Kalou keeps Chelsea's title hopes alive

Chelsea's Salomon Kalou(L) is congratulated by teammate Frank Lampard after their Premiership match against Watford at Watford. Kalou's dramatic late goal earned Chelsea a 1-0 win at Watford on Saturday that preserved his side's Premiership title hopes.

Salomon Kalou's dramatic late goal earned Chelsea a 1-0 win at Watford on Saturday that preserved his side's Premiership title hopes.

The Blues striker headed Andriy Shevchenko's cross high into the top corner three minutes into stoppage time, just as Watford appeared certain to hold out for a draw that would have effectively handed Manchester United the title.

Kalou's timely intervention kept Chelsea six points behind league leaders United with seven games remaining but Jose Mourinho's celebrations at the final whistle stemmed more from relief than euphoria.

The west Londoners had struggled to find any rhythm during a fractious match but Mourinho has a useful knack of eking wins out of such frenetic occasions, and it did not desert him here.

Mourinho could not be accused of taking Watford lightly. United's emphatic victory over Blackburn earlier in the afternoon had left the Portuguese little room to manoeuvre and not even Wednesday's crucial Champions League quarter-final with Valencia could deter him from naming his strongest team.

That included Frank Lampard. The midfielder had endured a wretched week, suffering a hairline fracture in his wrist during an England training session and then missing his team's 3-0 victory over Andorra.

Rumours persist that Lampard had declared himself fit only to be then dropped by his manager Steve McClaren and they appeared more credible when he trotted out at Vicarage Road with a plaster cast protecting his damaged right arm.

Mourinho must have expected the presence of his midfield talisman to pep his side. If so, he was disappointed: Chelsea were utterly uninspired during a frenetic, error-strewn first half, and dismally failed to cope with Watford's muscular approach.

The Hornets showed scant respect for their illustrious guests. John Terry and Ashley Cole were both on the receiving end of bone-shuddering tackles, which drew angry responses from Mourinho on the sideline, but Adrian Boothroyd's plan worked to perfection.

The visitors were flustered and their defence began to creak. In the fifth minute, a neatly-improvised overhead kick from Steve Kabba forced Petr Cech, the goalkeeper, to acrobatically tip over.

The Czech was helpless nine minutes later when Chelsea failed to deal effectively with an inswinging corner and the loose ball fell to Darius Henderson. The former Gillingham forward's volley could not have been struck any sweeter, but it streaked just over the crossbar.

Watford's attacking brio was impressive and on the rare occasions Chelsea threatened to crack them open, the champions found Ben Foster in inspired form.

In the 33rd minute, Lampard nodded down to Didier Drogba, who swivelled and struck a firm shot towards the bottom corner. The Ivory Coast forward was virtually embarking on his celebration charge when Foster stuck out his left boot to deflect behind.

All Watford lacked was a goal and they should have had one in the 51st minute. Gavin Mahon's long throw sparked pandemonium in the penalty area and after a chaotic few seconds, Kabba found himself with time and space to spare at the back post but sliced horribly wide.

Shaun Wright-Phillips curled wide from 20 yards and when Lampard broke clear only to see the ball whipped away from his toes by Jay DeMerit, Chelsea's faint title hopes appeared to evaporate.

Not so. In the 93rd minute, Shevchenko charged down the right and delivered an inch-perfect cross which Kalou - on as a second-half substitute - headed in gleefully from 10 yards.