Chelsea stretched their lead to 11 points at the top of the Premier League table on Saturday, with a comfortable 3-1 win over Swansea at the Stamford Bridge thanks to goals from Cesc Fabregas, Pedro and Diego Costa.
With Manchester City and Arsenal did not play at the weekend, Antonio Conte’s side had the perfect opportunity to put daylight between themselves and the cashing pack. And they did just that despite a minor blip moments before half-time when Fernando Llorente’s glancing header cancelled out Fabregas’ 19th-minute opener.
The Spaniard was afforded a rare start by Conte and he got the Blues up and running in the tie, finishing off a well-worked move which he started by dispossessing Tom Carrol near the middle of the pitch.
Fabregas then went close to doubling his side’s lead with a smart volley but Lukasz Fabianski was equal to the task, pulling out a fine save to keep his side within touching distance of the Blues.
As half-time approached, Chelsea switched off and paid dearly for their lackadaisical marking on a Gylfi Sigurdsson free kick, as an unmarked Llorente sent in a bullet header to silence Stamford Bridge.
Conte must have been furious with his wards during the interval, for a much-improved Chelsea side took to the pitch in the second period. It could have been the presence of Chelsea legend, Frank Lampard, on the pitch at half-time, with the former midfielder being honoured for his stellar contributions to the club for the home side really dominated proceedings in the final 45 minutes.
Fabregas again went close to doubling his tally on the night after Eden Hazard and bamboozled the Swansea defence before setting him up, but the Spaniard’s thundering shot cannoned of the post, with Fabianski well beaten for once.
Chelsea weren’t to be denied for long, however, and went into the lead via the in-form Pedro. The Spanish wing scored from outside the box in the 72nd minute with his weaker foot. Collecting Fabregas’ pass near the edge of the box, Pedro cut in from the right and sent in a shot which in all probability should not have gone in, but Fabianski somehow let the ball slip between his hands.
The home side pressed for a third goal which would effectively seal the result and six minutes before time Diego Costa popped up with a close-range volley to score his 16th goal of the season. Hazard was the provider for the Brazilian-born striker again, capping off a fine evening for the capital club.
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