Friday, December 22, 2017

Bournemouth 2-1



Telegraph:

Chelsea 2 Bournemouth 1: Late Alvaro Morata strike earns semi-final spot - but it was a 17 year-old who stole the show

Matt Law

Chelsea’s record signing Alvaro Morata stepped off the substitutes’ bench to clinch a Carabao Cup semi-final tie against Arsenal, but it was a 17-year-old they have not even paid for who stole the show.
While Chelsea’s reserves largely disappointed, with Michy Batshuayi again failing to grasp his chance and Willian frustrating despite scoring the opening goal, Ethan Ampadu shone against Bournemouth.

Making only his second senior start for Chelsea and his first in the centre of defence, Ampadu put in an assured performance that defied his inexperience. It looked worrying for Ampadu, when he was booked inside 90 seconds for a late challenge on Jermain Defoe that eventually forced the striker off with suspected ankle ligament damage.
But he quickly regained his composure and did not put a foot wrong again, which will have no doubt been noted by old club Exeter City.

Chelsea have not been able to settle on a compensation fee with Exeter for Ampadu, who turned down a contract with the Grecians to sign for the Premier League champions in the summer. The stand-off is expected to be settled by a tribunal and, on this evidence, Exeter’s valuation of the youngster will have shot up even further.
“After one minute and 20 seconds, you decide to book a player who is 17-years-old – I think he played the whole game with this problem and it’s not simple for a defender to play after a yellow card in the second minute,” said Antonio Conte, the Chelsea head coach. “You have to play 93 minutes with this danger. But he showed great maturity and personality.

“I said in the past that this player, despite his young age, has shown great maturity. I don’t like to make gifts for someone. If they deserve it, I’m ready to play with very young players. Why not?
“Ampadu deserved to play this game and against Everton and against Huddersfield [as a substitute] in the league. Now he has to stay calm. Maybe next game, he’ll go to play for the youth league. I don’t know. But this player is very humble. He could have a great future, but he has to continue in this way, to improve and to work.”

Morata’s winning goal, which came less than a minute after Dan Gosling had appeared to send the tie into extra-time with a 90th-minute equaliser, came at a price.
The Spaniard’s celebrations earned him a yellow card and he will now serve a one-match suspension and miss Saturday’s Premier League trip to Everton. “I must be honest, I didn’t see this yellow card,” said Conte. “He’s a big loss for us, especially because we have to play a tough game against Everton. It’s a pity. But we have to accept it. Many players were booked.”

Other than Morata, Eden Hazard and Tiemoue Bakayoko were called on from the bench, as Conte was annoyed with the way Chelsea started the second period having taken a 13th-minute lead.
Batshuayi passed to Kenedy, who back-heeled the ball into the path of Cesc Fabregas. The midfielder drove into the penalty area before finding Willian, who easily beat goalkeeper Artur Boruc.

Willian almost went from hero to villain, as he inexplicably let in substitute Jordan Ibe, who should have at least tested Chelsea’s reserve keeper Willy Caballero.
Having thought he had been fouled, Willian stopped playing to appeal for a free-kick. Referee Lee Mason ignored the Brazilian and Ibe raced into the area, but fired the ball into the side-netting.
Bournemouth came out from the break reinvigorated and Ampadu had to be alert to divert a shot from Lys Mousset over the bar. Conte was concerned enough that he felt the need to call for Hazard and Bakayoko, who took over from Willian and Pedro.

The changes did not knock Bournemouth out of their stride, however, and Gosling was the next visiting player to worry the Chelsea defence, but his shot was too high.

It was evident that Conte did not want extra time, as he sent on the last of his big guns – Morata – with 17 minutes remaining. But there were more warnings for the hosts, as Ibe flashed a low shot just wide and Caballero got down well to stop substitute Callum Wilson’s cross reaching Gosling.
Gosling finally got the better of Caballero with a curling shot in the 90th-minute, only to see Chelsea race straight up the other end and win the tie through Morata.

“It feels heartbreaking, to be honest,” said Eddie Howe, the Bournemouth manager. “The players gave everything to get back into that game. I was hoping it would go into extra-time and we’d have a go at winning it. It was bitterly disappointing what happened in those last few moments.
“It’s too painful to watch the goal again.”

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Mail:

Chelsea 2-1 Bournemouth: Alvaro Morata scores last-ditch winner moments after Dan Gosling equaliser to send Antonio Conte's side into Carabao Cup semi-finals to face London rivals Arsenal

By Adam Crafton for the Daily Mail

As Alvaro Morata's finish trickled into the Bournemouth goal, Antonio Conte let out one of those visceral outpourings of energy.
A minute before, the picture could hardly have been more different.
Leading through an early Willian goal, Chelsea simply switched off after the restart. Chelsea were rattled and Bournemouth's Dan Gosling eventually scored a deserved equaliser just as the game edged into injury time.

Conte had seen it coming. Heaven knows he had tried everything from the Chelsea technical area. He tried cajoling his players. Then he introduced his big-hitters. Yet the more frantic Conte became, the more his side retreated into their shell.
Bournemouth played with greater urgency, forcing a succession of corners. Only the most tenacious of blocks from the outstanding 17-year-old Ethan Ampadu denied Guy Mousset an equaliser.

The prospect of extra-time began to haunt Conte's mind. So out came three of Conte's aces in Tiemoue Bakayoko, Eden Hazard and Morata. Yet Chelsea continued to stumble around. Gary Cahill did so quite literally, falling flat on his face to concede a corner.
But the visitors just kept coming. Gosling fired over. Substitute Jordan Ibe flashed a low shot inches wide of Chelsea's goal.

When Gosling's sweet curling strike nestled into the goal shortly before the fourth official raised his board for injury-time, it was the least Eddie Howe's side merited.
Yet in Hazard and Morata, Conte possesses two of the Premier League's most gifted footballers and straight from the kick-off, the pair took matters into their own hands.
The duo dovetailed beautifully, as Hazard's back-flick freed the Spaniard to seal a dramatic late victory. Morata was booked for his enthusiastic celebrations, ruling him out the weekend visit to Everton.

'It was heart-breaking,' Howe said. Yet for Conte, victory was significant. Certainly, his side's progress in this competition means more than he might have envisaged early in the season.
Conte might have regarded the Carabao Cup as a token reward but amid the broader outlook of Manchester City's excellence and a Champions League duel against Barcelona, a semi-final draw against Arsenal now takes on renewed significance.
Conte's sense of purpose was clear from the team-sheet. The Italian may have made eight changes from the weekend victory over Southampton but his starting XI still came in at a combined value of £218.7m, including the talents of Cesc Fabregas, Willian and Pedro. Hazard and Morata waited on the bench.

So this was not a scratch Chelsea side. There were places on the bench for two English World Cup winners, in the Under 20 winner Jake Clarke-Salter and Under 17 Callum Hudson-Odoi but neither entered the fray.
Conte was true to his pre-match word, offering another high-level starting opportunity to young Ampadu. He started the previous round against Everton in central midfield and here the Welsh international played at the heart of the Chelsea defence. Sporting his frizzy dreadlocks and lean build, he is a David Luiz doppelganger.

Ampadu's former Exeter manager Paul Tisdale said that he plays with the brain of a 35-year-old yet just like Luiz, there are signs of over-exuberance. The ferocity of Ampadu's slash at Jermain Defoe's ankles inside the opening 80 seconds spoke volumes for a young talent's anxiety to impress.
Referee Lee Mason took his name yet Ampadu responded so positively to his early set-back, carrying the ball with confidence and defending with urgency and composure.
'It is not simple to play 90 minutes with a yellow card,' Conte said. 'Ampadu showed great maturity and personality. He is very humble and he could have a great future.'

Defoe was forced off by the lunge with suspected ankle ligament damage and that loss represented the latest blow for Howe in a season that simply refuses to take off.
After suffering two defeats by Manchester United and Liverpool in the past eight days and with the trauma of a visit to Manchester City to endure this weekend, the injury to Defoe, in addition to Harry Artur, who exited with a calf injury, provide further headaches.

Bournemouth are seven matches without a victory and a pivotal run of fixtures after Christmas will determine whether a drama becomes a crisis for Howe.
Still, Bournemouth made the more vibrant start to the game and Gosling might have been more composed when a shooting opportunity presented itself early on. Chelsea's attacking qualities soon surfaced.

It was a quite magnificent opening goal. An impudent back-heel from the Brazilian Kenedy released Cesc Fabregas breaking from midfield and as the crowd rose up, Fabregas was the coolest man in the stadium, glancing up and teeing up Willian to score.
For a fleeting while, we wondered whether Chelsea may inflict serious damage to Bournemouth's fragile confidence, as Michy Batshuayi spurned one good chance and Davide Zappacosta fired across goal. Yet the second-half was a different story and ultimately, Chelsea were grateful to come away with any win at all.

