Jose Bosingwa’s 36th minute opener was followed by a goal from substitute Nicolas Anelka 14 minutes from time as the Blues maintained their 100 per cent away record under Luiz Felipe Scolari.

The signs were ominous before Bosingwa’s opener.

Michael Ballack’s early stinger forced Thomas Sorensen into his first save with the Dane tipping a fierce shot from 25 yards over the bar.

Sorensen was also forced to dive to his right to tip a free-kick from the German around the post.

And there was still only 15 minutes on the clock when he stretched out his left boot to denyDidier Drogba his first League goal since March.

Frank Lampard had a goalbound shot blocked before Chelsea did make the breakthrough when the England midfielder fed Bosingwa from the right and the marauding Portuguese full-back collected the ball beautifully on his chest before beating Sorensen with a smart finish which Andy Griffin could do nothing about on the line.

Sorensen had to rush off his line to get to Florent Malouda’s through ball just ahead of Salomon Kalou and the one-way traffic continued after the break with Lampard having a shot deflected narrowly past the post by Leon Cort before Sorensen pushed Malouda’s shot on to the crossbar

Tony Pulis’s side, who earned a point from a goalless draw at Liverpool last weekend, were rarely seen in the opposite third in the opening half with Mamady Sidibe’s tame header their only effort on target.

But they improved after Ricardo Fuller replaced the ineffective Dave Kitson in attack and their best chance came on the hour when Cort’s header from a corner was cleared off the line by John Obi Mikel.

Stoke continued to press and forced a series of corners but the game was effectively ended when Cort failed to deal with a cross from the right and as he slipped he only managed to chest the ball straight into the path of Anelka whose shot found the net despite Sorensen getting a strong hand on it.

Chelsea had chances to put some gloss on the scoreline with Ballack screwing a shot wide and Lampard scuffing an effort straight at Sorensen from point blank range but they will go to Romania for the midweek Champions League encounter with CFR Cluj in high spirits.

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