Chelsea's win in the name of the father.

Chelsea....................... 5 Blackburn .................... 0 CARLO ANCELOTTI watched his side thrash Blackburn 5-0 and then revealed he was returning to Italy to be with his sick father.

Ancelotti only arrived back in England on Saturday morning in order to take charge of Chelsea's game against Rovers and labelled their five-goal super show as the "best performance" since he took charge at Stamford Bridge.

Frank Lampard scored twice, once from the penalty spot, and other strikes from Didier Drogba and Michael Essien plus an own goal from Gael Givet put Chelsea back on top of the Barclays Premier League.

"It has been difficult time but this is life," said Ancelotti.

"I hope my father will be better in the next day.

"These are difficult days but after Monday I think he will be better and I can stay here without problems."

Ancelotti was certainly cheered by a superb individual performance from returning Joe Cole. The England midfielder, out for 10 months after damaging his knee ligaments against Southend in the FA Cup last January, produced a performance full of trickery and flair against Rovers.

"I was impressed with Joe because I know very well how hard he has worked in the last month," added Ancelotti.

"He is a great professional and after 10 months it is not easy for Joe to play like he did. It was a surprise and I am happy for him.

"Joe is a very important player for us. He has fantastic quality in midfield. He is a genius.

"Chelsea played very well and it is not easy to play against us when we put great quality on the pitch. Blackburn did what they could.

"After the defeat against Aston Villa last week we had a good solution about the set-plays.

"We had a strong defence from set-plays today. We have improved very quick and very well.

"I think it was the best performance since I came here but we have played well in other games.

"I liked this game very much. "We played very well and it was a pleasure to see the team play like this.

"We had to pay attention because when you are 1-0 up we know that in football things can happen and it is not a sure result. But at half-time, I asked my team to score more."

Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce launched a scathing attack on his team - labelling their second half performance as "pathetic" and claiming his players lacked mental toughness and resilience away from home.

"The second half was pathetic," declared Allardyce.

"I didn't see that coming. I felt we had set our stall out to frustrate Chelsea as best we could and it worked very well in the first half.

"We knew it would have been difficult to get something out of the game, but why throw a game plan that is working so well out of the window? That is what I cannot understand.

"At the moment they are not good enough. Bottom line."

CAPTION(S):

Chelsea's Didier Drogba (left) celebrates scoring the fifth goal with John Terry