Independent:
Crystal Palace 0 Chelsea 1
Diego Costa strikes to send Antonio Conte's side nine points clear
A strike shortly before half-time by the Premier League's top goalscorer was enough for the league leaders to pick up their eleventh straight win
Glenn Moore at Selhurst Park
The white shirts of Chelsea were like ghosts in the south London fog but there was nothing ethereal about their football. A third one-nil on the bounce secured a club record 11th successive win to further cement their place at the Premier League summit.
Crystal Palace gave a spirited performance but once Chelsea struck through Diego Costa shortly before half-time victory always seemed inevitable. The football was for the most part prosaic rather than poetic but the leaders could have scored more goals and never looked like conceding one.
While Chelsea have secured 33 points from 33 Palace have gleaned just five. A year ago Palace were seventh and Chelsea 16th. Twelve months on Chelsea, with a new manager, are top; Palace, with the same one, on the brink of the relegation zone, which is also where they finished in May. Poor results and new owners is a worrying combination for any manager and Alan Pardew is now in grave danger. He will have been gratified to see his team show noticeably more vim and ambition than in the midweek defeat to Manchester United, certainly enough to mute any crowd discontent, but in the end they were clearly second best.
Pardew recalled Jason Puncheon and Joe Ledley. The changes sharpened Palace and the pair were involved in the 21st-minute move which should have ended with the home side taking the lead.
Puncheon, wide left, aid the ball back infield to Ledley who found Johan Cabaye. The Frenchman, vastly improved from his midweek display, rolled a perfectly weighted pass inside Marcos Alonso for the overlapping Martin Kelly to run on to. His cross picked out Puncheon arriving at speed only for the forward to skew his shot weakly wide.
Chelsea at that point had offered only a David Luiz free-kick into the wall. Antonio Conte recalled Nemanja Matic after suspension for Cesc Fabregas while Eden Hazard returned after injury. Not that Hazard was involved in a first half when Palace targeted his reluctance to tack back. Kelly, given the freedom of the right flank, set up another fine chance which James McArthur headed wide.
A breakthrough seemed imminent. The Palace Ultras banged their drums and chanted away, the Sainsbury’s End opposite them raised the volume in reply. Then Chelsea struck. Wilfried Zaha was dispossessed on one flank and the ball switched to Cesar Azpilicueta on the other. His sent a high hanging cross into the fog, and when it came down Costa rose above Kelly and Scott Dann to loop a header over a fatally uncertain Wayne Hennessey. It was his 13th league goal of the campaign, already exceeding last season’s tally.
At the break Pardew reminded his men they had more than matched the leaders and Palace reappeared bristling with intent rather than accepting their fate. Cabaye stretched Courtois from 20 yards and they pressed on both flanks, seeing to get behind Chelsea’s wing-backs. Given the contrasting skills of Zaha and Puncheon this was as good a test as Chelsea’s remodelled defence has received in the winning run, but it withstood the examination.
At the other end Kante had already worried Hennessey with a fizzing shot. As they stepped a gear Alonso hit the side netting and substitute Fabregas hit a scuttling shot Hennessey saved nervously. Suddenly the Welsh No.1 was busy, saving much more smartly from Kante and Fabregas as Chelsea sought to kill the game. Only the crossbar prevented then doing so with seven minutes left, Alonso whipping a free-kick against it.
Five minutes’ injury time gave Palace hope. They roused themselves for one last effort. They won a free-kick in a dangerous position. But Townsend launched it into the stratosphere as if he were Andy Farrell at Twickenham and the game was done.
In times past this would have been the perfect day for Costa as he also picked up a booking, triggering a suspension that will rule him out of the Boxing Day fixture with Bournemouth. Modern players, however, are less inclined to over-indulge on the sherry and mince pies, and with their team playing as well as this both he and N’Golo Kante - who suffered the same fate - are more likely regret the enforced break.
Crystal Palace (4-2-3-1): Hennessey; Kelly Fryers, 83), Dann, Delaney, Ward; Cabaye (Campbell, 79), Ledley; Zaha, McArthur, Puncheon (Townsend, 76); Benteke.
Chelsea (3-4-3): Courtois; Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill; Moses (Ivanovic, 79), Kante, Matic, Alonso; Willian (Fabregas, 65), Costa (Batshuayi, 89), Hazard.
