Wayne Bridge got a measure of revenge over John Terry as Carlos Tevez and Craig Bellamy both struck twice to secure a 4-2 victory for Manchester City over nine-man Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Terry and Bridge came face to face for the first time since allegations surfaced about the Chelsea's skipper relationship with Bridge's former partner.
The pair's meeting before kick-off saw Bridge ignore Terry's offer of an outstretched hand before City fought back after falling behind to Frank Lampard's goal to dash Chelsea's hopes of extending their lead at the top of the table.
A miserable day for Chelsea, who are just one point ahead of Manchester United, hit a low when Juliano Belletti and Michael Ballack were both shown red cards.
The way Tevez paraded Bridge in front of the visiting supporters after clinching the win made it clear that the other City players also considered this to be a grudge match.
But the point-scoring that really mattered is now reflected in the Premier League table where City moved above Tottenham into fourth place.
Bridge announced last week he was not available for selection for future England squads because he felt his position was "untenable". And England coach Fabio Capello was in the stand to see what he would be missing as well as check on the form of a number of his players.
Faced by a City side that showed precious little attacking intent during the opening 45 minutes, Ancelotti's side were allowed to dominate possession yet uncharacteristically lacked conviction inside their opponents box.
The biggest culprit was, surprisingly Didier Drogba who spurned three good opportunities before Lampard finally eased home nerves.
The Ivory Coast forward should have done better with a 25th minute header and then saw a tame shot deflected over of the leg of Nigel De Jong.
But his clearest chance came in the 36th minute when Lampard's miscued shot presented Drogba with a close range volley that the striker fired wastefully over.
Chelsea finally conjured a move of quality that led to the home side taking a 42nd minute lead.
Joe Cole found space in midfield and placed a weighted pass into the path of Lampard's diagonal run which the England midfielder with a first time shot that flew low across City keeper Shay Given and inside the far post.
Chelsea had only to hold out for three minutes and Carlo Ancelotti might have been reasonably satisfied at the interval.
However the coach's mood turned much darker when he saw his side produce a catalogue of defensive errors to gift the visitors an equaliser on the stroke of half-time.
Bridge's punted clearance cleared a moment of danger from the City area and was turned into an attacking pass by John Obi Mikel's mis-directed header and Tevez snatched possession from Terry, rounded Ricardo Carvalho, and slotted past Hilario's weak save.
The goal clearly gave Roberto Mancini's side a lift at the start of the second half and they forced a lead within five minutes of the restart from another breakaway goal.
This time it was Bellamy who led the charge, collecting Gareth Barry's pass inside his own half before out-pacing Mikel and placing a left foot finish across Hilario and inside the far post from a tight angle.
The Chelsea keeper was again unconvincing and on the evidence of this performance, Petr Cech's four-week absence with a calf problem could feel like a very long time to Ancelotti.
Belletti was caught out by Barry in the 75th minute and brought down the City midfielder to earn a red card and concede a penalty that was converted by Tevez.
Ballack walked six minutes later when he collected a second yellow card before Bellamy completed another sweeping move to strike City?s fourth in the 86th minute.
Lampard struck his second in the last minute after Barry had brought down Nicolas Anelka in the area.
Copyright AFP
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