Chelsea: Caballero 6; Rudiger 6, Ampadu 7, Cahill 6.5; Zappacosta 6, Drinkwater 6, Fabregas 7, Kenedy 7; Pedro 6 (Bakayoko 61, 6), Willian 7 (Hazard 61, 6.5); Batshuayi 5 (Morata 73, 7)
Subs not used: Clarke-Salter, Eduardo, Sterling, Hudson-Odoi
Goalscorers: Willian 13, Morata 90+1
Booked: Ampadu, Fabregas, Zappacosta, Morata
Manager: Antonio Conte 6.5

Bournemouth: Boruc 6; A. Smith 6, S Cook 6, Francis 6, Simpson 6.5, Fraser 6.5; Gosling 6, Artur 6.5 (L Cook 73, 6), Surman 6; Mousset 5.5 (Wilson 71, 6), Defoe 5.5 (Ibe 17, 6)
Subs not used: Ake, Pugh, Ramsdale, Hyndman
Goalscorers: Gosling 90
Booked: Simpson, A Smith, Francis, Gosling
Manager: Eddie Howe 6

Referee: Lee Mason 6.5

Southampton 1-0




Mail:

Chelsea 1-0 Southampton: Marcos Alonso scores fourth goal of the season as Antonio Conte's Blues move level on points with Manchester United

By Sami Mokbel for The Mail on Sunday

Antonio Conte will wonder why this was all so tense. It really should not have been.
Marcos Alonso’s free-kick secured Chelsea a deserved win over Southampton but their victory could have been far more comprehensive.
Had Charlie Austin taken any of three late chances to equalise, Chelsea would have suffered an almighty injustice.

In the end, though, the Blues bandwagon rolled on, making it eight wins in their last 10 games.
Their title defence will surely end in failure — Manchester City are seeing to that — but Conte and his players are not about to surrender.

‘I want to remember that in the last 10 games, we won eight games, drew only one, against Liverpool away and lost only one, at West Ham,’ said Conte.
‘If someone asks me if I want to sign for this in the next 10 games, I’m ready. Someone is forgetting our run, because there is a team (Manchester City) winning every game.’
Southampton will rue the chances Austin missed in the dying stages and manager Mauricio Pellegrino is struggling for answers. One win in nine Premier League games is dismal form and Saints are just three points off the drop zone.

The Argentinian said earlier in the week that he would only pick players who are 100 per cent committed, and he dropped a pre-match bombshell by axing key defender Virgil van Dijk.
As the Dutchman stewed on the bench, his face spoke a thousand words but after the way this game developed, Pellegrino had done him a favour.

Southampton’s defence coped relatively comfortably during the opening exchanges but Saints were forced into an early change. Cedric limped off in the 17th minute to be replaced by Mario Lemina.
Soon Chelsea took control. Fraser Forster was increasingly busy, the England keeper stopping efforts from Alonso, Gary Cahill and N’Golo Kante.

But the chances were far from clear-cut, much to Conte’s annoyance — and the Italian struggles to hide his emotions at the best of times. Needless to say, he was far from happy with how the opening 30 minutes panned out, his gesticulations becoming more frantic with every passing minute.
Forster was called upon again in the 33rd minute, producing an excellent near-post stop to deny Alonso for a second time before Pedro struck the foot of a post with a low, deflected effort.
The Southampton dam had to burst at some point and so it proved as the Blues netted what proved to be the winner two minutes into first-half stoppage time.
Eden Hazard’s turn past Maya Yoshida to earn Chelsea a free-kick 25 yards out was sublime.

Alonso’s curling effort past Forster was just as special, the Spaniard’s strike swinging viciously around the wall before flashing past the keeper.
Perhaps Forster could have got down to it quicker but that should not take anything away from Alonso’s stunning goal.

Conte could not contain his relief. Pellegrino could not disguise his misery. After Southampton’s demoralising 4-1 loss to Leicester in midweek, he would have been satisfied with a resilient first-half showing. Truth be told, though, his side were fortunate to be only 1-0 behind at half-time.
The second period started much like the first, with Chelsea in the ascendancy. Willian fired over the bar after cutting in from the right flank before Cesar Azpilicueta was off target with another long-range effort.
Pellegrino introduced top scorer Austin for the ineffective Manolo Gabbiadini in the 61st minute in an attempt to awaken Southampton’s dozy attack.

The move nearly paid instant dividends as Austin — sent clear by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg — was denied by Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in a one-on-one.
It was a warning to Chelsea that, despite their dominance of the ball, this game was not done yet. They created several chances to kill the game, and even had the ball in the back of the net in the 69th minute. Hazard fired past Forster after a neat exchange of passes with substitute Cesc Fabregas, but the effort was ruled out for the tightest of offside calls.

Alonso was denied a second goal by the overworked Forster, who then saved substitute Alvaro Morata’s fierce strike as the Blues sought to put the contest to bed.
Yet somehow Southampton clung on to hope of a draw and again Austin drew a save from Courtois before the Saints striker flicked another shot wide five minutes from time as Chelsea — so comfortable for most of the match — clung on grimly.

CHELSEA (3-4-2-1): Courtois 7; Azpilicueta 7, Christensen 7, Cahill 7; Moses 6.5 (Zappacosta 82), Bakayoko 6.5, Kante 7, Alonso 7.5; Pedro 6.5 (Fabregas 68, 6.5), Willian 8; Hazard 7 (Morata 73)
Subs not used: Caballero, Rudiger, Drinkwater, Batshuayi.
Manager: Antonio Conte: 7

SOUTHAMPTON (3-4-2-1): Forster 7.5; Stephens 7, Yoshida 6, Hoedt 6.5; Cedric 6 (Lemina 17, 6), Romeu 6.5, Hojberg 7 (Boufal 72), Bertrand 6.5; Ward-Prowse 6.5, Redmond 6.5; Gabbiadini 5 (Austin 61, 6.5)
Subs not used: McCarthy, Davis, Van Dijk
Booked: Yoshida, Redmond, Stephens
Manager: Mauricio Pellegrino: 6

Referee - Roger East: 6
Att: 41,562
MOM: Willian

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 1 Southampton 0: Marcos Alonso's 30-yard free-kick bags the points as Saints drop Virgil van Dijk

Matt Law

Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino dropped central defender Virgil van Dijk as his team went a fifth game without a victory. Van Dijk was one of six Saints players to pay for the 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Leicester City. But, while they were better than they had been in midweek, Pellegrino’s men still slipped to defeat against Chelsea.

A Marcos Alonso free-kick was enough to clinch victory for the Blues, but it was the man who spent the entire match on the substitutes’ bench that caused most intrigue. Van Dijk had started 11 successive games before the trip to Stamford Bridge and the timing of his omission will only increase talk of a potential January move away from Southampton.

Chelsea were one of the clubs, along with Liverpool and Arsenal, who were interested in signing £70 million-rated Van Dijk during the summer, while Manchester City are known to want central defensive cover in the next transfer window.

This was an important three points for Chelsea and head coach Antonio Cone, who stuck with Eden Hazard in the ‘false nine’ role, even though Alvaro Morata was back from injury. But it was left wing-back Alonso who broke the deadlock for the Blues in time added on for stoppages at the end of the first half.

Conte had complained that only two minutes had been added on to the opening 45, but there was still time for Alonso to strike. Maya Yoshida was booked for cutting down Hazard and Alonso stepped up to send a perfectly-executed set-piece past Fraser Forster, who had almost single-handedly kept Chelsea out up to that point.

Following a slow start from the hosts during which Willian shot wide after swapping passes with Alonso, Forster made his first saves of note in the 21st minute. Forster dived to his left to save a well-hit volley from Alonso and then recovered to stop Gary Cahill’s long-range effort.

Forster’s best save of the first-half came from N’Golo Kante, after the midfielder had been teed up by Hazard. Chelsea were cutting though Southampton’s defence, without Van Dijk, time and time again, and Forster denied Alonso once more before being saved by his post. Pedro wriggled his way through and sent in a shot that was deflected on to the post off Jack Stephens, but Alonso managed to send Chelsea in at the break with a deserved lead. The goal was Alonso’s 10th in the Premier League since joining Chelsea last summer.

Pellegrino made his second change, following Cedric Soares’ early withdrawal through injury, by sending on Charlie Austin, who had scored two goals in his previous three appearances, to replace Manolo Gabbiadini. And just seconds after stepping on to the pitch, Austin was presented with a great chance to level the scores. Nathan Redmond sent the striker through, but his shot was well saved by Thibaut Courtois.

Cesc Fabregas was Conte’s first change and he too almost made an instant impact. The Spaniard played a neat one-two with Hazard and the Belgian fired the ball into the net, but Fabregas had been ruled narrowly offside.

Alonso nearly doubled his and Chelsea’s tally with 20 minutes remaining, but Forster dived to keep the ball out before Pellegrino made his final substitution that angered the travelling Saints fans. Boos rang out from the away end at Stamford Bridge, as Pierre-Emile Hojberg was taken off and replaced by Sofiane Boufal.

Quick thinking from Willian almost helped Fabregas seal the three points for Chelsea with time running out. His quickly-taken free-kick caught out the Southampton defence and Fabregas rolled the ball through Forster’s legs from a tight angle but there was nobody to turn it into the empty net. It mattered not for the home side and Pellegrino was left to face questions over what the future may hold for Van Dijk.

