Portsmouth 0 Chelsea 2: Drogba keeps Chelsea in slipstream

Already given a ticking off by Sir Alex Ferguson for having the temerity to question the beneficial refereeing decisions he believes Manchester United have received, the real stinging rebuke for Jose Mourinho came at a touch after 2.30pm yesterday. It was nothing the Scot needed to say: John O'Shea's late, late winner at Anfield did it for him, increasing the leaders' advantage over the champions to 12 points when this contest began.

United may have secured yet another victory from a performance that probably had not merited it, but as the Chelsea manager would acknowledge, that's the way titles are won. Or in Mourinho's case, lost. "The belief is still there," Mourinho insisted. "Anything is possible if we have all our players fit."

United's triumph could have been a psychologically devastating moment for his men. But as Chelsea have demonstrated before, they are prepared to match United's achievements, victory for victory - though even with a game in hand, and with United still to play at home, you have to suspect that the deficit may be too great.

The details of this match will not linger long in the memory of the onlooking Roman Abramovich, save for yet another goal from Didier Drogba, who thereby brought his season's tally to 29, and a remarkable performance from Petr Cech. Late on, with the Blues leading 1-0, the Czech goalkeeper denied the substitute Andrew Cole in spectacular fashion. He was moving the wrong way, but twisted in mid-air to turn away the striker's header. Almost immediately, he thwarted Nwankwo Kanu, too.

It had Mourinho on his feet acclaiming the goalkeeper, who was absent for three months following the injury suffered at Reading. "With Petr Cech in goal all season, how many more points would Chelsea have?" Mourinho reflected.

It may have been the Special One versus The Sexagenarian - Harry Redknapp having turned 60 on Friday - but there is no footballing senility about the Pompey manager yet. True, they have faltered, after being seemingly Europe-bound, but here his team possessed energy, pace and creative prowess.

In the absence of John Terry, who will also miss the match against Porto on Tuesday, Mourinho was forced to deploy the ever-versatile Michael Essien in place of the England captain. At least the Chelsea manager, recently beset with injury problems, received encouragement from the return of another England defender, Ashley Cole.

Kanu's aerial presence created an early opportunity for Lomana LuaLua to examine Cech's reflexes, but the goalkeeper was quickly down to smother the ball. It was not until midway through the half that the visitors began to exhibit their superior talents, and the ball began to flow incisively between them.

One beautiful move culminated with Arjen Robben finding Andriy Shevchenko. He was presented with an acute angle, but the Ukrainian fired wide. The home crowd jeered and chanted that he had been a touch overpriced. But there was silence from the home seats when Drogba scored after the half-hour. The impressive Robben cut the ball back for Ashley Cole on the left and the defender's deep cross found Drogba, who volleyed the ball back across David James.

Portsmouth rallied gamely. An unmarked Matthew Taylor, directly in front of goal, was so surprised to receive a cross from Noe Pamarot that the midfielder failed to capitalise. Within seconds of the restart Robben struck a post before James denied Frank Lampard. But Andrew Cole came off the bench and headed just wide, and then, from a Richard Hughes cross, brought that marvellous save from Cech. A Kanu header also failed to beat the goalkeeper.

Chelsea broke, and Lampard's long ball and Ashley Cole's header on found the substitute Salomon Kalou. He turned the ball past James and Mourinho could relax. The title race remains alive. Just.