Chelsea Defeat Arsenal to Maintain Lead

Chelsea tightened their grip on the Premier League title race and delivered a blow to Arsenal's aspirations with a convincing victory at Stamford Bridge.

Manager Arsene Wenger, watching from the stands as he served the third of a four-match touchline ban, was hoping Arsenal could respond to Tuesday's shock home defeat by Watford - but Chelsea exerted their authority to leave the Gunners 12 points behind the leaders.

Marcos Alonso gave Chelsea the lead after 13 minutes, heading home after Diego Costa's header came back off the bar. Arsenal were unhappy with Alonso's challenge on Hector Bellerin that saw the defender take a heavy blow to the head which forced his substitution, but referee Martin Atkinson saw nothing wrong.

Eden Hazard made the decisive contribution with a magnificent solo goal eight minutes after half-time, leaving a trail of Arsenal players in his wake in a run from the halfway line before beating Petr Cech.

The goalkeeper's poor clearance gifted substitute Cesc Fabregas Chelsea's third, five minutes from time, and Olivier Giroud's late goal barely counted as consolation for Arsenal. The visitors had chances but saw Thibaut Courtois save well from Gabriel, Mesut Ozil and Danny Welbeck.

Chelsea's lead at the top of the Premier League was 12 points at the conclusion of this victory - although Tottenham moved back to within nine points with a win against Middlesbrough - and to underscore the scale of their improvement, it is worth going back to the first meeting between these clubs at Arsenal in September.

Their 3-0 loss to the Gunners left Chelsea in eighth place and eight points behind then-leaders Manchester City after six games. This proved to be a watershed moment for the Blues and manager Antonio Conte.

In the intervening 18 games after Conte switched to his preferred three-man central defensive system, they have won 16 league games, lost at Spurs and drawn at Liverpool. It has been a powerhouse run that has effectively brought a 20-point swing in the title race.

Chelsea once more looked the model of efficiency, although they conceded more chances than Conte would have liked, with N'Golo Kante a tireless midfield influence.

The Italian wanted to make amends for that heavy loss at Emirates Stadium and he had the players and system to do it in style.

And when they have individuals who can produce game-defining moments like Hazard, it is almost impossible to see any way they will leave the door far enough ajar for any of their pursuers to squeeze through.

Conte's celebration after Hazard's goal showed how much the win meant to him.

Arsenal's loss here at Stamford Bridge caps a dreadful week for the Gunners and manager Wenger - watching from the stands as their title hopes were surely snuffed out for another year.

First they were knocked off course by that defeat by Watford and here they were beaten by a Chelsea side that looked like everything Arsenal did not. Strong, streetwise, ruthless and confident.

Wenger's side were limp in the opening phases, not even getting a touch in the Chelsea penalty area for 35 minutes and when chances did come along they were squandered.

Wenger can make all the usual positive noises but this was, ultimately, an emphatic beating and barring a dramatic and unforeseen turn of events, the wait for their first title since the year of "The Invincibles" in 2003-04 will go on.

A single banner saying "Enough Is Enough. Time To Go" was held aloft in the Arsenal end - but it was almost a token gesture of defiance, rather like Giroud's late goal.

This Chelsea side mixes silk and steel - and does it in the shape of N'Golo Kante and Eden Hazard.

Kante has been a key contributor this season and was again here. He breaks up opposition attacks and starts Chelsea's own. He makes it his business to make life impossible for opponents.

Hazard sprinkles the stardust on Chelsea, as he proved with that slalom, weaving run for the crucial second goal that effectively decided the contest.

Chelsea look a team for all season. And look like Premier League champions in waiting.

Dele Alli Scores Twice to End Chelsea Unbeaten Run

Tottenham Hotspur ended Chelsea's thirteen games winning run in the Premier league at White Hart Lane by goals, scored in each half by Dele Alli.

Tottenham moved up to third place as headers from Dele Alli either side of half-time made the difference to leave Chelsea five points ahead of Liverpool in second place.

Alli rose to meet Christian Eriksen's cross in first-half stoppage time and the same pair combined to put the game out of Chelsea's reach in the 54th minute.