Huddersfield 3-1


Guardian:

Huddersfield 1 - 3 Chelsea

Chelsea bounce back with comfortable win over Huddersfield Town

Paul Wilson at the John Smith's Stadium

Conceding the title early can sometimes backfire, and it would have been easy to imagine Antonio Conte’s players lacking the appetite for a wet night in west Yorkshire after hearing their manager admit Manchester City might be uncatchable, yet in the event Chelsea played like champions.
Huddersfield were outclassed, indeed a little fortunate not to be embarrassed, once Chelsea got into their smooth, attacking stride. “The best team we’ve seem here all season” was one opinion expressed over the PA at half-time, which is quite a compliment considering City have already been to these parts and won.

Eden Hazard and Willian were the men Huddersfield found most difficult to pin down, though it was the visitors’ width and intelligent use of space that left the home side chasing shadows. The range and direction of Chelsea’s passing was almost unanswerable at times.
“To win like that will improve our confidence, I think my players enjoyed it,” Conte said. “Don’t forget that Huddersfield won against United and made City struggle. We are in a good patch, we have only lost one game in nine, but one team is going to be very difficult to stop. When a competitor wins 15 of 16 games it is not easy to keep thinking positive. It doesn’t mean we are going to stop trying, it just means I prefer being realistic.”

It took a while for Chelsea to adjust to the injured Álavro Morata’s absence. Hazard was only notionally operating as the central forward in the front three and after a cagey opening period it was a series of unforced errors in the Huddersfield defence that led to the first goal. First Mathias Zanka put his goalkeeper under slight pressure with an awkward back-pass, then Jonas Lössl slipped in the act of clearing the ball and only sent it 40 yards upfield to Victor Moses. The wing-back instinctively headed it back and the neatest of touches from Hazard supplied Willian.

From then on it was the slickness with which Chelsea exploited the tiniest amount of uncertainty in the Huddersfield defence that was impressive. Willian waited as Tiémoué Bakayoko set off on a curving run into space behind Zanka, then picked him out perfectly for the midfielder to complete an incisive move with a composed finish from a narrow angle. “A sloppy goal to concede when we were trying to frustrate Chelsea,” David Wagner, the Huddersfield manager, said. “We had to overperform and we didn’t.”
The knowledge that Chelsea could rip through them from virtually a standing start seemed to daunt the home side a little and they spent the rest of the first half in defensive mode. Hazard might have created something when he cut in from the left but there was no one in the middle to meet his inviting low cross, then when N’Golo Kanté had a shooting opportunity just before the interval his attempt from the edge of the area flew miles too high.

Bakayko also had a chance to increase Chelsea’s lead when he put a header narrowly wide from Willian’s free kick – Hazard’s trickery on the ball had exasperated Jon Hogg and Zanka to such an extent that the latter brought him down.
Huddersfield badly needed to reach the dressing room without conceding again, if only to regroup and regain their composure, and they fell short by a couple of minutes. César Azpilicueta hit a marvellous crossfield pass to find Marcos Alonso in space on the left wing, in so much space that looking up and picking out Willian for a free header in front of goal was almost a formality. While it was the type of goal that looked as if it ought to have been defended better, the sheer accuracy of Chelsea’s passing was giving Huddersfield little time to react.

The home side could even have turned round three goals in arrears but for Lössl doing well to save from Pedro after Hazard had given his fellow forward a clear sight of goal. In the circumstances the pitchside announcer’s joke about Chelsea having earned their half-time hot-water bottles fell more than a little flat. “What should we do now?” the former manager Peter Jackson was asked on the pitch during the break. “Panic,” he replied. “We’ve got to try and make the Chelsea goalkeeper make a save.”

That sentiment was still true five minutes into the second half, when Pedro atoned for his earlier profligacy by extending the lead to three. Once again Alonso had found space to cross from the left, Chris Schindler failed to gain anything like enough distance with his clearance and Pedro rifled the loose ball high into the net.
Tom Ince did bring a save from Thibaut Courtois after an hour, before Hazard’s last act of the evening was a backheel that should have resulted in another goal for Pedro, but he could not keep his effort on target.
That was about the extent of Chelsea’s generosity until the substitute Laurent Depoitre headed Florent Hadergjonaj’s cross past a furious Courtois in the final seconds of stoppage time, but if Huddersfield had hoped to catch Chelsea on an off-night they were sadly mistaken.

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Mail:

Huddersfield 1-3 Chelsea: Tiemoue Bakayoko, Willian and Pedro strike as Antonio Conte's side tame the Terriers and get back to winning ways

Chelsea put their West Ham defeat misery behind them by beating Huddersfield at the John Smith's Stadium
The visitors broke the deadlock on 23 minutes, Tiemoue Bakayoko capitalising on a poor clearance to score
Willian doubled the lead just before half-time, heading home Marcos Alonso's cross at the back post
Four minutes into the second half Pedro made it 3-0, curling an effort in from the edge of the area
Laurent Depoitre snatched a very late consolation goal in the final seconds of the contest

By Chris Wheeler for the Daily Mail

Antonio Conte may have given up the Premier League race, but there is some fight left in this Chelsea team yet.
Through the wind and the rain, they turned what threatened to be a very difficult night into something of a procession.
After a shock defeat by West Ham at the weekend led Conte to surrender the defence of their crown, this was more like it. They were three goals up inside 50 minutes without a recognised centre forward, and the result was never in doubt after that.

It is unlikely to have leaders Manchester City glancing nervously over their shoulders. Nor was it the kind of performance to strike fear into their Champions League opponents Barcelona. But this was the ideal response for a frustrated Conte, who went on an angry rant against the club’s critics after the game.
Missing Alvaro Morata through injury, the Italian recalled Willian and Pedro to support Eden Hazard in attack and they were simply too much for a disappointing Huddersfield. Tiemoue Bakayoko, hooked at half-time against West Ham and criticised for his performances since a £40million summer move from Monaco, went a little way towards answering his critics by scoring the first goal and completed 90 minutes for the first time in seven games.
‘Maybe I saw the best performance from Baka tonight,’ said Conte. ‘He’s adapting and I’m very happy for him.’

Willian headed the second and Pedro claimed the third, with Hazard causing more than his fair share of problems. Substitute Laurent Depoitre’s injury-time goal for Huddersfield made no difference whatsoever.
The home side contributed to their own downfall on a night when they could, and should, have made life far more uncomfortable for Chelsea.
‘We were a little bit sloppy,’ said manager David Wagner. ‘You have to be at your best in terms of focus and concentration if you want to get things out of games with top teams. When you concede the third goal just after half-time, it can be a horrible night against a team like Chelsea but we managed to stay in the game. Unfortunately we were not good enough.’
Chelsea started brightly enough in difficult conditions that only worsened as the half wore on and contributed to the first goal in the 23rd minute.

Huddersfield goalkeeper Jonas Lossl slipped as he cleared the ball downfield and Victor Moses headed his wayward pass back to Hazard. The Belgian flicked the ball to Willian and he laid it into the path of Bakayoko, who had set off down the left channel.
The Frenchman accelerated into the box and as Lossl raced off his line, a lovely, clipped finish beat the keeper. It was already going in as Chris Lowe attempted an acrobatic clearance as he raced back towards his own goal, but succeeded only in touching the ball over the line with his right thigh and falling face-first into the net.
Two minutes before half-time, Cesar Azpilicueta switched play with a long pass out to the left, and Marcos Alonso took one touch before swinging a cross to the edge of the six-yard box, where Willian was unmarked to beat Lossl with a downward header.
Pedro went close to a third before the interval when Lowe’s stray pass was intercepted, but Lossl came out and spread his body to make the block.
The Spaniard wasn’t to be denied, however, and struck five minutes after the restart.

Again the cross came from Alonso, and this time Willian caused problems by tangling with Christian Schindler. The ball ran loose to Pedro, who steered it home from 15 yards. Game over.
Thibaut Courtois was finally called into action when Tom Ince pushed the ball past the Chelsea defence and raced through to meet it first.
The Belgium goalkeeper had read the danger and came off his line to block Ince’s effort with his right arm, and Andreas Christensen headed the ball away for a corner. When that was cleared by the visitors, Zanka tried his luck with a 25-yard shot that swerved over the bar.
Conte was comfortable enough to send on 17-year-old debutant Ethan Ampadu to play in central defence, and it wasn’t his fault that Huddersfield sprang into life in the final minutes.
Depoitre pulled a goal back with the last action of the game, beating Courtois with a fantastic header from Florent Hadergjonaj’s cross, but it mattered little. Chelsea were home, if not so dry.
Conte’s side had demonstrated that they can still play like champions, even though the title seems to be heading elsewhere.

