Lampard stars for Chelsea

Frank Lampard showed nerves of steel to overcome his penalty jinx and fire Chelsea to a 2-0 victory at Fulham. Lampard had missed three of his last four spot-kicks for club and country and found himself ousted from penalty duty by Michael Ballack.

But, with Ballack suspended, the England midfielder stepped up to take responsibility when Liam Rosenior handled the ball 17 minutes from time.

It was his third goal of the season and number four soon followed in trademark style when he rifled a low shot into the bottom corner after a neat lay-off by Didier Drogba on the edge of the box.

A two-goal defeat was harsh on Fulham, who had battled hard to keep their illustrious neighbours at bay and occasionally threatened to take the lead themselves.

But Rosenior, outstanding in front of England assistant Terry Venables, spoiled all his good work with one moment of madness.

Chelsea substitute Salomon Kalou ran the ball into the penalty area and Rosenior stumbled as he tried to keep with him.

As the Fulham full-back hit the ground, he inexplicably reached out with his right arm and blocked the ball.

Referee Mark Halsey spotted the offence and immediately awarded the penalty which Lampard, captain in the absence of the injured John Terry, converted.

Terry injured his back in training on Friday and is a major doubt for the Champions League game away to Levski Sofia on Wednesday. He looked in agony as he hobbled around the touchline to take his seat in the stands.

With two ties against Barcelona on the horizon and Terry on a yellow card in Europe, Jose Mourinho is unlikely to risk him in Bulgaria.

Terry hates missing games, however, and his absence exposed Mourinho's lack of cover in central defence since the defection of William Gallas to Arsenal.

With Khalid Boulahrouz also absent at Craven Cottage with an illness, the Chelsea boss was forced to reshuffle his back-four. Geremi stepped in at right-back and Paulo Ferreira moved into central defence.

Fulham lined his with five in midfield and Collins John alone up front.

Boss Chris Coleman had out-thought Mourinho to win 1-0 in March and he tried to repeat his success by asking Michael Brown to cut off the Chelsea supply-line through Claude Makelele.

The Cottagers, roared on by noisy fans, set out to hustle their wealthy neighbours and deny them time on the ball.

Arjen Robben and Andriy Shevchenko were among those to find themselves on the end of crunching tackles in the opening exchanges.

The Blues seemed a little rattled as Fulham forced errors in a crowded midfield and counter-attacked down the flanks.

Petr Cech was forced to save from Wayne Routledge, but Chelsea survived the early storm and hit back with a flurry of chances before half-time.

Robben unleashed a 25th-minute thunderbolt which sped past Niemi in the Fulham goal and smashed into the crossbar. It bounced down and spun back into play, but television replays showed it did not cross the line.

Chelsea keeper Cech showed great courage in 54th minute when he threw himself at the feet of Brown, when the former Spurs midfielder looked set to score.

Fulham broke down the right with Rosenior and Moritz Volz tormenting Ashley Cole, who still looks far from happy in with his role in his new team.

The ball was cut inside to Brown, who rode a challenge from Ricardo Carvalho and enjoyed a lucky ricochet off Lampard's boot.

He was clean through, but Cech had spotted the danger and pounced at Brown's feet to smother his shot. The Czech took a knee in the face but was able to continue after treatment.

Papa Bouba Diop wasted a glorious chance to give Fulham the lead in the 63rd minute when he lost his marker Didier Drogba and latched onto an inswinging free-kick from Queudrue. Diop looked certain to nod it in from six yards but glanced his header wide.

Moments later, Chelsea should have found the net.

Sub Salomon Kalou saw his initial shot blocked, but the ball fell kindly for Shevchenko. His effort was parried by Niemi but dropped at the feet of Drogba, whose left-foot volley bounced into the ground and then up onto the crossbar.

In the end, Chelsea were relieved to get a helping hand from Rosenior.

Brown also marred an excellent personal performance with a nasty high tackle on Ashley Cole.

The former Spurs midfielder escaped without a booking, but it may be one for the Football Association to look at.