Eden Hazard had Chelsea's two best chances in each half but Spurs closed out the victory in comfort to put north London rivals Arsenal out of the top four and leave themselves seven points off the top after their fifth successive league win.

Tottenham's season was at a tipping point after a disappointing Champions League exit at the group stage and the poor performance in defeat at Manchester United in early December - but they have responded magnificently.

Pochettino's side are gathering impressive momentum, illustrated by the manner in which they overcame a Chelsea side that was starting to carry an air of impregnability.

The 4-1 wins at Southampton and Watford served as a warning that Spurs were approaching the sort of form that carried them close to the title last season and this performance confirmed their growing confidence and stature.

Spurs have recaptured their intensity and energy and when this is bolted on to the quality provided here by the likes of Alli and Eriksen, it makes them a formidable prospect.

Manchester City had already found Spurs too hot to handle at White Hart Lane this season - and Chelsea suffered a similar fate.

Alli endured a quiet start to the season, perhaps in the aftermath of England's debacle at Euro 2016 - but the 20-year-old is firing on cylinders now.

Alli's headed double here made it seven goals his last four games, the third time in succession he has scored twice in a game after doing the same at Southampton and Watford.

Pochettino said before the game that he regarded Alli as "the most important player to emerge in English football in recent years".

And here the £5m signing from MK Dons backed up his manager's confident words with a consummate all-round display crowned by the two towering headers which proved decisive.

Alli received a standing ovation when he was replaced in the closing minutes after showing the quality that will make him an integral part of the future of both Spurs and England.

Hotspurs boss Pochettino: "It is a massive victory, a very important three points to reduce the gap at the top of the table. It was a very tough game, we were playing one of the best teams in Europe, so the value of the victory is massive.

"It makes us very proud and we showed character and were competitive. It is one step forward for the team and is important to keep going. Football is about belief.

"We have shown we can challenge for the big things. We are in a good position, Chelsea is in a very good position, but we are fighting to get points and to reduce the gap above us."

Tottenham Hotspur Vs Chelsea Line Up

Chelsea coach Antonio Conte made no changes to the lineup that won Stoke City on the new year eve, to face Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart lane. 
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The line up have Thiabut Courtois in Goal, David Luiz, Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill in defence with Victor Moses, Nemanja Matic, Cesc Fabregas Marcos Alonso in midfield and William, Diego Costa and Eden Hazard in attack.

Antonio Conte is determined to break the Premier League record of fourteen (14) straight wins in a season, with his new formation of 3-5-3 as Chelsea welcome back Pedro, who was suspended to the last outing against Stoke City.

Also, Tottenham Hotspur head coach Mauricio Pochettino also named a strong starting XI with one change from the starting XI that walked over Watford on the new year day. Jan Vertonghen replaces Kevin Wimmer in the starting XI that had Hugo Lloris in goal, Kieran Trippier, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Danny Rose in defence, Eric Dier, Victor Wanyama, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Heung-Min Son in midfield with Harry Kane as a lone striker on the adopted 4-2-3-1 formation.
Pochettino looks set to playing more in midfield for this game with this formation and hope to break the Chelsea side, on the counter.

Let us wait till kick off to know what the game holds.

The centre referee  for this match is Martin Atkinson.

 More of the actions from White Hart Lane to follow.

Pedro Scores Brace as Chelsea Make it Twelve Wins

The Christmas celebrations continued on at Stamford Bridge with a relatively comfortable victory over the south-coast side, with the Blues in control and on top for most of the afternoon with the lead taken midway through the first half.

Thibaut Courtois had to play his part in this win, but with Hazard and Pedro especially lively, more goals were always on the cards and they came early in the second half from the penalty spot and in added time when Pedro grabbed his second of the day and fifth of the season.

Presented with the challenge of replacing suspended topscorer Diego Costa for this match, Conte opted to shuffle his regular attacking players rather than give a full Premier League debut to Michy Batshuayi, so Eden Hazard, Willian and Pedro formed the front three. Cesc Fabregas came in for N’Golo Kante who was also serving a one-match ban. 

One of those entrusted to take the attack to Bournemouth, who themselves lined up with three at the back having been forced into a change there due to Nathan Ake’s ineligibility, almost got on to the end of a long ball from Azpilicueta but Pedro did not quite have the reach to bring it down and a corner won was the best he could achieve.