HUDDERSFIELD (4-4-1-1): Lossl 5.5; Smith 5, Jorgensen 5, Schindler 5, Lowe 5 (Hadergjonaj 67, 6); Kachunga 5, Hogg 5 (Whitehead 46, 6), Williams 6, Ince 6; Mooy 6; Mounie 5.5 (Depoitre 74, 7)
Subs not used: Coleman, Cranie, Van La Parra, Quaner
GOAL: Depoitre 90+3
Manager: David Wagner 5

CHELSEA (3-4-3): Courtois 6; Azpilicueta 7, Christensen 8 (Ampadu 80), Rudiger 7; Moses 6.5, Kante 7 (Drinkwater 71, 6), Bakayoko 7.5, Alonso 7; Willian 8.5, Hazard 8 (Batshuayi 69, 5.5), Pedro 8
GOALS: Bakayoko 23, Willian 43, Pedro 50
Subs not used: Caballero, Fabregas, Musonda, Cahill
Manager: Antonio Conte 7

Ref: A Marriner 7
Att: 24,121





West Ham 0-1



Telegraph:

West Ham 1 Chelsea 0: Antonio Conte concedes defeat in title race after David Moyes masterclass

Sam Wallace

It was this time last year that Antonio Conte’s Chelsea were five victories into a 10-game winning streak that broke the rest of the Premier League, and just as the Italian knows when a team are in position to win titles, so he can spot one that is failing.

The Chelsea manager was unequivocal in the aftermath of this, his side’s fourth defeat in 16, that not only were the champions out of the title race but, on this form, they had never been in it. A victory for Manchester City in their game in hand would stretch their lead over Chelsea to 14 points before the presents have been wrapped for Christmas, and now we will see another side of the Chelsea manager, and his relationship with the club.
It would be right to say that, bitterly disappointed after defeat to Marko Arnautovic’s first West Ham goal, Conte looked like he a man who could fall out with the club’s hierarchy if things get worse. When asked whether the widening gap would change his plans for the January transfer window he replied, with the glassy-eyed stare: “I can give my opinion but the last decision is the club’s and it is their right to do this.”

Conte said that his players were tired and he seemed also to be conceding some kind of defeat. It was a day when his best player Eden Hazard had not been able to get the team out of trouble and Tiemoue Bakayoko, one of those new summer signings, was taken off at half-time. Michy Batshuayi was never given the opportunity to score the equaliser, and Alvaro Morata missed a chance with seven minutes remaining that should really have been the equaliser.
“To talk about the title race after a defeat is a bit strange, especially if this is the fourth defeat of the season in 16 games,” Conte said. “When you have this start, it is impossible to think you are in the title race. My experience is this – if you want to stay in the race for the title, in the first part of the season you can lose once or twice. 

“After 16 games if you lose four it means you never started this race.”
He was beaten by David Moyes, who put together a shrewd West Ham performance that was organised, disciplined and did the club’s new manager great credit. Retaining Adrian Lopez ahead of Joe Hart was just one part of it, but really the major factors were his use of Michal Antonio and Arnautovic to stretch Chelsea on the counter-attack and a confident defensive performance. There was no man-to-man marking job on Hazard and, instead, Pedro Obiang blocked the space in front of the two centre-halves.

In the heart of the defence, Winston Reid was the game’s standout player, escaping with a tug on the collar of Morata’s shirt in the first half and generally dealing well with the Spanish centre-forward.
Moyes said that after the narrow defeat to Manchester City, this was the performance he believed his team had been ready to deliver.
“We had taken confidence from the City game because of our performance but ultimately we got nothing out of it. We need to stop conceding goals. We have got players who score. We kept a clean sheet – when did West Ham last keep a clean sheet?”

The reply to that question came from one long-serving West Ham correspondent who offered the answer “1983”. It might feel that long but this was the fourth of the season, and Moyes could see the funny side. Through that painful relegation season with Sunderland and then Real Sociedad, and Manchester United before that, it has been a long time since Moyes has been able to bask in the glow of victory over major opposition – not since a win over Barcelona in January 2015.
“I used to say in the early days with Bill Kenwright [Everton chairman] that the best feeling for a manager used to be the Saturday night feeling,” Moyes said. “When you get a win and how good it makes you feel. I came off, went into the dressing room, praised the players, put my jacket on and thought, ‘Oh no, I’ve got Arsenal in midweek’.”

The situation remains delicate at West Ham for their new manager, especially with the chairman David Sullivan’s admissions this week of regrets over the stadium move and the signing last January of Robert Snodgrass and Jose Fonte. The latter was in the Sky Sports studio for the afternoon. Andy Carroll, Diafra Sakho, Javier Hernandez and Andre Ayew were all left on the bench by Moyes as he tried to catch Chelsea out on the counter-attack.

The goal came within the first five minutes for Arnautovic, his first in this his 13th appearance for the club since joining in the summer. The ball was worked well from the touchline starting with Pablo Zabaleta, to Arnautovic, to Michail Antonio, Manuel Lanzini and finally back to the Austria international for the delicate job of stroking his shot past Thibaut Courtois.
“The two strikers we had were the two with the power and pace,” Moyes said. “There will be other games when we need Chicarito [Hernandez] for his finishing or when we need Andy Carroll for his aerial prowess. At the moment the level of the teams we are playing we need the boys who can cause the opposition problems on the counter attack.”
Conte tried to change the game at half-time, bringing on Pedro for Bakayoko, and then later Willian and Victor Moses to give his side some width. But it was a poor performance from Chelsea, lacking the imagination that gave City a victory against a similarly robust West Ham.

There were very few times when Moyes’ defence looked like they were under pressure or out of shape. “We created the chances and didn’t take them and now we are talking about a defeat,” Conte said. “Many players were tired and it is normal when you play every three days. We started our pre-season with the same players, a lot of players are always playing and you have to pay something.”
By which he meant he does not believe that this is a squad capable of challenging for the title again. He was never likely to stay beyond this season and days like this only serve to show how fragile that relationship with the club has become.

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Mail:

West Ham 1-0 Chelsea:

Marko Arnautovic dazzles to hand David Moyes first win as Hammers boss as Premier League champions slump to shock defeat
David Moyes has earned his first victory since taking over as the West Ham boss after beating Chelsea 1-0
Marko Arnautovic scored the only goal of the game after just six minutes to earn a surprising three points
They were unlucky not to have had the chance to score a second after the referee waved away a penalty claim
Chelsea will have to regroup after a substandard performance saw them suffer their first defeat since October

By Rob Draper

Sometimes you need a marquee performance to turn around a season and even a club, something that stamps both your personality and authority on a place.
Maybe David Moyes got that from his West Ham side on Sunday with his all-important first victory at the club in his fifth game. Certainly the patrons of the London Stadium haven't seen anything this good this season. Some would say they haven't seen anything quite like this since moving into the new ground.
On the bench, behind Moyes, sat some big names in Andy Carroll, Joe Hart and Javier Hernandez. In the stands were restless supporters, some of whom might have been sceptical when Moyes arrived last month. But it's hard to argue with a side this much improved.

They roared their delight at the end and sang their club song as heartily as has been heard in these parts for some time. It's not Tottenham or Millwall but victory over Chelsea is almost as good as it gets.
And though Moyes doesn't do ecstatic, he couldn't hide his pleasure. It was his first home win for a year and his side had done exactly as planned and contained the champions. 'When was the last time West Ham kept a clean sheet?' asked Moyes, genuinely intrigued. '1983,' came back the reply.
The correct answer was September but doing it against Swansea and stifling Eden Hazard, unplayable last weekend, are quite different propositions. 'The best feeling for a manager is that Saturday night feeling when you get a win, how it makes you feel' said Moyes afterwards. Neither he nor West Ham have had much of that lately.
There's plenty more to be done here, of course. 'But I come off from the dressing room there, praised the players for the win and then put my jacket on and thought: "Oh no! I've got Arsenal in a big week." I've got a big smile but I've got to get back to work.'
It wasn't just the win, however, which cheered the soul. This was a team with a plan, building on that narrow defeat at Manchester City; a team which could barely get out of second gear a month ago, surpassing the Premier League for running and energy.

Here was Marko Arnautovic, challenged by his manager to prove himself, sprinting in behind a Chelsea back three and causing endless problems. And there was Michail Antonio doing the same, though both came off early, Arnautovic with a calf injury, and were reminded by Moyes he expects that level of energy for 90 minutes.
And here were the Premier League champions looking, frankly, tired and short of ideas. There was an awful moment for the home fans on 82 minutes when Alvaro Morata looked sure to score. But otherwise it was a measured performance from West Ham and an insipid one from Chelsea, quite out of character for both clubs in very different ways.
'We have to change,' said Antonio Conte who freely admitted that four defeats in 16 games does not make a title challenge. 'We will try to do our best this season but if you remember I said it would be very, very tough. I don't want to remind you but it's true.
'Many players were tired today. It's normal when you play every three days. We started our pre-season with the same players and a lot of players playing almost always. For sure, you have to pay something for this. Today our ideas were not clear and in the final pass we made a lot of mistakes. We created chances to score but we didn't take them. We can do better.'
They can, but you feel sure in private Conte will add that his squad is no match for Manchester City or United this season.

