Cole strike sinks Rovers

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Cole struck a 22nd-minute winner with a searing 16-yard first-time drive that gave goalkeeper Brad Friedel no chance for Chelsea's seventh league win on their last nine visits to Ewood Park

In returning to winning ways in the Barclays Premier League following last weekend's defeat to the Gunners, coach Avram Grant's side are now back within six points of Arsenal and five of United.

Mark Hughes' side took the game to Chelsea early on and should have opened the scoring, but when your luck is out the opportunities they created always seem to end up the wrong side of the woodwork.

So it proved, sparked by an inswinging corner from Morten Gamst Pedersen that flew through the six-yard box and inches beyond the far post, with no Rovers player able to conjure a decisive touch.

It was an enthralling start from Rovers, with David Bentley then shaving the bar with a rising drive from the edge of the area two minutes later.

Perhaps inevitably, given all those missed chances, it came as no surprise when Chelsea took the lead in the 22nd minute as Cole finished a surging run with a 16-yard strike into the top left-hand corner.

Undaunted, Blackburn struck the bar again, this time following a stunning save from Petr Cech.

From a short free-kick, Bentley thundered a 30-yard drive into the wall from where Roque Santa Cruz teed up Steven Reid from 15 yards, only for Cech to push the shot onto the crossbar.

Striking the woodwork, though, was not the sole preserve of Rovers as Frank Lampard followed suit within three minutes.