It was, in truth, an unremarkable opening 15 minutes to this Boxing Day game. A booking for the Cherries’ on-loan man from Arsenal, Jack Wilshere, for an arm-up challenge on Hazard was the only other incident in that spell.

Not long after that it needed Cesar Azpilicueta at his diligent best to cut out Bournemouth’s best attack yet.

Chelsea then began to make things happen. Hazard found Moses’s overlapping run with a well-judged ball and the Blues were unlucky not to win a corner, and then David Luiz’s anticipation started an attack which ended with Pedro rifling a shot across the face of goal. The man from Tenerife did not have to wait long to hit the target.

The Blues’ passing game clicked and unsurprisingly it was Fabregas who played a clever and crucial pass through a crowd to Pedro, whose finish was sublime. Turning onto his left foot, he clipped the ball perfectly to clear Artur Boruc but dip under the crossbar for a 1-0 lead. 

The goal came midway through the half but we needed Thibaut Courtois to save smartly from Wilshere soon after to preserve the lead.

The same Bournemouth player then fired on target after Matic’s soft clearance from a free-kick fell to him, but thankfully an outstretched Chelsea boot prevented another test for Courtois.

With 10 minutes to go to half-time, Hazard was dumped to the turf just outside the Bournemouth area. Willian and David Luiz stood aside for Fabregas but he chipped the free-kick onto the roof of the net.

A free-kick at the other end was the big talking point just before half-time. Not for the first time a Wilshere run caused problems but Gary Cahill and his colleagues were very upset when the defender’s tackle was ruled a foul. Thankfully Bournemouth’s attempt at goal only succeeded in bouncing off the middle of the Chelsea wall.

The league leaders had a half-time lead and were doing well in pressing and disrupting the visitors play for long spells, but we could do with more creativity ourselves to be totally confident another three points was coming our way.

Conte’s men started the second half sharply and within three minutes were given a big help towards our win by Bournemouth skipper Simon Francis. His clumsy attempt to challenge Hazard in the area was instantly whistled as a penalty and he had no argument.

 Hazard stroked the ball low into the net with Boruc wrong-footed. It was 2-0 with 49 minutes played. 

It was all Chelsea now. Hazard cut inside from the left but misdirected his shot, and Willian twice struck the ball at Boruc from the right. Moses hit a bouncing ball only just wide with an hour almost up.

Pedro picked up a yellow card that means he will be banned for the Stoke game, and he further demonstrated we will be without an in-form player for that New Year’s Eve game with a thrilling run and shot just wide.  

He and Hazard threatened more goals on the break although there was a warning the job was not yet done when substitute Benik Afobe got behind our defence and forced Courtois into a good save.

The Blues kept the ball and probed away for the remainder of the game and were rewarded with goal number three and our best winning margin since Everton were beaten here 5-0 at the start of November. Pedro, on the break once again, shot low from distance with his right this time and fortune was with him as it took a touch off a Bournemouth player to give Boruc no chance.

Chelsea Vs Bournemouth Lineup for Boxing Day Fixture

Chelsea made two changes to the lineup that won at Palace last week with the return of Cesc Fabregas and Michy Batshuayi as Diego Costa and N'Golo Kante are suspended for this feature.

The have Thiabut Courtois in Goal, David Luiz, Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill in defence with Victor Moses, Nemanja Matic, Cesc Fabregas Marcos Alonso in midfield and William, Michy Batshuayi and Eden Hazard in attack.

Chelsea coach Antonio Conte is determined to make it twelve straight wins with new formation of 3-5-3 and his weakened XI  for this encounter at Stamford Bridge due to the suspensions.

Also, Bournemouth coach Eddie Howie starting lineup for this game on 4-2-3-1 formation, starts the game with Arthur Boruc in goal, C. Daniels, L.Cook, S. Francis and Adam Smith in defence, Jack Wilshere, Harry Arter, Jordon Ibe, Joshua King and Junior Stanilas in midfield with Callum Wilson in attack.
Eddie Howie looks set to playing in the midfield for this game with this formation.