Referee: J Moss
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Observer:
Diego Costa sends Chelsea soaring at Palace with 11th straight league win
C Palace 0 - 1 Chelsea
Dominic Fifield at Selhurst Park
There is simply no stopping Chelsea. Antonio Conte’s side equalled a club record here, muscling their way to an 11th win in succession to establish a nine-point advantage to hold overnight and leave the chasing pack struggling to spy them at the summit. They had already proved they can dazzle on this run. This derby demanded more brawn, but the outcome was still the same. They are steeled by an air of invincibility at present.
Alan Pardew, head bowed almost in resignation as he trudged down the touchline at the final whistle, will have taken no pleasure in being proved right with his pre-match assessment that these opponents can appear unbeatable. Here they proved impenetrable. What was impressive was the visitors’ ability to scrap for the points, beating the hosts at their own game while forever retaining that lively threat on the counterattack and feverishly suffocating Palace’s attempts at revival. The home side have been prolific this season, with only four teams having scored more, but they were blunted virtually throughout.
That included the final exchanges, when Palace might normally have expected to whip up frenzied late pressure in pursuit of parity only for the leaders to hold them at arm’s length. That sequence of victories has included nine clean sheets. The rest of the division may have forgotten how to defend, but Chelsea under Conte continue to prove it is an art form.
“Starting this season, I said the manager must be a tailor and try and find the right fit for the team,” he said, resisting the temptation to name the club’s “fashion partners” in his metaphor. “For sure, it wasn’t easy for me to arrive here and understand very quickly the characteristics of my players. I needed a bit of time.
“I tried a different solution before changing the formation, but the most important thing is the mentality, our strong mentality. That and hard work during the week: tactical work, physical work, analysis work, diet ... we touched different aspects to try and improve.
“You can bring your idea of football with you, but if you don’t have players who follow you it doesn’t matter.”
His players needed some convincing at first but have now bought into his methods, convinced as soon as the defence was tightened up and the results began to flow. There are no doubters in the ranks these days.
Bournemouth on Boxing Day will provide their own test now that Diego Costa and N’Golo Kanté have succumbed to their fifth cautions of term to grant them Christmas off. They have been integral to this team’s sprint clear of the pack and will be missed. Kanté was as busy as ever in central midfield, denying Palace time to settle, and it was Costa who secured the points.
There was a simplicity to his 50th goal for Chelsea that rather damned the home side’s attempt at defence. Eden Hazard had retreated into midfield in possession before urging the outstanding César Azpilicueta up from centre-half duties on the opposite flank. The Spaniard ambled forward untracked and lofted a centre towards the far post where Costa, finding space away from Scott Dann and Martin Kelly, was permitted a free header that he eased over Wayne Hennessey. The goalkeeper was poorly positioned, caught between a desire to intercept the cross or defend his line. The concession felt soft.
“We didn’t get enough pressure on the centre-half, but then again you don’t expect him to the centre-forward with a pass of that quality” said Pardew. “Azpilicueta’s was the perfect pass. But my team tried everything. We threw everything we could at them, but they were just too good defensively for us.”
Jason Puncheon and James McArthur missed the home side’s best opportunities, but the more presentable opportunities were passed up by the visitors on the break. Hennessey did well to deny Kanté and Marcos Alonso, with the Spaniard curling a late free-kick on to the underside of the crossbar. The margin of their victory probably should have been greater.
That left Palace deflated as they contemplated an eighth defeat in 10 league games and a 22nd of the calendar year. Pardew knows his position is under scrutiny, but if the board are unlikely to act after successive narrow home defeats to Manchester United and Chelsea this team cannot contemplate succumbing at Vicarage Road on Boxing Day. Or, even more critically, at home to Swansea City in the new year.
“The positives are there for everyone to see,” said Dann. “We came up against a top team, a side who are top of the league, and we deserved to get something out of the game. We showed togetherness and commitment and if we continue that we will start picking up points.”
That needs to happen sooner rather than later or Pardew, with Sam Allardyce waiting in the wings, will find his time is up. Palace have had a wretched 12 months. Chelsea’s, in contrast, has been an untouchable 11 matches. The Premier League record of 14 is looming ever larger and could be equalled at White Hart Lane next month. At present, nothing seems beyond this side.
