Lampard hammers hat-trick in Chelsea romp

Frank Lampard scored a hat-trick as Chelsea reminded their Manchester title rivals that they also can score freely with a 5-1 thumping of bottom-of-the-table Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League on Sunday.

Doubles apiece for Lampard and Daniel Sturridge, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Bolton, put the visitors four goals up with less than half an hour gone before Bolton pulled one back through Dedryck Boyata after the break.

Lampard, who scored in the 1-1 Champions League draw at Valencia midweek, completed his treble in the 59th minute with a low, right-footed shot in a performance that will go a long way to silencing the critics who have questioned his future.

Chelsea climbed above Newcastle United to stand three points behind leaders Manchester United and City, with the champions ahead on goal difference. The top two have 19 points from seven games.

"We have been looking for this victory for quite some time," Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas told a news conference. "It fills us with pride.

"It's not that we have not been trying to do this before ... (but) for various different reasons we weren't able to find a result with this expression before. We have been creating the same amount of opportunities but we were more prolific (in this game)."

Later on Sunday, Tottenham Hotspur host Arsenal in the north London derby, while Queens Park Rangers travel to Fulham in another capital derby and promoted Swansea City host Stoke City.

On a mild but gloomy afternoon at the Reebok, last year's league runners-up took less than two minutes to get off the mark when Sturridge rose above Gretar Steinsson to nod in a Lampard corner.

The pair combined for the second goal on 15 minutes when Sturridge found Lampard with a neat pass across the goal that the midfielder swept in with his right foot past keeper Adam Bogdan, who was standing in for the injured Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Sturridge drove in the third on 25 minutes after cutting in from the right to unleash a bobbling left-footed shot that Bogdan should have held.

Two minutes later Lampard added the fourth, scooping in the rebound after Bogdan, enduring an afternoon as shocking as his pink shirt as he flapped between the posts, could only parry David Luiz's powerful shot.

Sturridge, who was applauded by home fans at the start of the game in recognition of the eight goals he notched in 12 Bolton appearances last season, did not celebrate either of his goals.

Bolton came out from the break pumped up and immediately got on the scoresheet when Boyata jumped high to head in a Martin Petrov free kick. They continued to enjoy a lively spell before spirits were crushed when Chelsea hit their fifth.

After exchanging passes with Didier Drogba, Lampard showed he still has a sharp finishing touch as he completed his hat-trick after a few weeks where the future of the 33-year-old midfielder has been under the spotlight.

He was left out of the England starting line-up for last month's Euro 2012 qualifier in Bulgaria, the first time he had been dropped from the start of a competitive match since 2007, while he was also on the bench for last weekend's league game against Swansea City.

Bolton will feel they should have got a second goal after television replays showed Kevin Davies' effort had crossed the line before Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic cleared it with around a quarter of an hour to play.

Sturridge had the chance to join Lampard on a hat-trick but fired just wide in the dying minutes as Chelsea looked dangerous going forward right until the very end.

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