Let us wait till kick off to know what the game holds.

The centre referee  for this match is Mile Jones.

 See you at Stamford Bridge.

Crystal Palace vs Chelsea Line ups

Chelsea made two changes to the lineup that won at Sunderland at midweek with the return of Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic to the team.

The have Thiabut Courtois in Goal, David Luiz, Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill in defence with Victor Moses, Nemanja Matic, N'Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso in midfield and William, Diego Costa and Eden Hazard in attack.

Chelsea coach Antonio Conte is determined to make it eleven straight wins with new formation of 3-5-3 and his strongest XI being fit for this lunch time encounter at Selhurst Park.

Also, Crystal Palace coach Alan Pardew has named his starting lineup for this game on 4-5-1 formation going into this game with Wayne Hennessey in goal, Joel Ward, Dimien Delaney Scott Dann and Martin Kelly in defence, Wilfred Zaha, James McArthur, Joe Ledley, Yohan Cabeye and Jason Puncheon in midfield and Christian Benteke as the lone forward.

The centre referee  for this match is Jon Moss and he would take charge of the proceedings.

 See you at Selhurst Park

Chelsea vs QPR Highlight

            Chelsea beats QPR to remain on top of the English Premiership table                         

Chelsea vs QPR

Andre Schurrle's half hat-trick helps the Blues overcome their spirited Fulham in London Derby

Coach Jose Mourinho had been concerned after the gruelling midweek Champions League trip to Istanbul would leave his players fatigued for the short journey down to Craven Cottage.

However, despite a slow start, the Blues, driven on by brilliant Belgian midfielder Eden Hazard, blew Fulham away with three goals in the space of 16 minutes following the restart to stay clear of Arsenal and Manchester City in the championship race.

 German midfielder Andre Schuerrle netted his first hat-trick to keep Chelsea top of the Premier League with a 3-1 win in the west London derby at Fulham, who remain bottom.

Fulham boss Felix Magath believes that plenty more hard work lie ahead if his side are to pull clear of trouble, and had only a consolation goal from John Heitinga to show for their spirited efforts on Saturday afternoon. It had earlier been a bright start by the home side in some welcome sunshine.
Pajtim Kasami's cross from the left was flicked wide by Clint Dempsey, when a proper contact from the American could well have put the ball in the net.

There was a brief stoppage when Fulham defensive duo Kieran Richardson and Brede Hangeland clashed heads on the half-way line. After some treatment, both men were able to continue.
On 12 minutes, Fulham goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg delayed clearing a deadball, which saw him closed down by Fernando Torres, retained in the starting XI after his midweek goal in Turkey.

The ball ballooned back up off the Chelsea striker and into the penalty area, but Torres could not make the most of the gift, as he miskicked and then eventually sent a scuffed cross-shot wide.
Fulham had to make a change shortly afterwards as captain Hangeland was unable to continue, and replaced by Dan Burn.

Hazard Hattrick Fires Chelsea To League Summit

Hazard was the hero as he produced a superb hattrick to down Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge. 

Jose Mourinho men started the game with high momentum and Mourinho insisting that Chelsea are not title contenders but, after Eden Hazard's superb hat-trick sent them top of the Premier League, that argument is looking harder and harder to sustain with any real sincerity.

The Blues built on their excellent victory at the Etihad Stadium with a dominating display at Stamford Bridge against a lacklustre Newcastle side. Here, as then, the sublime Hazard was the outstanding player on the pitch but this time his classy technique was allied to a ruthless sense of purpose. Even his penalty was dispatched with style and, on this form, it is hard to disagree with Mourinho's description of the Belgian as "the best young player in the world".

Newcastle offered little resistance and their season is in danger of petering out following the sale of Yohan Cabaye but here they, as everyone else, could only sit and watch in awe of the magical Hazard.

By Andy Craig

That ended the game as a contest but the former Lille man applied the gloss to a fine display with a penalty just after the hour mark.

Chelsea quickly began to dominate proceedings and perhaps should have taken the lead after 25 minutes when Oscar lashed a shot narrowly off target but, just two minutes later, they did make the breakthrough as Hazard curled into the bottom corner,having collected a pass from Branislav Ivanovic.

