Record-breaking Chelsea surges 7 points clear
LONDON (Reuters) – Spaniard Pedro scored twice as Chelsea tightened its grip on top spot by sweeping past Bournemouth 3-0 on Monday, a club record 12th successive Premier League win taking the Blues seven points clear.
Approaching the halfway point of the season, Chelsea has 46 points to the 39 of Manchester City, which won 3-0 at Hull City.
Liverpool, which hosts Stoke City on Tuesday, and Arsenal, which needed a late Olivier Giroud goal to sink West Bromwich Albion 1-0, both have 37 points.
With Diego Costa suspended, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte opted to play without a recognized striker and he was rewarded with inventive attacking displays from Pedro, Belgian Eden Hazard and Brazilian Willian.
Pedro’s sumptuous chip put the home team ahead after 24 minutes before Hazard made it 2-0 with a penalty at the start of the second half.
Bournemouth, which won this fixture last season when Jose Mourinho was in charge at Stamford Bridge, conceded a third goal when Pedro’s deflected shot went in during stoppage time.
The victory took Chelsea past its 11-game winning run from 2009, leaving it within two of the top-flight record set by Arsenal in 2002.
“To win 12 in a row is not easy in this league. It’s a fantastic run, but it’s important to continue that now,” Conte told reporters.
“We have another tough game at home to Stoke on Saturday and we have to prepare very well because, now, every team wants to beat you.”
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe said: “They are an outstanding team. They have individuals of such quality that we couldn’t keep them quiet the whole game.”
It was a similar story for bottom club Hull who contained Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City for 72 minutes before Andy Robertson’s rash tackle on Raheem Sterling gave the visitor a penalty that Yaya Toure tucked away with ease.
Substitute Kelechi Iheanacho made it 2-0 before an own goal in injury time by Curtis Davies secured City a third straight win and rounded off a miserable 20-minute spell for Hull, which has not won in the league since beating Southampton on November 6.
“In the first half we forgot where the goal was, in the second half our strikers OLIVIER GIROUD (front) proved to be the difference for Arsenal yesterday, with multiple chances and the lone goal in a typically hard-fought 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion, again demonstrating his worth to manager Arsene Wenger after spending the majority of the season on the substitutes’ bench. saw the goal a bit more and after the first goal it was easy,” Guardiola said.
City next travels to fellow title hopeful Liverpool on New Year’s Eve while bottom club Hull host Everton on Friday.
Elsewhere, Arsenal seemed set to drop points again, having lost its two previous games, as Tony Pulis’ West Bromwich Albion frustrated the Gunners for 86 minutes at the Emirates.
ThenGiroud,givenararestartbymanager Arsene Wenger, powered a header past West Brom’s impressive ’keeper Ben Foster from Mesut Ozil’s cross.
“We have an honest relationship,” Wenger said of his French striker. “I have big respect for him and he knows that. He was not always playing and despite that he kept a strong motivation level.”