CONTE HOLDS ALL THE ACES
Star-studded Blues far too strong for Koeman
STOPPING Eden Hazard is not enough – and stopping Chelsea now looks impossible.
Everton tried to follow the Manchester United blueprint by sticking a man-marker on the Belgian wizard to strangle the life out of Antonio Conte’s league leaders.
Idrissa Gueye stuck doggedly to his task, just as Ander Herrera did at Old Trafford two weeks ago.
But while Conte’s men were lost in Manchester, they didn’t fall for the same trick twice.
They had too much attacking talent for Ronald Koeman’s Everton, powering away in the final half-hour.
Chelsea do not need to win all four of their remaining matches to end Conte’s first season with the title. But with Middlesbrough, West Brom, Watford and Sunderland as their final four opponents, there’s every chance they will.
A trip to Goodison Park was seen by many as their hardest examination of the run-in. They passed it with top marks.
This was the stuff of champions. For an hour, Conte’s men had to slog to wear down their dogged opponents.
They survived a scare in the first 75 seconds, when Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s shot hit the post and Romelu Lukaku’s follow-up was blocked by a Gary Cahill challenge. But having held off the best that Everton could throw at them, Chelsea were ruthless in the final half-hour.
Pedro’s opener was a thing of beauty, as he took Nemanja Matic’s pass, spun away from Phil Jagielka and lashed an unstoppable shot into the top corner from 25 yards.
The second came as Hazard, getting the better of Gueye for once, was brought down by his marker out on the left. From the free-kick, his low whipped-in ball bounced off keeper Maarten Stekelenburg and flew in off Cahill’s knee from close range.
It was a break that Chelsea had earned. Their third goal was clinical, bordering on ruthless, as two substitutes combined moments after Conte had brought them on.
Cesc Fabregas darted in down the left as Jagielka trailed behind him and cut the ball back for Willian to sidefoot home.
It sealed victory over a side who had won their previous eight home league matches. Just as satisfying for Conte, it gave Chelsea a first clean sheet in 12 league matches.
Everton lost at home in the league for the first time since Christmas and, for once,
Lukaku did not have a Goodison Park goal to cheer.
The Premier League’s 24-goal top scorer, who had notched in each of his previous nine home games, is coveted by England’s top clubs but was hardly in the game.
There was one first-half moment of promise when he latched on to a weak Cesar Azpilicueta header, shrugged aside David Luiz’s challenge and rolled a shot just wide.
But for the most part, it was all about Koeman’s side trying to keep pace with the title favourites.
Both Hazard and Diego Costa let slip chances to score in the opening 45 minutes.
Victor Moses then went close soon after the break, whipping a shot just wide after Cahill’s clever flick of the boot from a low Hazard corner.
Everton showed they were not afraid to get physical, with youngster Tom Davies winning a huge roar after a crunching challenge that left Costa on the deck.
Then again, Chelsea’s fiery forward was happy to mix it too, picking up a second-half yellow card for clattering Stekelenburg as he chased down a short Jagielka back pass.
When they need to, Conte’s men can do the rough stuff, then let their class take over.
That is why they are champions-elect.