A Frank Lampard penalty in first-half stoppage time has given Chelsea the lead going into half time in the West London derby.
In the opening 20 minutes both sides seemed willing to ease themselves into the game and, as such, neither crafted any bona fide goalscoring opportunities.
The first chance came after 25 minutes, and it fell to the home side. Moussa Dembele broke down the left flank before pulling it back to the in-form Clint Dempsey, but the American stabbed his shot straight at Petr Cech.
Youngster Kerim Frei provided the next highlight as he found space outside the box, only to see his low shot tipped round the post by Cech.
Just as it looked like the sides would be going into the break level, Danny Murphy brought down Salomon Kalou inside the penalty area. Lampard stepped up and fired it past Schwarzer, who guessed the right way, to give the Blues the lead at the break.
If the score remains the same then Chelsea will move back up to fifth in the table, level on points with both fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and sixth-placed Newcastle United.
Barney Corkhill
