Chelsea kept their hopes of a Premier League title alive with yet another 1-0 victory, this time over Manchester City to move four points behind league leaders Manchester United.

With United dropping three points against Liverpool on Saturday, manager Guus Hiddink was aware that his side had to beat Manchester City if they were to take advantage of United's slip up.

The players did not let their manager down as Chelsea dominated the possession early in the game and took a deserved lead in the 17th minute when Frank Lampard drove in a free kick to Michael Essien and the midfielder made no mistake from close range to put his side in front.

City were struggling to create chances of their own as Chelsea had the upper hand in the midfield with Lampard, Essien and Michael Ballack controlling the play. Nicolas Anelka should have been awarded a penalty midway through the first half when he was fouled by Nedum Onuoha but referee Mike Riley dismissed the appeals.

Ballack had a great chance to double the lead when he was played in by a superb back-heel pass by Didier Drogba but the German international missed the target from 12 yards out. Drogba had a number of chances to score a goal but was denied by some poor finishing and some excellent keeping by Shay Given.

Chelsea continued to dominate the play in the second half with Juliano Belletti and Florent Malouda both going close to doubling the lead but City were able to prevent leaking any more goals before the final whistle.