West Ham started in a frenzy, yet, unusually for them, it was an effective outpouring of energy. On seven minutes, Antonio played in Arnautovic, who exchanged a delightful pass with Manuel Lanzini. Arnautovic still had plenty to do, wrong footing Cesar Azplicueta and finishing past Thibaut Courtois. It was an exceptional goal.
You feared a bright start might quickly fizzle out. Yet uncharacteristically West Ham kept positional discipline in their 3-4-1-2 formation.
Of course, Chelsea threatened at times. Eden Hazard drove just across goal on 21 minutes and N'Golo Kante forced a good save from Adrian on 28 minutes. From the resulting corner David Zappacosta forced another save. Yet Chelsea had been properly knocked off their stride, with Pedro Obiang not allowing Hazard the space on which he thrives and Alvaro Morata a frustrated, lonely figure.
Chelsea continued to create half chances in the second half, though none so good that they were decisive. The best of a bunch came on 58 minutes when Zappacosta went just wide from long range.

But peak excitement came when Arnautovic flicked the ball past an unsettled Anders Christiansen, who, stood within the box, stopped its flight with his hand. Referee Anthony Taylor judged it accidental but Christiansen was lucky.
What was most impressive about West Ham though was their determination not to capitulate. Until late on, they did not offer Chelsea an easy route to goal. They insisted Conte's team should scrap for any half chance they got. And that in itself was a huge improvement.
As they tired, their discipline did wane. On 82 minutes, Chelsea should have been level, N'Golo Kante playing the through ball to Morata with Arthur Masuaka out of position and playing the striker onside. It was the defensive lapse for which Chelsea had been waiting and Morata struck but managed to snatch his shot wide. West Ham would survive. Now the challenge is to do more than just that.

West Ham (3-4-3): Adrian 7; Reid,7, Ogbonna, 7.5, Creswell, 7; Zabaleta, 7, Obiang, 7, Noble, 7, Masuaka, 8; Lanzini, 7.5, Antonio, 7.5, (Ayew 79, 6.5) Arnautovic, 8.5 ,(Sakho, 69, 6.5)
Subs not used: Carroll, Hernandez, Hart, Fernandes, Rice
Goalscorers: Arnautovic (6)
Booked: Arnautovic, Adrian, Reid, Cresswell, Obiang, Masuaku
Manager: David Moyes

Chelsea: (3-5-2): Courtois 6; Cahill, 5.5, Christensen, 5, Azpilicutea, 5.5; Zappcosta, 5.5, (Willian 64, 6)Fabregas, 6, Kante, 6, Bakayoko, 4.5 (Pedro, 45, 6), Alonso, 5 (Moses 6); Hazard, 6, Morata 5
Subs not used: Caballero, Rudiger, Batshuayi, Ampadu
Goalscorers: NONE
Booked: Alonso
Manager: Antonio Conte

Referee: Anthony Taylor
Attendance: 56,953


Atletico Madrid 1-1



Guardian:

Chelsea 1 - 1 Atlético

Willian miss costly as Chelsea denied top spot by draw with Atlético Madrid

Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge

In the end, this was a result to be savoured only in Rome. Chelsea, held at home, had allowed leadership of the group to slip through their fingers at the last and, if the implications of finishing runners-up will only become clear after Monday’s draw, the potential of a collision with Paris Saint-Germain or Barcelona in the knockout stage looms large. Yet for Atlético Madrid, the significance of another fruitless slog is far more serious.

The Europa League awaits Diego Simeone and his side, those heady memories of being finalists on the grander stage in 2014 and 2016 fading for all that their vociferous travelling support was still bellowing their defiance into the night sky long after the final whistle. This team may not have lost in any competition since Chelsea triumphed in stoppage time at the Estadio Metropolitano in September, but their campaign has been littered with wasteful draws. In truth, this was not one of them. Their lead on the night had always felt flimsy and they might well have been beaten, such were the opportunities passed up by Chelsea in the latter stages in particular.

Simeone turned swiftly on his heels at the end, disappearing down the tunnel in his frustration, while Chelsea players, just as exasperated, pondered quite how they had failed to secure the victory which would have secured Group C and rendered Roma’s victory over Qarabag irrelevant. “We more than deserved the win, and had some fantastic chances, particularly in that second half,” said Gary Cahill. “How have we not won it? We should have won...” The defender had been flanked by Eden Hazard, the game’s outstanding performer, in the tunnel as he voiced that disbelief to the television cameras. The Belgian at his side merely shrugged and, with a hint of a wink, reminded his captain: “We are a top side, we are Chelsea, we can still do everything.”

That belief will remain regardless of who awaits in the new year. It had been Hazard who had choked Atlético’s brief surge of belief here, collecting Cesc Fàbregas’ deep cross on the left corner of the penalty area 15 minutes from time before fizzing a low shot across goal which Stefan Savic inadvertently deflected beyond the excellent Jan Oblak. The visitors would have been aware by then that Roma, second at the start of play, were leading at the Stadio Olimpico courtesy of Diego Perotti’s goal, nullifying their advantage and effectively eliminating them from the competition. They remain a team undone by those inexplicable failures to beat Qarabag home or away.

With the puff having been knocked out of the visitors, the procession of chances in the frantic finale all fell to the Premier League team. Oblak, a goalkeeper “on fire” according to Hazard, had thwarted Álvaro Morata in front of goal as the striker prepared to convert Fàbregas’ square pass, then watched the substitute, Willian, undone by an untimely bobble to slice horribly high and wide as the goal gaped. When Chelsea had been trailing, it had taken Oblak and José Maria Giménez to thwart Morata’s attempt to stab a loose ball into the net from virtually on the goal-line. The approach play from Victor Moses and clever flick from Pedro in the build-up deserved better.

Davide Zappacosta, an uncomfortable makeshift left wing-back, and Morata had drawn splendid saves form the Slovenian international during a one-sided first half, while Hazard, tormenting Savic and Lucas Hernández, was a constant menace, maintaining the form which has illuminated the Premier League of late. All-comers will fear his impact in the knockout stages when the prospect of playing Chelsea, as Antonio Conte made clear, will hardly fill any of their prospective opponents with optimism, even if PSG have eliminated the London club in their last two ventures in the competition and Barcelona top La Liga. Either Sevilla, if they win their group, or Besiktas might be more appealing but, in reality, any tie should be cherished. The alternative, as Simeone, Atlético and Diego Costa would testify, can feel rather deflating.

The visitors had only really prospered in one brief period amid incessant Chelsea pressure just before the hour-mark. Filipe Luís suddenly planted a left-footed shot on to the post from distance, with Thibaut Courtois doing well to spring up, dive and claim Koke’s diving header from the rebound. Then a corner by Koke was flicked on by Fernando Torres, on his first return to the club with whom he had claimed a European Cup, with the ball looping to Saúl Ñíguez, escaping Tiemoué Bakayoko’s attentions at the far post, to nod unchallenged into the net. Conte was pained by the ease his team had been infiltrated.

Yet, once the hosts had rallied, the real pain was Atlético’s. “It hurts, and we’ve actually managed to get more points from the team who finished top of the group than the one who finished bottom,” added Simeone. “But no excuses. This is not a failure. It’s just a new challenge.” That was hugely positive spin. The test lying ahead for Chelsea is more mouth-watering.

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Mail:

Chelsea 1-1 Atletico Madrid:

Stefan Savic's own goal cancels out Saul Niguez's header as Diego Simeone's side fail to qualify for Champions League knockout stages while Blues finish second in Group C
Atletico Madrid's players had to rush their pre-match warm up after their bus arrived late in west London
Saul Niguez headed past Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois after poor defending by Tiemoue Bakayoko
Any hope of qualifying for the knockout stages disappeared when Stefan Savic scored an own goal
Chelsea finished second in Group C after Roma's 1-0 victory over Qarabag confirmed a top-spot finish  

By Matt Barlow for the Daily Mail

Tiemoue Bakayoko lost concentration for a fraction of a second and Saul Niguez slipped away to put a very different complexion on Chelsea's European campaign.
As Bakayoko froze, Saul dashed to the back post, where he connected with a corner flicked on by Fernando Torres and headed Atletico Madrid into the lead.
The goal, early in the second half, could not save Atletico's Champions League ambitions but it may have lingering repercussions for the Premier League champions.

Chelsea were able to summon a late charge and equalised when former Manchester City defender Stefan Savic deflected a low drive by Eden Hazard into his own net — and there were plenty of chances for Chelsea to win the game.
Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak produced a splendid save to thwart Alvaro Morata and Willian sliced over from the edge of the area when the goal gaped. Michy Batshuayi almost produced a stunning winner in the closing seconds and Hazard, inexplicably, drifted offside when he and Willian had the visitors stretched on another counter-attack.

So, Bakayoko was not the sole culprit and yet his error will loom large at the draw in Switzerland on Monday. It will also be lodged in the mind of owner Roman Abramovich, who was at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.
Victory would have secured Chelsea first place in Group C and the relative comfort of top seeding when the ties are pulled out for the last 16, but the draw allowed Roma — who beat Qarabag on Tuesday night — to ease ahead by virtue of their head-to-head results.
Chelsea took only one point from two games against Roma and conceded six goals, a reminder Antonio Conte's team have plenty of work to do before they are ready to take on the best in Europe.