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Telegraph:
Crystal Palace 0 Chelsea 1
Diego Costa header makes it 11 wins in a row for Antonio Conte's title chasers
Sam Wallace
Antonio Conte was punching the air by the time he got within distance of the Chelsea fans on the far side of the Selhurst Park pitch, a brief glimpse of what the Italian looks like when he is extremely pleased with his team’s performance and there was, indeed, much to be pleased about.
The 11th straight victory of Chelsea’s winning run was one of those games in which the opposition’s hope was crushed in stages and by the time the substitute Andros Townsend’s cross was skied high into the Holmesdale Stand, Crystal Palace knew they were not getting close. This is how Chelsea are doing it now, with the minimum of fuss to take them to 11 straight wins and within sight of Arsenal’s 2002 record of 14.
They will have to beat Bournemouth on Boxing Day without the benefit of their match-winner against Palace, Diego Costa, who picked up his fifth booking of the season and a one-match suspension. So too, N’Golo Kanté, who will be missing during that game as well which prompted the usual questions about whether both had selected a convenient time to clean up their cards.
Conte protested that was not the case and given that Costa was last booked on Sept 23, you had to give him the benefit of the doubt. Two more games and both of them would have been given a clean slate anyway and certainly Chelsea will be a very different proposition without the pair of them.
Together they have been a key part of a winning run that equals Chelsea’s best sequence of Premier League victories back in late 2009.
Costa took his 13th league goal of the season with the usual efficiency while Palace’s chances, just the two of them, were both wasted. Alan Pardew pointed out that one would not expect such a perfect cross from a centre-half to create the chance for the Chelsea striker, but it was duly delivered by Cesar Azpilicueta and Costa’s finish made Palace’s retreating defence look very ordinary.
This was not Chelsea’s most awe-inspiring victory since they went down 3-0 to Arsenal in September, rather it was the manner in which they restricted and controlled Palace whose opportunities seemed to dwindle as they chased the game. Pardew spoke about Chelsea’s defensive organisation with reverence and was careful not to be too hard on his team.
Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic came back into the Chelsea side that won at Sunderland on Wednesday night and helped them exert the usual control.
Conte has a decision to make as to whether or not he places his confidence in Michy Batshuayi for Monday’s game against Bournemouth but it was easy to tell afterwards that he is enjoying his first season in English football.
Describing himself once again as a tailor who tried to find “the right fit” for Chelsea, Conte was duly asked whether 11 wins in a row entitled him to call himself the Giorgio Armani of English football. Taking note of the club’s lucrative commercial partnership in that regard, he simply replied “Dolce and Gabbana”.
Palace have lost eight of their past 10 games although this was just their second home league game of the season in which they had failed to score.
The two chances they did create came from the right wing and the crosses of Martin Kelly in the first half but Jason Puncheon and then James McArthur both failed to hit the target with their attempts.
The issue at Palace seems to be whether they can trade their way out of trouble in January and Boxing Day’s away game at Watford feels pretty integral to how the club will feel about their embattled manager come the end of the year. After Arsenal on New Year’s Day they play Swansea City at home and if Pardew’s side cannot win that game then serious questions will have to be asked.
“We’ve got to get some points on the board and start winning some games,” Pardew said. “This was always going to be difficult. Chelsea are very sound defensively and didn’t really give us any chance to get at them as much as we’d have liked. They were confident in their defending, good shape and discipline to their actions, and did enough offensively to edge it.” Palace had been doing a decent job of it until one minute before the end of the regulation 45, when they permitted Hazard to raise his head and stroke a pass into the stride of Azpilicueta on the right side and suddenly the home team were in trouble.
Palace were retreating quickly, but nowhere near quick enough for Scott Dann to be able to get into position to challenge Costa who was waiting for the ball in front of him from Azpilicueta. When it came, Dann could barely turn himself round in time to see Costa flight his header over Wayne Hennessey and into the far corner of the Palace goal.
“The disappointment with the goal is we didn’t get enough pressure on the centre-half,” Pardew said, “but then again you don’t expect him to the centre-forward with a pass of that quality. It was the perfect pass. But look, my team tried everything. We threw everything we could at them, but they were just too good defensively for us.”