Newcastle wasted a glaring chance just after the half-hour mark, Moussa Sissoko - captain in the absence of the injured Cheikh Tiote - denied by Cech following a superb through-ball from Davide Santon.

The visitors were punished almost immediately as Hazard finished off a marvellous counterattack by surging into the box before playing a one-two with Samuel Eto'o and coolly slotting beyond Krul.

Mourinho's men continued to look fallible in defence and were grateful to Cech once more when the Czech goalkeeper scrambled to prevent Luuk de Jong from scoring on his full Newcastle debut with a close-range header.


However, the third goal finally arrived on 63 minutes, Hazard converting from the spot in confident fashion after Yanga-Mbiwa had hauled down Eto'o in the area.

The Belgian then came off to a rousing standing ovation prior to a flurry of late chances, Krul denying substiute Mohamed Salah a first goal for Chelsea before Sylvain Marveaux somehow shot wide following a Newcastle counter at the other end.

Chelsea and the transfer market at new year

Chelsea are in talks with Bolton for the services of Cahill and are also in the race for two other youngsters for January transfer.

Ferdinando Torres is muted to be on the radar of AC Milan for a possible loan move.

Follow Us today for the latest news.

Chelsea Bounces Back After Two Defeats

A youthful Chelsea FC side needed a late winner from Florent Malouda to secure a fifth consecutive UEFA Champions League victory as they finished top of Group F.

Second-half goals from Daniel Sturridge and Florent Malouda came to the rescue of Carlo Ancelotti's reshuffled side, who fell behind to Babatounde Bello's fine 19th-minute strike for MŠK Žilina. The visitors were unrecognisable from the side that suffered a record 7-0 home defeat against Olympique de Marseille on Matchday 4, and looked set to earn their first point of the campaign despite Sturridge's equaliser six minutes after half-time, only for Malouda to pounce with four minutes of regulation time remaining.

Ancelotti made seven changes to the side that beat FC Spartak Moskva 4-1 on Matchday 4, notably handing a full debut to 17-year-old midfielder Josh McEachran and giving starts to defenders Patrick van Aanholt and Jeffrey Bruma, with Ross Turnbull between the posts. There was an understandable lack of the usual fluidity from the hosts in the opening stages, and the visitors took full advantage to snatch an unexpected advantage. Picking up the ball outside the area, Bello twice swapped passes neatly with Róbert Jež before steering a shot past Turnbull with his right foot.

It was just what the game needed, giving Tomáš Majtán the confidence to ghost past two Chelsea defenders before unleashing a vicious angled shot which Turnbull did well to block at his near post. At the other end, Sturridge and Malouda both tested Martin Dúbravka and the latter was particularly unlucky to see a thunderous 20-metre effort deflected away for a corner.

Ancelotti replaced Gaël Kakuta with Salomon Kalou at the interval and the Ivorian only needed six minutes to make an impact, his cross from the left somehow finding its way through for Sturridge to rifle in from an acute angle at the far post. With pressure mounting, Chelsea promptly set about looking for a winner and very nearly found it a few minutes later.

Dúbravka was at full stretch to tip Didier Drogba's angled free-kick from the left on to the crossbar and Branislav Ivanović could only head over when Bruma pulled the ball back.
Van Aanholt had no better luck when his rasping shot hit the post, but Chelsea's experienced heads secured the points with time running out. Substitute Nicolas Anelka sent over the cross from the left, Drogba headed firmly down and Malouda stuck out a leg to guide the ball in.

 Finally, this victory is a relief for Coach Anceloti.

Chelsea Vs Liverpool Today

Liverpool will be on fire today as chelsea plans to shoot them down in the clash of the english premier league this weekend.

Watch out

Wigan 0 Chelsea 6

Chelsea bounced back to the top of the table as they defeated wigan six nil.

Chelsea produced the same superb performance as they produced last by smashing six good goals against a helpless wigan athletic in front of their home fans at JJB stadium.

Florient Malouda started the showas he did last week by scoring the first just as Nicholas Anelka scored the second and third goals respectively.

Solomon Kalou added the fourth and fifth before the new signing Benanyon scored the sixth to complete the route.

Kudos the Blues