If Liverpool win Group E, as they are on course to do, it will leave the west Londoners with only three possible opponents in the next round: Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Besiktas. And, with respect to Turkish football, nobody at Chelsea is hoping for a prestige clash with Barcelona or PSG, who ended their interest in the competition in the last two campaigns.
True, Conte's team could have won the group and still ended up against Real Madrid or Bayern Munich. Doing it this way, however, venturing into the territory normally occupied by Arsenal at this stage, the odds are stacked more steeply against them.
At least Atletico will not return to haunt Chelsea. Diego Simeone's team go into the Europa League, having started the group poorly and failed twice to beat Qarabag, the minnows from Azerbaijan.
They arrived at the Bridge in need of a minor miracle. Not only did they have to win but also hope Roma slipped up.

Neither of those things happened but their perilous situation gave the match a frantic edge as the red-and-white shirts piled forward and Simeone rolled out his full repertoire of angst.
Torres, on his first return to Chelsea where he endured a torrid time as a £50million misfit, unleashed the first shot. It was deflected over but his assist for the opening goal must have been sweet; so, too, the warm ovation he received from a generous home crowd when he was replaced immediately afterwards.
Filipe Luis was another Atletico player back on familiar turf but there was no sign of Diego Costa as he counts down the days until he can play again in January.
Left back Luis struck a post in the second half and Gabi headed the rebound into the grateful hands of Thibaut Courtois, who spent three years at Atletico.

At the other end Oblak, who is on Chelsea's shortlist of possible replacements should they lose Courtois, was in brilliant form.
The Slovenian kept Morata at bay in the first half and made a fine save, low to his right, to deny Davide Zappacosta.
After the break, Oblak saved from Andreas Christensen and Morata again. Conte sent on attacking substitutes and Chelsea hurled men forward in a desperate bid to reclaim the initiative.
But there would be no winner and now Monday's draw seems a little more daunting.

CHELSEA (3-5-2): Courtois 6; Azpilicueta 6.5, Christensen 6.5, Cahill 6; Moses 6.5, Fabregas 7, Kante 7, Bakayoko 5 (Pedro 64), Zappacosta 6; Morata 7 (Batshuayi 81), Hazard 7.
Goals: Savic OG 75
Booked: Zappacosta
Subs not used: Caballero, Rudiger, Alonso, Drinkwater.
Manager: Antonio Conte 6

ATLETICO MADRID (4-4-2): Oblak 7.5; Gimenez 6 (Vietto), Savic 6, Lucas 6, Luis 6; Partey 5, Gabi 6.5 (Correa), Niguez 7, Koke 6.5; Torres 6.5 (Carrasco 57, 6), Griezmann 6.
Goals: Niguez 56
Booked: Lucas
Subs not used: Moya, Godin, Gameiro, Vrsaljko.
Manager: Diego Simeone 6
Referee: Danny Makkelie (NED) 6

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Sunday, December 03, 2017

Newcastle United 3-1



Telegraph:

Chelsea 3 Newcastle 1: Eden Hazard will give Gareth Southgate sleepless nights as he runs riot at Stamford Bridge

Matt Law

Gareth Southgate may be well advised to stay away from Stamford Bridge for the rest of the season if he wants a good night’s sleep between now and June 28.

The World Cup draw was kind to the England manager, but trying to plot a way to stop Eden Hazard before England face Belgium in what could be a Group G decider in Russia will give Southgate nightmares.

Having been given a rest in midweek, Hazard took Newcastle United apart and made it eight goals in 10 games to help Chelsea to their sixth victory in seven Premier League outings.

After missing the start of the season while he recovered from a broken ankle, Hazard has now been directly involved in a goal every 83 minutes and is back to his unstoppable best.

While those around him are feeling the effects of a busy fixture list, Hazard is fresh and firing thanks to his summer break. There is little danger of burnout ahead of Russia, although he may travel to the World Cup with a few bruises.

Antonio Conte, the Chelsea manager, even joked that England’s best hope may be that Gary Cahill gives Hazard some rough treatment.

“I have to speak with Gary to tell him to … to give the kicks to Eden, yeah,” he said with a broad smile. “Gary knows very well Hazard’s skill and for this ­reason he must pay great attention.”

Hazard was also in the mood for a laugh as he was asked about the prospect of facing England. “For Belgium, it’s easy against England! No, I am joking. It will be a tough game. All the teams deserve to be at the World Cup and England were top of their group, so we will see what happens.”

Ciaran Clark was booked for kicking Hazard, but not even that was enough to stop him terrorising the Newcastle defence and ruining Rafael Benitez’s first return to Stamford Bridge since his unpopular seven-month stint as interim manager in 2012.

Despite not being wanted by the Chelsea fans, Benitez guided Chelsea to the Europa League and third place in the Premier League. But he was never forgiven for his association with Liverpool and the Chelsea supporters reminded Benitez of their dislike of him by booing the Spaniard’s name and chanting ‘you fat -------’.

For the first 15 minutes, it seemed as though Benitez might just get the last laugh as Chelsea started sloppily and Newcastle took advantage.

Having already seen Mikel Merino shoot straight at Thibaut Courtois, the visitors earned a shock early lead after taking advantage of some woeful Chelsea defending.

Marcos Alonso put Courtois in trouble by trying to toe the ball back to him after it had deflected off Dwight Gayle. The Belgian saved at the feet of Jacob Murphy, but Gayle was there to dispatch the rebound into the net.

It was Gayle who had given Newcastle an early lead at Manchester United a couple of weeks earlier, only to see Jose Mourinho’s men hit four against them. Newcastle failed to defend their lead once again, as Chelsea were level eight minutes later through Hazard.

Goalkeeper Karl Darlow had already denied Hazard once, survived a loud penalty appeal for a challenge on Alvaro Morata and seen Andreas Christensen head against a post before he was finally beaten by Chelsea’s brilliant Belgian.

Cesar Azpilicueta’s ball into the box was intended for Morata. Florian Lejeune got there first, but could only clear as far as Hazard, who controlled his shot superbly to beat Darlow.

From that moment on it was only a matter of how many Chelsea would score and they took the lead in the 33rd minute, as Morata netted his ninth Premier League goal of the season with a header from a Victor Moses cross.

On another day, Hazard might have finished the game with a hat-trick. He had a 56th-minute shot deflected just wide of a post and almost wriggled his way around Clark, Lejeune and Chancel Mbemba, but overran the ball through to Darlow.

Making only his second Premier League start, Danny Drinkwater looked at home in the Chelsea midfield and he almost played Hazard through after exchanging passes with the 26-year-old.

Drinkwater was criticised for turning down a late call-up to Southgate’s last England squad as he recovered from injury, but Conte still believes the midfielder can clinch a World Cup spot.

“It’s normal to have the right chance [to play for England] because Danny is starting to play with Chelsea, with a great team,” said Conte. “He started slowly like the team today, but then he improved a lot. It’s great for me and the team to have another option, especially when we play with the three midfielders. It’s of vital importance.”

There was no denying Hazard a second goal with 16 minutes remaining, as he displayed the coolest of heads from the spot. Makeshift left wing-back Matt Ritchie upended Moses and Hazard chipped a Panenka penalty into the net as Darlow dived early. There was still time for Darlow to save smartly again from Hazard, before the latter went off to a standing ovation. The hard work starts now for Southgate.


Chelsea (3-5-2): Courtois 6; Azpilicueta 7, Christensen 7 (Cahill, 80), Rudiger 6; Moses 7, Fabregas 8 (Bakayoko, 78), Kante 8, Drinkwater 7, Alonso 6; Hazard 9 (Willian, 78), Morata 7. Subs Caballero, Pedro, Zappacosta, Batshuayi.

Newcastle (5-4-1): Darlow 7; Manquillo 5, Mbemba 5, Lejeune 5, Clark 5, Ritchie 4; Murphy 6, Diame 5 (Shelvey, 75), Merino 7 (Yedlin, 85), Perez 6 (Hayden, 62); Gayle 6. Subs Elliot, Aarons, Joselu, Mitrovic. Booked Clark.

Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire).

====================================

Observer:

Chelsea’s Eden Hazard puts paid to Newcastle hopes of a shock

Chelsea 3 - 1 Newcastle

Jacob Steinberg at Stamford Bridge

The only problem for Antonio Conte after seeing the irrepressible Eden Hazard provide the latest demonstration of his outstanding ability to win a game with almost no help at all was the knowledge that the Belgian’s brilliance still might not be enough for the champions to retain their title. Not with Manchester City setting new standards at the top of the Premier League. Chelsea played with controlled aggression to stamp out Newcastle United’s attempts at insurrection here, but Conte struck a slightly defeatist tone, lamenting how the team peering down at the rest of the league is doing “extraordinary things” and wondering when that will cease to be the case.

