the opposition do something extraordinary. I believe he is one of the best 'keepers in the League."

At the other end, Gudjohnsen might have doubled his tally within minutes, when he latched on to a defensive slip, but he flicked his shot with the outside of the right foot straight into Vaesen's arms. No matter. Chelsea just kept pouring forward, and were duly rewarded with a third after 68 minutes, when Hasselbaink was brought down inside the area by a joint lunge from Robbie Savage and Kenny Cunningham.

The Dutchman dusted himself down before converting the penalty. Birmingham had the merit to reduce the arrears through Savage's own spot-kick moments from full-time, but the truth is that they were thoroughly outclassed. The road to safety looks longer than ever.

Birmingham City 1
Savage pen 87

Chelsea 3
Zola 44, Gudjohnsen 49, Hasselbaink pen 69

Half-time: 0-1 Attendance: 29,475