He had resisted the temptation to switch formation as David Moyes had done with Sunderland in the mid-week and in the first half Palace had done enough to stifle Chelsea in midfield while creating those two good chances of their own. In the second half it was Chelsea who created the better chances and Marcos Alonso struck the bar with a free-kick when he finally persuaded David Luiz to let him take one.
In this 11-match run, Chelsea have conceded just two goals, to Tottenham and Manchester City, the former of which they will play on Jan 4 in what could potentially be their 14th win and the equalling of Arsenal’s 14-year-old record. One imagines White Hart Lane would be the ideal place for Conte’s players to do it, the scene of their New Year’s Day 5-3 demolition two years ago.
“I’m not a person who loves statistics,” Conte said afterwards when the discussion turned to records, but he did admit that 11 wins in a row was a start in English football that he could barely have dreamed of when he took over this struggling side six months ago.
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Mail:
Crystal Palace 0-1 Chelsea: Diego Costa's 50th Blues goal seals 11th straight win for Antonio Conte's men and moves them nine points clear at the top
By Oliver Holt
The drum at the Holmesdale Road End of Selhurst Park beat faster and faster as the match entered its final stages but it was not Crystal Palace who played to its rhythm. It was Chelsea.
They are getting better and better, more and more assured, more and more impenetrable with every game. They are nine points clear at the top of the Premier League now and they are enjoying the dance.
Antonio Conte said after this comfortable 1-0 victory over Alan Pardew's struggling side that a manager must be a tailor who finds the right fit for his team and he has dressed these players in fine clothes indeed. They may not have been in rags when he arrived but they were a little moth-eaten.
Now, after his team equalled a club record with their 11th straight victory, Conte is looking, as a journalist pointed out to him during the post-match press conference, like the Armani of English football. In his first season here, Conte, too, is wearing it well.
This win was testimony not just to the brilliance of Eden Hazard and the predatory instincts of Diego Costa but to the unassailability of the 3-4-3 system that fits the players like a glove.
Their organisation was so good, their hunger so in tact, that Palace, who have now lost eight of their last 10 league games and are hovering precariously above the relegation zone, could not get close to them as they tried to chase the game.
Chelsea's remarkable run of victories is starting to make the following pack look rather forlorn. The omens are not good for Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool who will find, when they resume their pursuit on Sunday and Monday, that they are following a trail of scorched earth.
Chelsea were guaranteed to be top at Christmas even before Saturday's win and six of the last seven teams who have found themselves in that position have gone on to win the title that season.
Add to that the fact that Chelsea have won the Premier League title on each of the four previous occasions they've been top of the league at Christmas and things are looking ominous for the rest.
A year to the day since Jose Mourinho left the club for the second time, with Chelsea in disarray, the Blues have rarely been in ruder health. They were not brilliant against Palace. They didn't need to be. But they were still hugely impressive.
Conte has not only organised them beautifully but he has instilled supreme self-confidence in all of them. And he is waging war on complacency. 'In this league,' he said, 'if we'd arrived here today without the right concentration and focus, the will to fight and go into battle with your opponents, we'd have lost this game for sure.'
The players have bought into his methods and his character completely. After Costa established himself on his own as the league's top scorer by grabbing the winner on the stroke of half time, his 13th goal of the season, he ran straight to his manager to celebrate with him.
Chelsea had begun the game playing with the supreme confidence that comes with performing so well and so consistently that even Palace boss Pardew had prefaced the match by saying that Conte's side 'look unbeatable'.
Presumably, he gave his players a rather different message in private but some of them looked as if they had heard what he said and it had stuck with them. Chelsea controlled possession so effortlessly in the opening stages that it was hard to see how Palace would get anywhere near them.
Chelsea struggled to convert their possession into chances but some of it was still beautiful to watch. Midway through the half some superb interplay between Willian and Hazard threatened to put the latter through on goal before his run was unceremoniously blocked by Joel Ward.
It was one of several free kicks in dangerous areas that Chelsea won and then wasted. David Luiz blasted that one wide, Hazard played another one square to N'Golo Kante, who looked so surprised that his response more closely resembled a clearance than a shot.
In fact, the best chance of the opening half an hour fell to Palace. It came from what was almost their sole attack until then. Yohan Cabaye played a cleverly weighted through ball out to Martin Kelly who was overlapping on the right.
His cross found Jason Puncheon 10 yards out but he did not hit the ball cleanly and pulled his shot wide of Thibaut Courtois' right-hand post. After all Chelsea's domination, that was an escape and they had another alarm seven minutes before the interval when Puncheon curled a free kick just over the bar.
But just when it seemed Palace would reach the interval unscathed, they lost concentration. There were two minutes of the half to go when Hazard wriggled away from the attentions of Cabaye and ran back towards his own half to make space for himself.
Even when he fed the ball into the path of Cesar Azpilicueta, there seemed to be little danger but when the defender floated the ball into the area, it caught Scott Dann flat-footed as Costa fixed on it like a laser. Dann could not even muster a jump and Costa rose to nod it over the stranded Wayne Hennessey and into the net.
Chelsea's recent record suggested it would be difficult for Palace to force their way back into the game and a couple of minutes into the second half, Hennessey's hands were stung by a fierce drive from Kante as the league leaders sought to extend their advantage.
Palace found it hard to put Chelsea under renewed pressure and second-half substitute Cesc Fabregas forced another save out of Hennessey after a clever pull-back from Hazard. With 20 minutes to go, the Palace keeper had to fling himself to his right to push out a low shot from Kante that was spearing towards the bottom corner.
Chelsea were playing with the urgency of the team chasing the game and Hennessey was in action again, this time palming away a rising drive from Marcos Alonso. Every Palace foray forward was stifled before it could muster much dangerous intent.
Palace had another escape when a free kick from Alonso crashed off the underside of the bar with Hennessey beaten. Gary Cahill seemed to be winning the race to the rebound until he fell in a heap in the area but the referee waved play on.
Palace had one last chance in the dying minutes when they won a free kick on the edge of the box. Andros Townsend took it and blasted it high into the Holmesdale Road. The drum fell silent.
CRYSTAL PALACE (4-2-3-1): Hennessey 7, Kelly 6 (Fryers 84), Dann 5, Delaney 5, Ward 5, Cabaye 5 (Campbell 79, 5), Ledley 6, McArthur 5, Zaha 5, Benteke 4, Puncheon 6.5 (Townsend 77, 5)
Subs not used: Speroni, Lee, Mutch, Husin
Booked: Ward, Delaney
CHELSEA (3-4-3): Courtois 6, Azpilicueta 7, Luiz 6, Cahill 6, Moses 6.5 (Ivanovic 79, 5), Kante 6, Matic 6.5, Alonso 6.5, Willian 5.5 (Fabregas 64, 6), Costa 7.5(Batshuayi 89, 5), Hazard 8.
Subs not used: Begovic, Zouma, Pedro, Chalobah
Goal: Costa 43
Booked: Costa, Kante, Fabregas
Referee: Jon Moss
==================================
Sun:
THEY'LL BE MIST Crystal Palace 0 Chelsea 1:
Blues equal 11-game win record, but lose Diego Costa and N’Golo Kante for Boxing Day clash
Star men both picked up their fifth yellow card of the season at a foggy Selhurst Park, meaning they will not travel to Bournemouth for the festive showdown next Monday
BY MIKE MCGRATH AND DAVE FRASER
CHELSEA equalled their record 11th straight Premier League win against Crystal Palace, but were left with a bitter taste in their mouth as Diego Costa and N’Golo Kante were ruled out of their Boxing Day clash through suspension.
Costa was the man to get the game truly underway, nodding home his 13th goal of the season from a pinpoint Cesar Azpilicueta cross on the stroke of half-time.
The Spaniard had only minutes earlier picked up his fifth booking of the season, meaning he misses the Boxing Day clash with Bournemouth.
Keep up to date with ALL the Chelsea and Crystal Palace news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary.
As if that wasn't bad enough, early in the second-half, another key cog - Kante - succumbed to the same fate, being carded and missing the game on the south coast next Monday.
STATS, FACTS, GOALS & LOLS
ANTONIO CONTE is really utilising his squad. Out went midweek matchwinner Cesc Fabregas and back came Eden Hazard.
DAMIEN DELANEY left a late one on Thibaut Courtois and sent him flying in the second half. But the Chelsea keeper was up straight away.
CHELSEA was ruthlessly efficient in the first half. Diego Costa’s goal was their first shot on target.
COSTA will have his feet up on Boxing Day though. His yellow card for a foul on Joe Ledley was his fifth of the season, earning a ban.
JON MOSS is hardly a crowd favourite at Selhurst Park. No big errors from the ref but home fans thought the marginal calls went against them.
CONTE would usually be with his family on a winter break in Italy but this will be his first big test of the Christmas fixtures – and could define the title race.
WILLIAN started two games in a week for the first time this season and looks ahead of Pedro in the pecking order again.
DAVID LUIZ in the middle of a back three is his perfect position as it allows him to mop up loose balls and show his passing range.
ALAN PARDEW is now in the top ten managers in terms of Premier League matches, overtaking Joe Kinnear with 302.
N'GOLO KANTE will also be missing on Boxing Day for Conte after picking up his fifth booking.
Next five fixtures
CHELSEA
Dec 26 - Bournemouth (H) - PL
Dec 31 - Stoke (H) - PL
Jan 4 - Tottenham (A) - PL
Jan 8 - Notts Co/P'Boro (H) - FA
Jan 14 - Leicester (A) - PL
CRYSTAL PALACE: Hennessey 7, Ward 6, Dann 6, Delaney 6 (Fryers 84, 5), Kelly 6, Cabaye 6 (Campbell 79, 6), McArthur 6, Ledley 6, Zaha 6, Puncheon 6 (Townsend 77, 6), Benteke 6.
Subs not used: Speroni, Husin, Mutch, Lee.
Booked: Ward, Delaney.
CHELSEA: Courtois 7, Azpilicueta 7, Luiz 7, Cahill 7, Moses 7 (Ivanovic 79, 6), Kante 7, Matic, Alonso 7, Willian 6 (Fabregas 64, 6), Hazard 8, Costa 7 (Batshuayi 89, 5).
Subs not used: Begovic, Zouma, Chalobah, Pedro.
Goals: Costa (43).
Booked: Costa, Kante.
STAR MAN: EDEN HAZARD (Chelsea)
========================
Star:
Crystal Palace 0 Chelsea 1: Brilliant Diego Costa the difference as Blues go nine clear
UNLUCKY for some. Not for Chelsea.
By Tony Stenson at Selhurst Park
They played the numbers game to stay top of the table on the back of a club record of 11 successive wins - thanks to Diego Costa’s 13th goal of the season, with their first effort on target in the first half.
He also collected his first booking since September - he had four previous - and it means he can tuck into Christmas pudding and put his feet up on Boxing Day.
Costa was a powerful figure, always ready to attack and help out in defence as Palace made a decent fist of it.
This wasn’t vintage Chelsea, more a sleeves rolled-up job because Palace refused to be a sacrificial lamb.
In Jason Puncheon they had a willing warrior, but in the end Chelsea’s class held the key.
It’s amazing to think around this time last year, Chelsea lost to Leicester to slip one point above the relegation zone, with Jose Mourinho leaving a few days later.
Now they top the table over Christmas and based on the previous four times this has happened, means they will go on and clinch the title.
Palace manager Pardew thinks so, declaring on Friday ‘they look unbeatable‘.
Now suddenly the record of 14, which Arsenal achieved between February and August in 2002 is in their sights.
Manager Antonio Conte deserves huge credit for the turn around.
Since the little Italian’s switch to a back three at Hull in October, they have been unstoppable, conceding just twice - equalling their best for 10 years.
Palace packed their midfield to stem the tide, cutting Chelsea’s arteries and then exploding themselves, forcing Chelsea defenders to continually pass-back to Courtois.
On one such raid, Jason Puncheon wasted a golden 22nd minute chance to put Palace ahead, when he turned wide Martin Kelly’s cross.
Diego Costa, praised in recent weeks for calm, was booked for the first time since September for verbals when frustrating crept into his game through lack of opportunities.
Chelsea’s failure to stamp authority on the game, and Palace’s dogged determination left the game in limbo for long periods.
It neither excited or bored, just flowed in a mist-shrouded pitch.
Referee Jon Moss often had to blow for niggling tackles, again slowing down the game.
McArthur headed wide another Kelly five minutes before half time as Palace showed they were up for a fight.
Little was seen of Hazard in the first half, with Palace shackling his usually darting runs.
With his flame doused, Chelsea were forced to find other avenues of attack, but not with much luck until Costa, all calm restored, struck.
He rose superbly to head in Azpilicueta’s perfect cross a minute before half time.
Palace’s response was a long-range effort from Yohan Cabaye just minutes into the second half, which Courtois had to dive full-length to save.
Kante replied for Chelsea with a ferocious 18-yard effort three minutes later that Wayne Hennessey could only palm out.
Gradually, Kante and Matic started winning the midfield and they were helped by Cesc Fabregas coming off the sub’s bench.
Alonso drove into the side-netting as Chelsea moved up gears forcing Hennessey to make saves from Fabregas and Alonso, who also struck the cross bar late in the game with a free kick.
Palace stage a late rally, but Chelsea showed they can also defend and white shirts always swarmed back in numbers to cover.
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Express:
Crystal Palace 0 - Chelsea 1: Diego Costa header earns 11th straight Premier League win
DIEGO COSTA will get the credit for this one, but all his Chelsea teammates have the look of champions again now alright.
By COLIN MAFHAM
They went nine points clear, overnight at any rate, after an 11th straight win that sent a clear message to would-be title rivals that said: Catch us if you can.
And if this is anything to go by that looks like being a mighty big ask.
Let's face it, they were slow to get going and for the best part of the first half some might have asked what all the fuss was about.
But coach Antonio Conte has found a winning formula that works with a team that is now just three more games away from equalling the Premier League record of 14 consecutive victories which arch rivals Arsenal have held for 14 years.
As he said afterwards: "The run is fantastic. Congratulations to my players, not me, because they deserve this. And I am so pleased for the fans as well because they have been fantastic and have pushed us."
Then, ominously for his rivals, he promised: "We can improve, though."
It might have been different if Palace had taken early chances while Chelsea were taking around 43 minutes to get their table topping act together.
But, as they say, cream always rises to the top and Costa certainly rose to the occasion then.
Cesar Azpilicueta provided the ammunition and the man rival fans love to hate fired Chelsea in front with the sort of header that puts him head and shoulders above most of his peers.
His 13th goal of the season was anything but unlucky!
The bad luck came earlier with a dubious fifth yellow card of the season which means the Premier League's leading goalscorer will miss Chelsea's game against Bournemouth on Boxing Day.
Palace were out of luck as well just after the break when Thibaut Courtois (squad number 13 by the way) needed two attempts to keep a Cabaye piledriver out.
Credit where credit's due, though, as the fog lifted so did Chelsea's performance.
And to be honest only some dogged defending - by keeper Wayne Hennessey in particular - spared Palace from a bigger beating as Chelsea clicked into gear and started to play like the champions they could well be next May.
The impressive Marcos Alonso hit the bar and N'golo Kante could also have got on the scoresheet if it hadn't been for Hennessey.
There's no doubting either that Hazard and Costa - to name just two - look very different players now to the ones who so noticeably went off the boil during Chelsea's fall from grace under Jose Mourinho last season.
The big difference now is they are all giving 110 per cent for an inspirational manager - and, boy, does it show.
It might have taken them a while to warm up yesterday. But once they did, courtesy of Mr Costa's classy contribution, there was rarely any doubt who was glowing to win.
A disappointed Alan Pardew admitted that Palace had, in the end, been beaten by a better and very good side.
He added: It's a shame because we had some good chances in the first half.
But once we conceded it was very true difficult, and that was as good a defensive display (by Chelsea) as we have seen."
Crystal Palace: Hennessey; Kelly (Fryers 83),Dann, Delaney, Ward; Cabaye (Campbell 78), Ledley; Zaha, McArthur, Puncheon (Townsend 75); Benteke.
Chelsea: Courtois; Moses (Ivanovic 78), Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill, Alonso; Kante, Matic; Willian (Fabregas 64), Costa (Batshuayi 87), Hazard.
Man Of Match: Diego Costa. Chelsea's matchwinner again. And if he continues like this he will be a title winner as well.
Referee: Jonathan Moss.
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