• Asia Trophy

Chelsea to face Villa in Asia Trophy final

Daniel Sturridge scored Chelsea's fourth goal © PA Photos

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Chelsea breezed into the final of the Barclays Asia Trophy with a comfortable 4-0 win over Kitchee at Hong Kong Stadium.

Frank Lampard put the Chelsea in front from the spot nine minutes before the break and Ubay Santana's own goal doubled the lead at the start of the second period. Didier Drogba's header and an impressive finish from substitute Daniel Sturridge completed the scoring.

Boss Andre Villas-Boas opted for Drogba as the focal point of a three-pronged attack with Salomon Kalou and Florent Malouda either side, leaving Fernando Torres on the bench, and it was Kalou who almost put Chelsea in front after 16 minutes but his powerful downward header from Drogba's right-wing cross bounced up and hit the bar.

Chelsea continued to dominate, with Kitchee reduced to sporadic counter-attacks, but they could not convert their superiority over their enthusiastic opponents into something more substantial until the 36th minute.

Yossi Benayoun beat a couple of defenders in the box before the midfielder was crudely hacked down and Lampard drilled the resultant penalty low down the middle.

Drogba saw a 30-yard free-kick punched away by Wang Zhenpeng before a ball over the top in first-half injury time set Malouda free and he rounded the Kitchee keeper but his shot from a tight angle was blocked on the line.

Drogba grazed the top of the net with another free-kick four minutes into the second half before Santana sliced Malouda's low cross into his own net to make it 2-0. Chelsea netted their third on the hour when Drogba bravely met Malouda's deflected cross to head home from close range and was replaced by Torres immediately afterwards.

Fellow substitute John Obi Mikel nodded Benayoun's cross wide and Sturridge curled a free-kick just over as Chelsea threatened a fourth goal. It was Sturridge who claimed it with a fine individual effort in the 78th minute as he picked up the ball on the right side of the box, beat two men and finished from a tight angle.

Torres was unlucky to see a 25-yard strike smack the base of the post on the stroke of full-time as Chelsea eased to victory and they now face Aston Villa in Saturday's final.

Darren Bent scored the only goal of the game © Getty Images

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In the competition's earlier game, Darren Bent's goal just after half-time proved enough for Aston Villa to edge out Blackburn Rovers 1-0 in a hard-fought encounter.

Bent struck after 48 minutes when he expertly converted Barry Bannan's cross following good hold-up play from Emile Heskey in the box.

In an even first half, Blackburn were first to threaten after nine minutes when Mauro Formica's drive was parried firmly away by Villa's new signing Shay Given. Nine minutes later, David Dunn linked up with the same player but his 25-yard drive was too high.

Bent then directed a header from Gabriel Agbonlahor's cross over the bar at the other end before Bannan's wicked inswinging cross from the right was eventually scrambled away by a panicked Rovers defence.

Stiliyan Petrov's neat touch saw the Bulgarian race clear in the 25th minute but he fired straight at Paul Robinson, the last good chance of the opening period as the sides went in level.

Villa then broke the deadlock three minutes after the break when Bent escaped the attentions of the Rovers defence and applied a deft touch to Bannan's cross that found the far corner past the diving Robinson.

Rovers came close to an equaliser shortly afterwards when Christopher Samba's storming run ended with a lay-off to Brett Emerton, but Given tipped the Australian's curling effort wide at full stretch.

Villa could have added a second with four minutes to go when Marc Albrighton pounced on a loose ball and drove towards goal but Robinson did brilliantly to turn his fierce effort around the near post.

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