And it was good work from Gemmill that provided Everton's best chance of the
half after 43 minutes when his quick thinking caught Chelsea out, and it too
a last-gasp interception from Carlo Cudicini to deny Gary Neysmith eight
yards out.
Chelsea made a terrific start to the second half and increased their lead
within three minutes of the restart.
Gronkjaer burst down left flank and sent over a great cross for Hasselbaink
to finish was some style from 10 yards - his diving header eluding Richard
Wright at his far post.
The Blues sealed the points on 62 minutes when John Terry punted a free-kick
some 50 yards up the pitch and Gronkjaer stole in behind the Everton
rearguard to show great composure before slipping the ball past the
advancing Wright.
The lead was harsh on Everton, but they were rewarded on 77 minutes for
their graft when a lengthy passing move ended with Gemmill's clever pass
finding Lee Carsley just inside the Blues box and he displayed wonderful
poise to bury the ball in the bottom corner.
Carsley almost repeated the trick five minutes from time when he drifted in
behind the Chelsea defence to meet a Thomas Gravesen through pass, but his
volley was inches past the target.
Substitute Zola set the seal on the victory with the last kick of the ball
latching onto another 50 yard pass and superbly chipping Wright from the
edge of the box. The Blues are now third in the race for the Champions
League places.
Man-Of-The-Match: Jesper Gronkjaer (Chelsea)
His start to the second half of the match was fantastic and in the end
helped to make the scoreline more comfortable that it really should have
been over the 90 minutes.
Chelsea: Cudicini, Melchiot, Desailly, Terry, Gallas,
Gronkjaer (Le Saux 87), Petit, Lampard, De Lucas, Gudjohnsen (Cole 84),
Hasselbaink (Zola 81).
Subs Not Used: de Goey, Stanic.
Booked: De Lucas.
Everton: Wright, Yobo (Gravesen 52), Weir, Stubbs, Unsworth
(Hibbert 52), Naysmith, Gemmill, Li Tie (Ferguson 78), Carsley, Campbell,
Rooney.
Subs Not Used: Gerrard, Alexandersson.
Booked: Gravesen.
Att: 40,875
Ref: M Riley (W Yorkshire).
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