160 Not Out

In the late kick-off between Portsmouth and Chelsea, Frank Lampard made history by playing in his 160th consecutive Premiership game. He has now over taken David James at the top of the appearance charts and even capped the performance off with a goal.

Chelsea controlled the game and took the lead through an early Hernan Crespo volley, though the Argentinean was forced to limp off the field soon afterwards. Former Newcastle whizkid, LuaLua was a constant threat up front, and managed to find the target on a number f occasions, however none off the attempts were worthy enough to beat the outstanding Petr Cech.

Nevertheless, Joe Cole and Damien Duff provided constant threat on either side of the pitch and it was Cole who created the second goal. The talented youngster was tricky for the defenders to handle all night and when he made his way into the penalty area, he used his stepovers to marvellous effect and as a result caused Dejan Stefanovic to blatantly trip him. The penalty was correctly awarded and it was Lampard who stepped up and slot it low into the corner in order to give Chelsea a fully deserved two goal lead which incidentally, they finished with.

As well as Lampard's outing passing the previous record of 159 consecutive league appearances set by keeper David James while at Liverpool, the Football Writer's Player of the Year is now also the top scorer in the Premiership, with 11 goals. Not bad for a midfielder, who has played every Chelsea league match since September 2001.

As in all the fixtures over the weekend there was a moment of remembrance for the great George Best. However, unlike the traditional minutes silence, there was a minute of celebration for Best, which contained applause and the chanting of the legends name.