WE’RE SO FAB
Ten wins on trot as Cesc puts Chelsea six clear
CESC FABREGAS fired league leaders Chelsea to a 1-0 victory over Sunderland last night to make it a perfect 10 Premier League wins in a row.
This time last season defeat by Leicester left Chelsea just one point above the relegation zone but Fabregas’ strike from the edge of the box saw Antonio Conte’s side move six points clear of Liverpool and Arsenal at the top.
Victory means Chelsea, who travel to Crystal Palace on Saturday, will be top at Christmas. Conte said: ‘It’s fantastic to win 10 in a row, because it’s very tough. But I prefer not to look at the table. The league did not finish today.’
On a night of eight Premier League matches, Liverpool rose to second after Adam Lallana struck twice in a 3-0 win at Middlesbrough. Manchester City beat Watford 2-0 but midfielder Ilkay Gundogan may miss the rest of the season after suffering a serious knee injury.
MARK HUGHES’S 400th match as a Premier League manager was not one he will forget. The Stoke City boss saw forward Marko Arnautovic sent off in the 24th minute before Saints striker Shane Long escaped the same fate for what appeared to be an elbow in a feisty goalless draw. ‘Referees think they have to come here and calm Stoke players down and that’s cost us,’ said Hughes. ‘All you ask is that they get decisions right. I was disappointed. It was a mistimed tackle. He’s clearly caught him but I don’t think it was done with intent or violence.’ Arnautovic went in studs up on Boufal as he controlled Cuco Martina’s throw-in and caught him on the thigh. Referee Anthony Taylor did the rest. Stoke’s mood would not have improved when Long went unpunished after an apparent elbow left Bruno Martins Indi pole-axed. The visitors pilked on the pressure in the second half but could not find a way through. Southampton have scored just four goals in their last eight Premier League matches, and manager Claude Puel said: ‘It was a disappointment. We need to be more aggressive.’