Bolton W 1 Chelsea 5:FOOTBALL CAN be brutal sometimes and, for Bolton Wanderers, the ordeal was harrowing, embarrassing and accompanied by the soundtrack of loud, impassioned jeers. Chelsea took them apart, displaying their title credentials while exposing the faults that leave Owen Coyle's team in a state of near-crisis.

The first four goals all arrived before half an hour had been played and it was clear this was the kind of mismatch rarely seen in the Premier League.

From thereafter, it was a surprise the damage was not even greater and it almost certainly would have been if Chelsea had not taken pity on them in the second half.

Dedryck Boyata’s first goal for Bolton, at the start of the second half, still constituted a shock before normal service resumed in the form of Frank Lampard completing his hat-trick.

Lampard played as though affronted by the recent scrutiny of his performances, all three goals coming from the trademark penalty-area runs that had started to feel like a thing of the past.

His manager, Andre Villas-Boas, was asked to describe the midfielder’s performance; “perfection” was the word he chose.

Yet Daniel Sturridge pushed Lampard close as the game’s outstanding performer, scoring twice, setting up another and reminding Bolton of the penetrative qualities that saw him score eight times in 12 appearances during a loan spell here last season.

It was a performance to remind us that Chelsea are not going to tolerate the title race being between the two Manchester clubs.

“We can take great satisfaction,” Villas-Boas said. “We have been chasing this kind of victory for some time.”

They were, however, helped by some dreadful defending. After winning 4-0 at QPR on the opening day of the season, Bolton have lost the following six games. This is their worst start to a league season for 109 years.

Most worryingly, they seem to have lost all their fight. This is a club where they pride themselves on their spirit of togetherness. None of that was evident here.

Coyle looked a picture of misery in the worst moments. His chairman, Phil Gartside, rubbed his eyes almost disbelievingly. From the supporters, there was anger.

It has been a long time, if ever, that the Reebok crowd turned on their own team as they did here. For the most part, it was old-fashioned booing, such as when Kevin Davies was named man of the match and when Coyle decided to substitute Ricardo Gardner and David Ngog.

“If there’s criticism of me, then so be it, I will take it on the chin,” Coyle said.

The rout began inside the first two minutes. Juan Mata swung over a routine corner and the marking was almost non-existent. Sturridge evaded Gretar Steinsson far too easily and scored with an unchallenged header.

Villas-Boas has his team playing a lovely, expansive form of football and it was epitomised by the crisp passing move that led to Lampard turning in Sturridge’s pass to make it 2-0. That was after 15 minutes and, until half-time, Bolton simply fell apart.

No one epitomised this more than Adam Bogdan, playing instead of the injured Jussi Jaaskelainen. First he tamely allowed Sturridge’s long-range effort to beat him for the third goal, despite having a clear sight of the ball and getting his hand to it. Then he failed to deal with an effort from David Luiz, allowing Lampard to convert the rebound.

Boyata’s consolation goal, heading in Martin Petrov’s free-kick, was a reminder that Chelsea still have to work on their defending, but all it did was remove a fraction of the crowd’s simmering discontent.

Shortly before the hour, Lampard broke forward, exchanged passes with Didier Drogba and expertly scored his third.

Bolton could reflect on being denied a second goal when Davies’s effort looked to have crossed the line before being cleared by the substitute Branislav Ivanovic. That, however, would have given the score a deceptive appearance.

The truth was 5-1 already flattered Bolton.