Chelsea put the Premier League race beyond all doubt with a slim 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge last night.
Although at times it may have been hard to tell from the supporters in blue that they were a club on the verge of becoming champions, on the field the proceedings were largely controlled by the hosts, looking to seal the deal early on the precious three points.
As has been the trend, Chelsea would once again find a breakthrough just before half-time, with Eden Hazard rewarded a penalty after being clipped by James McArthur inside the 18-yard area. Although the Belgian’s spot-kick attempt was far below his regular standards, a fortunate rebound left Hazard with a simple follow-up to give the Blues their most important lead of the campaign.
Alan Pardew’s men started to gain
some ground after the break, but unwavering in their tactical setup, Chelsea left no cracks and added another home clean sheet to their record.
Palace efforts unable to break Stamford Bridge fortress
Fixtures against Jose Mourinho’s men have seen some admirable performances come from the competition’s lower ranked sides, and an opportunity to spoil the impending blue party would have added some extra stakes for the Eagles.
Preferring to move the ball through Wilfired Zaha and James McArthur on their respective flanks, Palace made the most of the space they were afforded by the hosts. Yet their attempts were consistently beaten away by the Chelsea back four in the most vital area in-front of goal, with only three of 25 crosses sent into the box finding a teammate in yellow, and the majority of their close range shots blocked.
Crystal Palace remains among the mid-table, yet have three tough fixtures to close out the season against Manchester United, Liverpool and Swansea.
Embracing the grind
The steps to championship certainty were done in the same manner as the majority of Chelsea’s games over the last month or two. It has become all too familiar by now – the attackers capitalising on any moment of weakness from the opposition to take a lead, then largely leaving it to the defensive unit to absorb pressure and riding out a slim result.
After the likes of Didier Drogba, Willian and Cesc Fabregas forced Julian Speroni into five saves in the opening 45 minutes, with the advantage in hand, only one shot on target came in the second-half – from John Obi Mikel no less. In this time the defence was called upon to make three blocks inside the 18-yard box and 23 clearances.
In this sense, Hazard’s 45th minute deciding goal too somewhat mirrored the team’s entire campaign, the attempted penalty ugly to say the least, but the PFA Player of the Year did just enough to send the rebound back over the line.
Zaha leaves impression on West London audience
There is no better chance for an emerging talent to make a mark than on the turf of Stamford Bridge, which is seemingly what the 22-year-old winger had on his mind. Bony was a lively outlet of creativity for the Eagles throughout the 90 minutes, switching between both wings with ease and tested the backline with his runs into space. The Ivorian forced Thibaut Courtois into a tight 82nd minute save and had two other attempts on goal from inside the box blocked, also providing seven crosses and coming out successful in four take-ons.
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The title will have a new home
It may not have been the prettiest football to watch, but nevertheless this victory ensured that the Blues will lift the Premier League title for the fifth time after their last match of the season on the 24th of May. Amongst the cries of ‘boring football’, there will be few who could argue that over a campaign which saw such inconsistency from the other big teams, Chelsea’s run which has seen them so far lose just two games and rack up a goal difference of +42 would not warrant the countries’ top prize. With the pressure off, hopefully we are able to see team a little looser in the last weeks – with it now being a question of how much more convincing Jose Mourinho can make it look.
To say there will be some boisterous fans at Anfield next weekend is probably an understatement.
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