Chelsea losing title grip after Palace victory

CHELSEA’S Premier League title hopes suffered a major blow after John Terry’s 52nd-minute own goal condemned Jose Mourinho’s side to a 1-0 defeat at relegation-threatened Crystal Palace yesterday.

The loss, Chelsea’s second successive away defeat, meant the league leaders were unable to increase the pressure on Manchester City and Liverpool, their nearest challengers.

For Palace, a first win in six games moved Tony Pulis’s side five points clear of the bottom three.

Chelsea were unable to find a response after Terry had headed past Petr Cech from Joel Ward’s cross and Mourinho must now lift his side ahead of their Champions League quarterfinal first leg at Paris Saint-Germain.

Mourinho had chosen to focus on the defeat at Aston Villa two weeks previously, and not last weekend’s comprehensive 6-0 defeat of Arsenal, in the buildup to this game, repeating his criticism of referee Chris Foy’s performance at Villa Park.

The Chelsea manager admitted that he feared the loss could prove costly to his side’s title hopes and acknowledged that they could not afford to slip up again against another team in the bottom half of the table.

Perhaps with one eye on the midweek trip to Paris, Mourinho made a switch to a 4-3-3 formation, employing David Luiz, Nemanja Matic and Frank Lampard in a three-man midfield.

The change appeared to un- settle the visitors and they struggled to find the fluency that marked the opening stages of the victories against Galatasaray and Arsenal that followed the loss at Villa.

Against the Gunners, Chelsea had been 3-0 up inside 17 minutes. On this occasion, it took them the same period of time to create the first notable chance, with Cesar Azpilicueta finding his way to the byline and producing a low cross that Andre Schurrle directed wide.

It was Palace, though, who responded more positively to that opportunity, with Pulis’s side offering more of a forward threat after withstanding Chelsea’s early pressure.

Yannick Bolasie’s pace down the left was causing Branislav Ivanovic problems and the winger should have put Palace ahead in the 25th minute.

In other matches yesterday, Manchester United beat Aston Villa 4-1, Southampton also put four past Newcastle United without reply, Stoke City defeated Hull City 1-0, Swansea accounted for Norwich 3-0, and West Brom and Cardiff drew 3-3. In the late match, Manchester City drew with Arsenal 1-1 — AFP

Chelsea were unable to find a response after Terry had headed past Petr Cech