Chelsea stay on the ball

Ballack put Chelsea ahead with a glancing header in the 61st minute. Malouda had been clipped by Abdoulaye Faye to the right of the penalty area and Didier Drogba hooked in the free kick to the unmarked Ballack.

Substitute Frank Lampard slid a pass past Steven Taylor in the 82nd and Malouda poked home his fourth goal of the season. The Blues survived a scare in the 28th with captain John Terry’s goal-line clearance denying Michael Owen.

“We were a bit slow at times with our touches on the ball in the first half,” Terry said. “We had a bit of a rollicking at halftime, but we needed to pick it up to put the pressure on Manchester United.

The destination of the title will be determined Sunday in the final round of matches.

Manchester United and Chelsea are even with 84 points each, but defending champion United leads on goal difference. United plays at Wigan while Chelsea hosts Bolton.

First win since 2001

Chelsea hadn’t won in the league at St. James’s Park since December 2001 or scored in its last two trips. Avram Grant made five changes from the team that beat Liverpool on Wednesday to reach the Champions League final on May 21, with Lampard benched after converting a penalty at Stamford Bridge. Still, the Blues started lethargically as Newcastle created space to make an early impression. Before 10 minutes had elapsed, Geremi sent a shot over the net, Owen volleyed high and Obafemi Martins beat three defenders but shot meekly.

Grant deployed Nicolas Anelka, who has not scored in 16 games, and Drogba up front for the first time since the League Cup final loss to Tottenham, but Newcastle came close to breaching the visitors’ defense in the 28th.

Martins burst forward and the ball fell to Mark Viduka, whose shot was parried by Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech. Owen regained possession and the England striker had the goal at his mercy but sent his shot low and watched as Terry cleared the ball off the line.

Terry was booked in the 34th for halting Owen’s advance, and Chelsea was doing little with its rare breaks forward. Michael...