It’s a situation Steven Gerrard surely would’ve dreamt of as a kid; his defence-splitting pass in front of The Kop picked up by an ever-alert front man who rounds the keeper to score, arguably, a Premier League title-clinching goal. Only problem was Stevie G’s assist was not to one of his own men, but to the opposition.

No doubt the significance of the goal -handing control of the game to Chelsea, and surely stopping Man United from bettering Liverpool’s eighteen League titles- will have the conspiracy theorists in overdrive, but looking at Chelsea’s record against the other “Big Four” (P 6 W6 F12 A1) shows the ease they’ve won against their major rivals this season and suggests that if Carlo Ancelotti’s side beat Wigan to clinch the title next weekend, there’s little room for accusatory finger-pointing.

This afternoon saw Florent Malouda again deployed in midfield, as Solomon Kalou kept his place up front after last week’s hat-trick against Stoke. Malouda has been a huge success this season, but ultimately, it’s the comprehensive returns of both of today’s goalscorers, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard, that have spearheaded the Blues challenge.

Lampard’s previous best season for points in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) has seen figures of:

12 goals, 10 assists, 46 Bonus Points. Total =226 pts.

So far this season, he‘s already beaten that best by forty points:

21 goals, 15 assists, 35 Bonus Points. Total=268 pts.

Drogba’s previous best season FPL tally was:

20 goals, 4 assist, 20 Bonus Points. Total =170 pts.

After today, his FPL figures read:

26 goals, 13 assists, 28 Bonus Points. Total =226 pts.

Bottom line now is Chelsea need just a win next weekend to clinch the title and, having won ten consecutive league games at Stamford Bridge and netted 21 times in their last five home games, the odds are loaded heavily in the Blues’ favour.

Man United’s narrow win at Sunderland ensures the title goes down to the final set of fixtures next Sunday, but given the controversy of Gerrard’s contribution, it’ll be no surprise if the furore surrounding Chelsea’s first goal continues to rage until then and beyond.

In a weekend that has seen snooker’s John Higgins embroiled in allegations that have brought sport into the headlines for all the wrong reasons, it’s a pity that the consistency of performance from Lampard and Drogba may be overshadowed by what was, essentially, nothing more than an unfortunate back-pass.