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Chelsea celebrate Premiership title
Chelsea celebrated their first championship for 50 years on Saturday after a 2-0 away victory at Bolton Wanderers.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: February 25, 2007 09:51 AM IST
Read Time:3 min
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Chelsea celebrated their first championship for 50 years on Saturday after a 2-0 away victory at Bolton Wanderers. Manager Jose Mourinho rushed on to the pitch at the whistle with his bench in tow and embraced the players, then withdrew while they danced in front of the supporters in the away corner of Bolton's ground. The London side, now an unassailable 14 points in front of Arsenal wanted to wrap up the title before Tuesday's Champions League semi-final second leg against Liverpool. Lampard's double After a tough first half when Bolton made all the running, they took control with two Frank Lampard goals after 60 and 76 minutes. Lampard and skipper John Terry, shirts flung into the crowd, were the last to leave the pitch, serenaded by their fans who continued to sing long after the pitch was empty. The 3,000 travelling supporters lucky enough to have tickets for the game filled the stadium with triumphant chants including "There's only one Frankie Lampard" and "Jose Mourinho" to the tune of La donna e mobile. In London, fans gathered in a pub near Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium and policemen were also there to prevent any trouble. "Superb, superb - one of these moments I could not believe," said one supporter. Party mood Chelsea fans were in party mood after waiting five decades for their second top division title in the year of the club's centenary. "Nearly, we suffered most of years. We now bought our new open top bus here which is not a bus. We can't afford it. We spent all of our money on players," a smiling fan said pointing to a makeshift bus parading in the streets. "They say we are rich but we are not, look at this, are we? But we've won the lot, thanks guys," he added. The Premier League trophy will be presented at Stamford Bridge on Saturday (May 6) when Chelsea play Charlton Athletic. In Bolton, one over-enthusiastic supporter rushed on to the pitch and was bundled away by police but the incident could not detract from the joyous atmosphere. The fans spent the dying moments bouncing up and down as Mourinho's bench collected in a row on the touchline arms locked. Twenty minutes after the final whistle many of the players, together with owner Roman Abramovich, returned to the pitch to take more acclaim from their fans who were anxious to milk every moment from their special day. Chelsea have turned their attention to Tuesday's task at Anfield where they face Liverpool in the battle for a place in Champions League final. Wild cheers When the players were eventually ready to leave, the fans surrounded the team bus still cheering wildly. Striker Didier Drogba and midfielder Joe Cole responded by climbing through the skylight to dance on the roof of the bus, much to the joy of the fans - and the consternation of the coaching staff. There were no falls, however, as the squad departed intact to start planning the third leg of their targeted treble having won the League Cup in February. (AP)Topics mentioned in this article
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