Unless that happens, Chelsea can forget about the Premier League trophy staying in west London. They did cut City’s lead to eight points, fighting back from a goal down to ruin Rafael Benítez’s return to one of his old clubs, but there seems little prospect of Pep Guardiola’s freewheeling side slipping up when they host West Ham United on Sunday , and such levels of excellence can be draining for those in pursuit of them.

In that context, however, it was still a pleasing afternoon for Conte. “A good performance overall,” he said. “I am very happy for this. It is not simple to go 1-0 down and have the right will and desire.”

For Conte, who is likely to be punished by the Football Association for being sent from the touchline in last Wednesday’s tight 1-0 win over Swansea City, it was a chance to stand back and appreciate Hazard’s special talent and, despite falling behind to Dwight Gayle’s early goal, Chelsea were never in any meaningful danger of losing.

Hazard scored twice, either side of Álvaro Morata’s 10th goal of the season in all competitions, and the home fans could revel in mocking Benítez long before the final whistle.

There was a bit of snarl in the air. Benítez has plenty of history with Chelsea, from those infamous Champions League semi-finals against his Liverpool team to that interim spell here four years ago, and the diehards in the Matthew Harding Stand greeted him with a loud chorus of boos.

However, the bigger concern for the Spaniard was his team extending their winless run to six matches. “Every game is so difficult,” he said, disappointed at Newcastle’s failure to build on Gayle’s opener in the 12th minute.


The visitors made an ambitious start and the indecision in the Chelsea defence that led to Gayle stroking the ball into an unguarded net could be attributed to Newcastle’s initial exuberance.

The striker started the move by flicking on a long punt and Conte must have been alarmed by his side’s failure to react, with N’Golo Kanté too meek in his attempt to mop up and Marcos Alonso making everything worse with an ill-advised backpass. Thibaut Courtois charged out to deny Jacob Murphy but the goalkeeper’s intervention presented Gayle with an easy chance.

Gayle had put Newcastle in a similarly commanding position at Old Trafford two weeks ago, only for Manchester United to respond with four unanswered goals, and the hosts made sure that his enterprise went to waste again.

“We can change our system,” Conte said. “We can play Hazard as a second striker. We can play him as a No10 when we play 3-4-3. Today, Eden and Álvaro showed a good link.”

Conte opted for the 3-5-1-1 system that is designed to coax the best out of Hazard, granting him the freedom to roam from a central position, and it was an arduous task for a Newcastle side that strained to track the forward’s slippery movement.

Newcastle’s defending had become worryingly ragged by the time Hazard equalised in the 21st minute. Andreas Christensen sent a looping header against the left post and the team in black and white stripes had not fallen back into shape when César Azpilicueta whipped in another menacing cross. Florian Lejeune stretched to divert the ball away from Morata and Hazard followed up, driving a bouncing shot past Karl Darlow.

Chelsea went in front 12 minutes later. Victor Moses, making his first start since suffering a hamstring injury two months ago, laced a cross into the six-yard box from the right and Morata headed home from close range.

It was a fine way for Chelsea to respond to adversity and Moses was instrumental in their third goal, earning a penalty thanks to Matt Ritchie’s desperate late tackle. Hazard dinked it down the middle to give his team a precious cushion.

Now Chelsea could do with an unlikely favour from West Ham.


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Mail:

Chelsea 3-1 Newcastle: Eden Hazard scores twice in man-of-the-match Premier League masterclass after Alvaro Morata reaches 10-goal landmark for Blues

By Sami Mokbel

Newcastle's biggest error? Having the temerity to take the lead.

When Dwight Gayle tapped home in the 12th minute, Rafa Benitez was rubbing his hands at the thought of getting one over a club - where on the whole - he is not remembered with much fondness.

Instead, it was the beginning of the end for his team. Chelsea were riled. Chelsea responded. Chelsea won.


Eden Hazard was the instigator, the Belgian producing another scintillating display to ensure his team keep on the coat tails of leaders Manchester City.

Newcastle tried marking him, they tried kicking him. They tried everything. They couldn't near him.

His double took his season tally to eight, an impressive return given he missed the opening month of the campaign.

Similarly, Antonio Conte's team are building up a head of steam; this victory their 19th point from a possible 21 in the league.

Manchester City may be running away with the title; Chelsea, though, aren't willing to give up their trophy without a fight.

As for Benitez, this was an altogether forgettable experience on this first return to Stamford Bridge after his interim spell in charge during the 2012-13 season.

Chelsea fans don't hold Benitez in the highest esteem, the boos that followed when his name was announced over the tannoy system illustrative of their disdain.

Suffice to say their feelings towards the former Blues manager didn't improve in the 12th minute as Newcastle took a shock lead. 


Dwight Gayle had the simplest tasks of slotting home into an empty net from seven yards after Jacob Murphy nipped in front of the on-rushing Thibault Courtois to leave Chelsea's goal exposed.

The travelling Geordie support went crazy. Conte would have been just as emotional.

His side were lacklustre at the start of this encounter and punished for their loose opening.

But as champions do, Chelsea responded.

Hazard - on his return to the starting XI after being rested for Wednesday's win over Swansea - firing past Karl Darlow in the 21st minute after Florian Lejeune could only prod Cesc Fabregas' pass into the Belgian's path.

Truth be told, Chelsea should have been level before that Hazard's strike.

Karl Darlow produced an excellent instinctive save to deny Hazard in the 17th minute after Fabregas' unerring 60 yard pass neutralised Newcastle's defence.

Morata then had a strong penalty shout rejected by referee Kevin Friend after Darlow recklessly careered into the back of the Spain striker before Andreas Christensen saw his header cannon off the post a minute before Hazard's eventual leveller.

Following the euphoria of taking the lead, Newcastle were swiftly put back in their place.

Indeed it got worse for the Magpies in the 33rd minute as Chelsea edged ahead.

Victor Moses' bullet cross into the box to allow Morata to nod him from two yards was excellent.

But Matt Ritchie's attempted defensive header that allow Moses the time and space to find Morata was equally as bad.

Normal service resumed. Not that Conte's mood improved much.

Fresh from his FA misconduct charge for his touchline rant at official Lee Mason in midweek, the Italian's tether was pushed to its limits yet again here. 


Friend's decision not to award Chelsea a penalty for Darlow's assault on Morata had the Chelsea manager seething.

He looked close to erupting when the referee refused to award his team a free kick on the edge of the box after Morata looked to have been fouled, Friend instead blowing up for half-time.

Chelsea were denied a second penalty shout, in the 56th minute after Hazard, in amongst a sea of bamboozled black and white shirts, fell just six yards from goal.

You can imagine Conte's reaction. This time, though, Friend looked to make the correct call.

Chelsea were in full control, though Ayoze Perez did fire a warning in the 60th minute, his shot from distance flashing wide.

Moses, performing well on his return to the starting XI after a two month injury absence - guided a header straight at Darlow in the 66th minute before Hazard just failed to get on the end of Danny Drinkwater's delicate flicked pass.

And it was a case of third time lucky for Chelsea as Hazard wrapped up victory with an audacious Paneka penalty after Ritchie's torrid afternoon continued when he tripped Moses after Fabregas' defence-splitting pass ripped Newcastle wide open.


Chelsea (3-5-1-1): Courtois 5; Azpilicueta 6.5, Christensen 7.5 (Cahill 81), Rudiger 7; Moses 8, Fabregas 7.5 (Bakayoko 75), Kante 7, Drinkwater 6.5; Hazard 8.5 (Willian 78); Morata 7

Subs: Caballero, Pedro, Zappacosta, Batshuayi

Goals: Hazard (21, 74), Morata (33)

Manager: Conte 7


Newcastle (3-4-2-1): Darlow 6.5; Mbemba 7, Lejeune 6, Clark 7, Manquillo 6.5, Diame 6.5 (Shelvey 75), Merino 6 (Yedlin 85), Ritchie 4; Murphy 6.5, Perez 5.5 (Hayden 61, 6); Gayle 6.5

Subs: Elliot, Aarons, Joselu, Mitrovic

Goal: Gayle (12)

Booked: Clark

Manager: Benitez 6.5


Ref: Kevin Friend 6

Att: 41,538

MOTM: Hazard

===========================================

Star: (and Express)

Chelsea 3 Newcastle 1: Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard double earn Blues victory

ON a day Antonio Conte kept his cool, well almost, Eden Hazard hit the hot spots and showed England just what to expect next summer.

By Tony Stenson

You hope Gareth Southgate is already working plans to mask the magical wand of the Belgium magician.

It won't be easy if Hazard maintain's this form throughout this season and into next summer's World Cup.

A gentle, almost leisurely start, gave way to powerful performance and doused Newcastle's fires.

He scored two and generally ran Newcastle ragged with an-action display. He could have scored more but for the solid hands of Newcastle keeper Karl Darlow’s.

It's not so much Hazard does when on the ball, but his runs off it had Newcastle's defence leaving by trying to track him down.

It wasn't star-studded, as previously witnessed, but solid, often skilful and the kind thaat makes managers dance on he line.

