Stamford Bridge gives Chelsea coach Hiddink a warm farewell

Stamford Bridge rose to Hiddink, who managed Chelsea for the last time at home to a 2-0 win

Stamford Bridge gives Chelsea coach Hiddink a warm farewell

Stamford Bridge rose to Hiddink, who managed Chelsea for the last time at home to a 2-0 win

Hiddink was taking charge of his last home match before resuming his role as Russia coach on a full-time basis after the FA Cup final against Everton on May 30.

Guus Hiddink laps up the applause after managing Chelsea for the final time at home. Chelsea beat Blackburn Rovers 2-0.

The Dutchman has one more league game at Sunderland next week before that Wembley date, but this was his final appearance at the Bridge and Chelsea's players and fans gave him a rousing send-off.

Malouda struck early in the first half with a bullet header and Anelka put the result beyond doubt just before the hour.

Although Chelsea still have a chance of snatching second place from Liverpool, they are likely to finish outside the top two for the first time since Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003.

But Hiddink takes no blame for that after revitalising a team in danger of missing out on the Champions League places altogether when he replaced Luiz Felipe Scolari in February.

He has lost just one of his 12 league games and was within seconds of leading the Blues to the Champions League final.u00a0 Hiddink said: "It was surprising to me to see such a reaction from everyone because I was only here a short period.

"But I worked with a lot joy with these players and also received a lot of support from the crowd. I'm very proud of the players. They responded to everything I asked of them," Hiddink said

The Chelsea faithful sang Hiddink's name at the start of the second half and he got to his feet and bowed to all four sides of the stadium in response.

They also made it clear that they would rather not have AC Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti as his successor.
Liverpool sink West Brom to Championship

BIRMINGHAM: Steven Gerrard masked the disappointment of not being able to get his hands on the Premier League trophy for yet another season by claiming one of the goals that eased Liverpool to a 2-0 victory yesterday.

Liverpool's win also confirmed West Bromwich Albion's relegation.
u00a0
Albion will return to the Championship, just 12 months after earning a promotion to England's top flight football, because the spirited resistance they discovered came too late and because of their propensity for defensive mistakes that have been exploited throughout the campaign.

Sunday's results

Chelsea 2 Blackburn 0
West Brom 0 Liverpool 2

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels