Chelsea Draw At Anfield to Extend Premier League Lead

Chelsea strengthened their grip on the Premier League title with a 1-1 draw at Liverpool although Diego Costa missed a late penalty.

On a night where Arsenal and Tottenham dropped points, Chelsea, who remain nine points clear, took a first-half lead courtesy of a wonderfully executed 30-yard free-kick from David Luiz that caught Simon Mignolet unawares.

Georginio Wijnaldum headed an equaliser for Jurgen Klopp's team but they had to be thankful to Mignolet with 15 minutes remaining as he saved Costa's spot-kick after the Chelsea striker had been fouled by Joel Matip.

The result snapped a run of three straight defeats for Liverpool but they still remain winless in the Premier League in 2017.

Chelsea take on third-place Arsenal on Saturday.

Chelsea looked a threat when Eden Hazard and Costa got the ball in Liverpool's final third, and it was the former being tripped by Adam Lallana in the 24th minute, which paved the way for Luiz to open the scoring.

Willian lined the set-piece up but Luiz took the initiative while Mignolet was still getting himself set and fired an arrow-like effort into the net via the post. Liverpool complained to referee Mark Clattenburg but he had clearly whistled four seconds before Luiz struck the ball. It was the Brazilian's first goal since returning from Paris Saint-Germain last summer.

Moments later, a free-kick from a similar position by Willian had to be palmed away by Mignolet as the ball skidded off the sodden Anfield turf.

Liverpool managed to open up Chelsea for the first time after 49 minutes but Roberto Fimino miscued an effort from 12 yards into the stands when well found by Nathaniel Clyne.

But the Anfield faithful were celebrating an equaliser eight minutes later. Jordan Henderson chipped a magnificent ball to the back post, where James Milner was waiting. The full-back kept his cool and headed back across goal and Wijnaldum climbed highest to bundle head home.

The equaliser changed the atmosphere inside the stadium but Chelsea rode the storm and hit Liverpool on the break with 15 minutes left.

Cotsa, who had run Matip ragged all night, turned the defender inside the area and after a collision of knees, the Blues top scorer hit the deck. Clattenburg pointed straight to the spot.

Chelsea Ease Past Brentford In Cup Tie

Chelsea breezed past Brentford 4-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon to seal their place in the FA Cup fifth round.

The Blues led 2-0 at the break thanks to goals from Willian - his seventh direct free kick for the club since the start of the 2015-16 season - and Pedro.

And the home side ensured their name would be in the hat for Monday's draw by scoring two more goals after the interval through substitute Branislav Ivanovic and a Michy Batshuayi penalty.

Back-up goalkeeper Asmir Begovic began in goal for Chelsea, despite being linked with a move to Bournemouth in recent days, while captain John Terry and the returning Kurt Zouma were both handed starts.

Blues boss Antonio Conte also opted to give the likes of Nathan Ake, Batshuayi and Cesc Fabregas run-outs against their west London neighbours.

Brentford, meanwhile, made one change from their 2-1 loss at Wigan Athletic in the Championship last weekend, with Yoann Barbet coming in for Tom Field, but striker Scott Hogan was once again left on the bench amid speculation linking him with a January move to West Ham.

However, if the visitors were hoping the Premier League leaders may have one eye on their important game at Liverpool on Tuesday night, then they were much mistaken as the Blues tore into them from the off.

It took the home side just 14 minutes to open the scoring and what a strike it was too as Brazil international Willian curled in a delicious free kick from the right-hand edge of the area, leaving Daniel Bentley clutching at thin air in the Bees goal.

Just seven minutes later and Chelsea had doubled their lead after a lightning-quick counter attack involving Willian and Batshuayi, who then picked out Pedro's run in the box, with the forward making no mistake with a low finish through the legs of Bentley.

That strike was the in-form Spain international's eighth in all competitions so far this campaign, meaning the 29-year-old has now equalled his goals tally from the whole of last season.

Chelsea would have been completely out of sight by half-time but for an inspired display between the posts by the increasingly busy Bentley, who denied Batshuayi, Ruben Loftus-Cheek - twice - and Fabregas with smart stops.

But if Chelsea thought it was already game over, they were given a wake-up call at the start of the second period as the Bees went on the attack in search of a goal to get them back in the tie, with Begovic thwarting both Lasse Vibe and Nico Yennaris.

That resistance, though, was soon ended as the Blues moved up a gear again, with Loftus-Cheek hitting the bar, before Ivanovic - who has also been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge before Tuesday's transfer deadline - ended the match as a contest by scoring with virtually his first touch after coming off the bench.

Again the outstanding Pedro was involved, with the forward going on a mazy dribble, before releasing the overlapping Ivanovic, and the right back made no mistake by drilling the ball past Bentley.

William Scores Brace As Chelsea Bruise Stoke City

Chelsea equalled Arsenal's record for the most consecutive Premier League wins in a season with a thrilling 4-2 victory against Stoke on New Year's Eve.

The Blues now have 13 games in a row - the same as the Gunners side from the 2001/02 campaign - and took the lead just after 30 minutes thanks to Gary Cahill's header. 

But Martins Indi scored the fastest second-half goal of the season just 54 seconds after the restart to get Stoke level, before Willian scored his first of two goals ten minutes later to put the Blues back ahead. 

Diego Costa - returning to the side after a suspension on Boxing Day - had the final word with five minutes of normal time to play to round off the victory and send Chelsea nine points clear.

The first-half was a slow burner, with a shot from N'Golo Kante - also back in the side after his one-game ban - in the seventh minute being the pick of the action from the opening exchanges.

Lee Grant was then called into action twice in quick succession to deny Chelsea. The first came in the 19th minute as Costa rounded Mame Biram Diouf on the left of the box, but his shot was kept out by the diving chest of the goalkeeper before he collected the rebound after it came off the back of Martins Indi.

He was in action again three minutes later to palm away a Cahill header before Charlie Adam saw his own headed effort skim wide from a Xherdan Shaqiri corner in the best chance of the half for Stoke.

Grant produced another heroic save in the 33rd minute to deny Costa once again. David Luiz played a sublime ball down the field that picked out the striker, who turned Ryan Shawcross before shooting, but the Stoke stopper was off his line to block the effort. He then recovered well to palm away the rebound from Eden Hazard.

But Grant could do nothing about the resulting corner, as Cahill rose above the Stoke defence in the box to power home from a Cesc Fabregas corner to put the hosts in front heading into the break.

It was a goal-laden second half and Stoke equalised with their first shot on target within a minute of the restart. Adam fired a delightful free kick into the box that found the head of Crouch at the back post, that the striker nodded into the path of Martins Indi who steered the ball home.

Chelsea were in front again ten minutes later, though, in what was a fine team goal. Victor Moses got away from Erik Pieters on the right of the box before his low cross found Hazard in the middle. The Belgian took one touch to put the ball into the path of Willian who curled home a delightful effort through four Stoke players.

Stoke switched off momentarily and allowed Chelsea to again go ahead a minute later. A loose pass from the visitors set off Fabregas towards the box, who slipped in Willian on the right and he took a few steps before hitting home from a tight angle to beat Grant. 

Both sides had chances to get the next goal as the game headed towards a thrilling conclusion, with a gut-busting break from Willian, Hazard and Costa seeing the striker power a shot over the bar before a sublime Glen Johnson cross was poked wide by Azpilicueta who was ahead of a waiting Crouch. 

Costa had the final say of the game though, coming with five minutes of normal time to play. A throw-in from Marcos Alonso was headed into the box by Adam, arriving at the feet of the Chelsea striker who beat both Shawcross and Martins Indi before nestling the ball into the back of the net.

Final score stood at Chelsea 4 Stoke 2.

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.

Chelsea Beats Crystal Palace to Extend Lead EPL at Christmas Day

Chelsea centre-forward Diego Costa scored our first headed goal of the season, and his 50th Chelsea goal overall, shortly before half-time, and that proved enough for a third 1-0 win in a row and a minimum six-point lead in the table going into Christmas.

It was by no means an easy win in this London derby however, as both sides maybe showed signs of tiredness at the end of a draining week. Thibaut Courtois had to make saves, although not as diffcult as the ones on Wednesday, and it was the Blues who came closest to scoring the game’s second goal when Marcos Alonso struck woodwork late on.

There is now an eight-day recovery period until we play again although there is an added complication for the Boxing Day game of no Diego Costa or N’Golo Kante for then, following bookings today. 

For this game at Selhurst Park, Eden Hazard was back from his one-game injury absence and Nemanja Matic also returned to the line up having started on the bench at Sunderland. Conte had indicated 24 hours earlier that this may be a game to rest odd players at the end of a busy week, and Pedro was among the subs this time so Willian started for the second game running. Cesc Fabregas returned to the bench.

The stage was set for the chance to put more pressure on our challenges as we kicked off the first Premier League game of the weekend, and early Chelsea pressure came down our left. There was hope of a chance inside 10 minutes when Kante was alert to intercepting Damien Delaney’s pass forward from the back but Hazard did not read our midfielder’s subsequent intentions.

Soon after, Kante was spoken to by the ref but the booking that means a suspension came later. There was however a yellow card shown to Palace full-back Joel Ward on 16 minutes when he took down Hazard just outside the area, following a smart back heel from Willian. That had been our best move yet, but David Luiz’s subsequent free-kick was deflected wide safely for the home team.

It was Palace who had the first real chance of the game, when Martin Kelly’s run into space wide on the right was spotted but his low cross was screwed wide by Jason Puncheon.

Midway through the half came the booking that does mean a Chelsea change at centre-forward for Bournemouth on Boxing Day. Diego Costa was carded for a trip so will serve the one-match ban he has for so long avoided.  

Chelsea were under a degree of pressure at this stage of the game, but Hazard was beginning to make his runs and Palace were resorting to giving away free-kicks to stop him.

Still the chances did not come however and the first half drifted on with regular interruptions for fouls from both sides. Chelsea did break well and finally won the game at full time.

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

Diego Costa Scores Hattrick in Chelsea Win

Diego Costa scored three goals in Chelsea win over Swansea.

John Terry scored an own goal to hand Swansea an early lead before Diego Costa equalized in the stoppage time of the first half.
Diego Costa score two more goals in the second half to hand Chelsea 3 - 1 Lead over Swansea before being replaced by Loic Remy.

Remy immediately made it four before Swansea got their second goal with few minutes left in regulation time making it two for Swansea.

Final Score
Chelsea 4 Swansea 2

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.

Chelsea beat Everton to move four points clear

Frank Lampard scored deep into the injury time to hand Chelsea a four point lead over second placed Arsenal on the English Premier League standings.

Having dropped points at West Brom in their last top-flight fixture, Jose Mourinho's men looked set to be frustrated again by an Everton side that had presentable chances of their own.
However, a free-kick from Lampard - who is now up to joint-second on the all-time Premier League appearance list - found its way into the net late on as captain John Terry applied pressure to Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard.

The goal sent Chelsea four points clear at the summit ahead of Saturday's other fixtures.
Everton, whose last league win at Chelsea came in 1994, remain sixth but have now suffered three successive away defeats to teams above them.
Leon Osman came closest to scoring in a first half short on goalmouth action, forcing Petr Cech into a sharp save from distance.
Both goalkeepers were required to make impressive stops after the interval, before Lampard had the final say.

Fit-again Terry, back from a muscle strain, replaced David Luiz in Chelsea's team, while Lampard and Oscar were also recalled.

Steven Naismith - scorer of the only goal in September's return fixture - was drafted into Everton's side at short notice when Lacina Traore picked up a hamstring injury in the warm-up.
Willian dragged a low shot wide as the hosts started brightly, but Everton soon settled, enjoying prolonged spells of possession, and almost moved ahead in the 12th minute.
Naismith laid the ball into Osman's path 25 yards out and the midfielder's powerful first-time shot forced a fine one-handed save from Cech.

Chelsea gradually improved prior to the interval and visiting keeper Howard needed to be alert to deny Samuel Eto'o after the forward had made space for himself inside the penalty area.
Everton's Kevin Mirallas then wasted a fine opportunity just before half-time, scuffing a shot into Naismith having been given space on the edge of the box.

Chelsea, with Ramires on for Oscar, came out for the second period with renewed purpose and Lampard tested Howard following a neat pass from Eden Hazard.

Yet Everton refused to lie down and Osman brought another good save from Cech on 58 minutes with a deflected strike that the keeper did well to parry past his left-hand post.
Not to be surpassed, Howard got down to deny Hazard before springing to his feet to keep out Branislav Ivanovic's close-range follow-up.

Ramires almost broke the deadlock in the 89th minute with a fizzing 25-yarder that flew narrowly wide, but it mattered little as Chelsea secured a precious winner.