Chelsea Surge 11 Points Clear

Chelsea surged 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League as Pedro inspired a 3-1 win over Swansea, while Leicester’s gloom deepened as the troubled champions plunged into the relegation zone yesterday.

Antonio Conte’s leaders won for the 17th time in their last 20 league games to push them a step closer to the title.

Cesc Fabregas, restored to the team in place of Nemanja Matic, was making his 300th Premier League appearance and the former Arsenal star marked the milestone in the 19th minute with his 46th goal in the competition.

Picked out inside the penalty area by Pedro’s cut-back, Fabregas nimbly adjusted his stride before clipping his shot past Lukasz Fabianski.

Despite being out-played for much of the first half, Swansea snatched an equaliser seconds before the interval at Stamford Bridge. Gylfi Sigurdsson’s long free-kick caught the Blues napping and Spanish striker Fernando Llorente rose to head powerfully beyond Thibaut Courtois.

But Chelsea’s dominance was rewarded in the 72nd minute when Pedro’s routine long-range effort slipped past a weak attempted stop by Fabianski. Diego Costa wrapped up the points when he finished off Eden Hazard’s pass in the 84th minute for his 17th goal of the season.

With second placed Manchester City’s scheduled derby against Manchester United postponed due to their rivals’ League Cup final date with Southampton today, Chelsea have opened up a huge lead at the top. Third placed Tottenham can trim Chelsea’s advantage to 10 points if they beat Stoke today.

While sacked boss Claudio Ranieri was saying his farewells at the club’s Belvoir Drive training base yesterday, Leicester’s fight for survival took a turn for the worse without the players even kicking a ball.

Still digesting Ranieri’s stunning dismissal on Thursday, Leicester don’t play until Liverpool’s visit to the King Power Stadium tomorrow.

Amid reports a player revolt had led to Ranieri’s exit, several Leicester players took to social media to praise the Italian, although none expressed disappointment at his exit. But there was bad news for the malcontents from Selhurst Park, where Crystal Palace’s 1-0 win over Middlesbrough left Leicester one point from safety in 18th place.