Chelsea go to Manchester United next weekend brimming with confidence after destroying Aston Villa 7-1 at Stamford Bridge.

Four goals from Frank Lampard, two from Florent Malouda and another from substitute Salomon Kalou, gave Chelsea their second seven-goal haul of the season at Stamford Bridge.

Villa's in-form striker John Carew had briefly stunned the Blues with a 29th-minute equaliser but Chelsea were back in front before the interval and then slammed another five past stunned Villa in second-half.

It took their goal tally to 82 for the season and 12 in their past two outings since shaking off their Champions League exit to Inter Milan and a disappointing draw at Blackburn.

Chelsea face United at Old Trafford next week knowing victory will put them two points clear of their rivals at the top of the table.

The Blues briefly went back to the summit with victory over Villa but United's 4-0 win over Bolton restored their one-point advantage.

Now the Chelsea coach believes they have found the key that can land them the title in his first season at the club.

"When we play our best attacking football, we are able to overcome any defence," said Ancelotti.

"It is important that we play our best football until the end of the season in the Premier League and the FA Cup.

"We can make this a fantastic season if we finish in the right way."

Since Chelsea's defeat by Inter in Europe and their disappointing 1-1 draw at Blackburn last Sunday, the Blues have swept aside Portsmouth 5-0 at Fratton Park and Villa, their FA Cup semi-final opponents, 7-1.

Chelsea have switched back to a more familiar 4-3-3 formation and the change has given them renewed belief they can win the title with goals galore.

"We always want to play attacking football and this is how we started on Wednesday against Portsmouth, with an attacking team, which is why we are now the top scoring team in the Premier League," added the Italian.

"I think we have shown that we have the mentality to recover well and the players performed how I would have liked us to."

The architect of Villa's downfall was 31-year-old Lampard. He opened the scoring and went on to hit four - two of them from the penalty spot as he reached 151 goals since joining from West Ham in 2001.

The quartet made him the club's third highest goalscorer in its history - overtaking legends Roy Bentley and Peter Osgood - and the midfielder was understandably delighted with his achievement.

"I'm very proud," declared Lampard. "I've passed Peter Osgood, I took a few more games, but I'm very honoured to be among those sort of names."

The Chelsea midfielder now believes they have silenced the critics who were ready to write off their title challenge and he insists they will go to Old Trafford with no fear.

"People will write us off, it is very easy to write us off from the outside," added Lampard. "But all we can do is play football. We have put it right in the last two games but we know there are big games are to come, particularly next week.

"We will look at that game with confidence. We understand the importance of it and United will understand that as well. We have to prepare right for it. It is nice to go into the game with confidence and out of that little rut we've been in. Our passing and movement against Villa was fantastic - it was great football and that is when we are at our best."

Villa boss Martin O'Neill admitted the defeat been one of the worst days of his managerial career but he refused to point the blame at tiredness.

Instead he pledged that his side would bounce back although their chances of finishing in fourth place now look slim with Tottenham seven points ahead.

"We were well beaten," said O'Neill. "We allowed ourselves to go from maybe equalising the game at 2-2 to go to 3-1 down. For some obscure reason we just capitulated.

"We conceded ground, possession and goals and Chelsea were rampant at the end. It is too easy to talk about tiredness.

"I would not adhere to that. Everybody has a tough season. It is a tough business. This is the main part of the season. Before the game, I made a couple of changes to freshen things up a bit but generally speaking, the players were in fine fettle.

"We will have to recover for a start. We have the same opposition in the FA Cup semi-final but we are capable of turning it around. The players have shown that this season. It was a devastating blow but it was a lesson from a side that is one of the best in Europe."