Jose Mourinho's side weathered an early storm from their visitors before killing off the game with goals in either half from William Gallas and Hernan Crespo.

Chelsea are now 15 points clear of their nearest challengers Manchester United and an astonishing 21 points ahead of Liverpool, whose title ambitions have now been extinguished.

Rafael Benitez's team performed creditably enough at Stamford Bridge but their lack of a cutting edge cost them dearly and their frustrations boiled over late on when goalkeeper Jose Reina was sent off for clashing with Arjen Robben.

It reveals much of Mourinho's exalted standards that Chelsea entered this game in a mini-crisis - two games without a win.

Liverpool needed that reassurance.

The Merseysiders may have the measure of Chelsea in Europe but domestically their record is as dismal as anyone's, having lost seven of the previous 11 meetings between the two clubs.

The match quickly settled into a furious pace, although it was Liverpool who adapted quicker.

Sami Hyypia and Jamie Carragher both should have done better with headers from corners whipped in by Steven Gerrard, although the best chance fell to Peter Crouch in the 20th minute when he headed over from Jean-Arne Riise's dinked cross.

Chelsea were unusually rattled, their frustrations epitomised by Crespo, whose forward runs were continually thwarted by offside flags.

But the Blues are as resourceful as they are resilient and with their first genuine chance of the game in the 35th minute, they forged ahead.

Riccardo Carvalho nodded down Frank Lampard's corner and Gallas seized on the loose ball to fire home.

It was tough on Liverpool, but their hopes of mounting a comeback were almost killed off seconds later when Joe Cole dispossessed Stephen Warnock and shot into the side-netting with only Reina to beat.

Liverpool survived, but their hearts were in their mouths again in first-half stoppage time when Reina could only parry John Terry's header and Crespo stabbed in the rebound. Once again, however, the assistant referee's flag was raised.

However, the half-time interval seemed to clear Liverpool heads.

Four minutes after the restart, Gerrard pinged a cross along the six-yard box which just eluded Crouch. Then, the midfielder's instinctive first-time drive was well parried by Cech.

The game had burst into life.

Liverpool's willingness to sweep forward opened up gaps at the back and Robben almost exploited them when he raced upfield and sent a cross-shot flashing across the face of Reina's goal.

It was a warning that Liverpool failed to heed.

In the 68th minute, Crespo finally timed a run to perfection to collect Asier Del Horno's pass and bury his shot into the bottom right-hand corner.

There was still time for one more moment of drama.

Chelsea's players were incensed when Reina came out of his area and barged into Eidur Gudjohnsen and in the ensuing melee, the Spaniard lashed out at Robben.

The red card was inevitable, as was Chelsea's win.