Pedro gem moves Chelsea closer to crown
LIVERPOOL: Pedro’s sublime strike fired Chelsea a step closer to the Premier League title as the ruthless leaders swept to a 3-0 win at Everton on Sunday.
Antonio Conte’s side had to work hard to break down Everton’s stubborn resistance, but Pedro’s majestic second-half goal put Chelsea on course for a fourth win in their last five league games.
Late goals from Gary Cahill and Willian wrapped up the victory as the Blues opened up a seven-point lead at the top, piling pressure on second-placed Tottenham ahead of their derby against Arsenal later on Sunday.
Regardless of the result at White Hart Lane, Chelsea’s steely display ensured the destiny of the title remains in their hands with four matches left against Middlesbrough, West Bromwich Albion, Watford and relegated Sunderland.
Chelsea need nine points to be assured of being crowned English champions in Conte’s first season in charge.
“We had a lot of patience for the right moment to hit. We deserved the win,” Conte said.
“We scored an amazing goal with Pedro. This gives us lots of confidence.”
“Now it is important to prepare for the final rush. We must look step by step.”
Earlier, a sublime free-kick by Icelandic international Gylfi Sigurdsson gained Premier League strugglers Swansea a deserved point in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Sunday, dealing a blow to the latter’s Champions League hopes.
Sigurdsson’s 10th goal of the season but first in 11 matches cancelled out veteran Wayne Rooney’s contentious penalty in time added on in the first-half when Marcus Rashford made the most out of minimal contact with ‘Swans’ goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
The point saw United move level on points with city rivals Manchester City but remained fifth, a place outside the automatic spots for the Champions League, because of a poorer goal difference.
It will be of little consolation to manager Jose Mourinho that it extended their unbeaten run to 25 and have not been defeated at Old Trafford since Sept. 10 last year.After defeats against Manchester United and Crystal Palace raised questions about their ability to get over the finish line, Chelsea have been revitalized by their FA Cup semi-final win over Tottenham.
They beat Southampton in midweek to reestablish control of the title race and ending Everton’s eight-match winning streak at home was another significant step towards the title.
Restoring Pedro to the starting lineup in place of Cesc Fabregas, Conte put the emphasis on attack, but the leaders were nearly caught cold at the back in the opening minutes.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin wriggled free for a shot from a tight angle that deflected onto a post and rebounded to Romelu Lukaku, whose close-range strike was goalbound until Cahill came to the rescue with a last-ditch block.
Chelsea squandered a chance to take the lead when Diego Costa scampered away from the Everton defence and picked out Eden Hazard’s run.
As Hazard latched onto the pass and rounded Maarten Stekelenburg a goal seemed certain, but the Belgian’s touch was not quite delicate enough and his shot drifted into the side-netting.
Costa looked furious after a full-blooded lunge from Tom Davies left him crumpled on the turf and he had a golden opportunity to get revenge when Everton made a hash of dealing with a long pass from David Luiz.
Costa won the header and was unchallenged as he spun to volley goalwards, yet the Spaniard still contrived to smash his close-range shot high over the bar.
The miss nearly came back to haunt Chelsea when Lukaku bullied his way through for a low shot that whistled just wide from the edge of the area.