Not that Conte needs an excuse. Banned from touch-line on Wednesday, he stayed well within the guidelines yesterday, apart from a moment when he thought Morata should have had a penalty.

Newcastle did well, but had their limitations and could never establish a foothold, despite taking an early lead.

Once Chelsea and Hazard clicked through the gears the outcome looked inevitiable long before the end.

Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez might have lived just of the fringe with his relationship with Chelsea fans despite restoring confidence at a difficult time.

There's no doubting he's loved by Newcastle punters, who sang his name throughout of a game that buzzed from the opening moment.

Newcastle arrived with a game plan of of getting right into Chelsea's faces, they pressured with purpose and it took just 11 minutes to reap reward

A long, raking pass from Newcastle defender Florian Lejeune had Chelsea's unsettled defence hesitating and Dwight Gaye further panicked ranks by winning the header, the ball dropped loose, bounced off Marcos Alonso and Jacob Murphy just beat Thibaut Courtois to the ball, but as it broke lose Gayle steered it home.

Chelsea eventually re-grouped through N'Golo Kante eventual establishing control of midfield, Victor Moses menacing on the right and Fabregas finding range with his passes.

Danny Drinkwater also got stuck in, while up front Eden Hazard started to sprinkled his usual stardust in attack.

Conte almost lost it again when he thought Morata had been brought down by Newcastle keeper Karl Darlow, and then was down on his haunches when Alonso's header from Kante's cross hit a post.

But he was up, leaping high when Chelsea equalised in the 18th minute. Lejeuene could only block Cesar Azpilicueta's low cross and the ball dropped sweetly for Eden Hazard to score.

He almost went into over-drive in the 34th minute when they took the lead. Victor Moses carved space on the right and whipped in a wicked cross that all Morata had to do was stoop low and head in.


There's not as much evidence as Chelsea's breath-taking, attacking football showed last season, more a better work ethic.

They fight hard for each other, no longer rely on moments of Hazard magic. They hunt in packs and eventually Newcastle were forced further and further onto the back foot.

Gayle became more and more isolated in attack.

As game went on, Hazard more and more came into the game, surging passing and causing Newcastle all kinds of problems.

He often battle his way through and suffered many a buffeting.

It was always obviously Conte was going to withdraw him, keep him safe for the Champions League but his leaving present was their third from a 74rh minute penalty, after Murphy had brought down Moses following fine inter-change of passes between Hazard and Fabregas.

Both left the pitch to ghether to deserved thunderous applause, with Hazard just edging it.


Chelsea: Courtois 6; Azpilicueta 6, Christiansen 6 (Cahill 80th)5), Rudiger 6; Moses 7, Fabregas 7 (Bakayoko (77th05, Kante 6, Drinkwater 6, Alsono 6; Hazard 8(Willian 77th(5), Morata 6.

Newcastle: Darlow 6; Manquillo 6, Lejeune 6, Clarke 6, Mbemba 6; Merino 6 (Yedlin (85th)5, Diame 6 Ritchie 6 , Perez 6 (Hayden (60th)5), Murphy 6; Gayle 6.

Star Man: Eden Hazard. All fire and brimstone. Turned in a true team performance of high quality.

Referee: K Friend



===========================================



Independent:


Eden Hazard caps starring role with ice-cool penalty as Chelsea come from behind to down struggling Newcastle

Chelsea 3 Newcastle United 1: Hazard scored goals either side of Alvaro Morata's headed finish as the Blues consigned their former manager Rafa Benitez to another defeat

Ben Burrows


There was to be no group of death for England in Friday’s World Cup group stage draw. But Diego Maradona’s hand of God may well have pulled out something even more deadly.

If Eden Hazard arrives in Kaliningrad in the form he is in right now there will be no English survivors. The brilliant Belgian single-handedly took Newcastle apart on Saturday afternoon. Gareth Southgate may wonder what fate may befall his side when he strides out against them on June 28.

Hazard is playing to the beat of his own drum right now and was the conductor extraordinaire here. Time slowing down around him, others trailing in his wake, everything coming oh so extraordinarily easy. Like Tom Brady in a pocket or Steve Smith on a crease we are truly watching a master at work, one far too good for the mere mortals in black and white opposite him at the Bridge, that's for sure.


Antonio Conte made four changes to the side that beat Swansea in midweek, Victor Moses, Danny Drinkwater and Cesar Azpilicueta joining Hazard in a starting eleven that now appears to be the Italian’s favoured selection. Newcastle themselves made three alterations and it was one, Dwight Gayle, who made an almost immediate impact on proceedings.

The Magpies haven’t won since October but were the better team out the gate and when Jacob Murphy latched on to a loose ball in the area, Thibaut Courtois could only parry the ball into Gayle’s path who slotted easily into an empty net.

The travelling support were elated. The home faithful stunned. The returning Rafa Benitez, very much public enemy number one for the afternoon, grinning ear to ear. But the Spaniard’s expression was soon vexed once more with the early goal seemingly only serving to wake the sleepy hosts from their Saturday morning lie-in.

First Hazard raced clear from a delicious Cesc Fabregas pass only to be brilliantly denied by Karl Darlow. Darlow was again in the thick of the action moments later when he appeared to bundle Alvaro Morata to the ground. A surefire penalty but Kevin Friend waved away the furious home appeals. They were denied again when Andreas Christensen’s slightly scuffed header crashed off the post with Darlow beaten but the theme of the contest had been set. All it needed was the game’s star turn to make it count and he soon did.

It had to be him that would drag Chelsea level and he did so after 20 minutes, angling a neat half-volley into the ground and over Darlow after Florian Lejeune had blocked an Azpilicueta cross into his path.

Just as they did a fortnight ago at Manchester United, Newcastle had squandered a surprise early lead, and it was no shock at all when they were soon behind minutes later.


Morata had plenty to live up to upon his arrival in England this summer, a club record transfer fee on his shoulders and a club legend’s shadow over him. But deliver he has, his thumping header here a 13th goal or assist in 14 matches and a fourth in five games. The Spaniard is an old fashioned number nine, never afraid to put in the hard yards or wear a bruise or two for his cause, and was again excellent with none of Newcastle’s three centre-backs ever really able to get a grip on him for too long.

But as good as the young pretender was, Hazard is king around these parts and his reign is absolute. When Moses was felled by Matt Ritchie in the box after the break there was only man who would step up, and step up he did coolly dinking over Darlow to secure all three points.

He left the stage with 10 minutes to go, the maestro given the standing ovation he so richly deserved. With Hazard on this plane Chelsea could well be the one team to chase down Manchester City, he really is that good. Watching on from Moscow, Southgate will know that too.




===========================================


Sun:


RAFA'S ED-ACHE Chelsea 3 Newcastle 1

Eden Hazard scores twice, including cheeky Panenka penalty as Blues battle from behind to storm to victory

Dwight Gayle had earlier pounced on a defensive error to give Rafa Benitez's side a shock early lead at Stamford Bridge


By Justin Allen and Dave Fraser


EDEN HAZARD was the star of the show as Chelsea came from behind to win their fifth Premier League game in six.

Dwight Gayle’s 12th-minute opener only served to wake up the Blues.

Eden Hazard levelled with a shot hit off the ground in the 21st-minute before Alvaro Morata headed his tenth goal of the season 12 minutes later.

Hazard added a third from the spot with 16 minutes left before being substituted to a standing ovation.

Newcastle certainly did not come to Stamford Bridge to park the bus, going toe-to-toe with the Premier League champions.

And they moved into a shock lead.

Gayle won a header and Jacob Murphy caused panic in the Chelsea defence with the ball running loose off Marcos Alonso.

Thibaut Courtois dived at Murphy’s feet but the ball run loose to Dwight Gayle, who swept home.

The Blues poured forward in search of an instant equaliser.

Andreas Christensen headed over a Cesc Fabregas corner – and then Hazard was set clear by a Fabregas through ball but Karl Darlow raced out to block.

Christensen was then denied by the post after heading a cross towards goal... but there was no stopping Hazard levelling for Chelsea.

Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross was half cleared by Florian Lejeune only as far as Hazard, who smashed the ball down on to the ground and past Darlow.

And Chelsea moved in front when Victor Moses cashed in on Matt Richie’s poor defensive clearance, drilled a ball across goal just below head height and Morata crouched slightly to nod home.

The Blues almost added a third when Hazard picked up a pass from Alonso, advanced a few yards before striking a shot from 20 yards that took a wicked deflection of Clark.

It wrong-footed keeper Darlow, but the ball trickled just wide.

Hazard was again in the thick of the action.

Picking up the ball from a Morata knockdown, he managed to weave his way past three Newcastle defenders but lost his footing with just Darlow to beat.

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte was fuming on the touchline, believing his team should have been awarded a penalty – but referee Kevin Friend got it spot on by waving the protests away.

Hazard was on fire and was denied adding his second when he exchanged passes with Drinkwater but the ball bounced wrongly for him and Darlow was just able to block him.

But referee Friend pointed to the spot when Fabregas played in Moses, before being brought down by Ritchie.

Hazard duly stepped up to send Darlow the wrong way from 12 yards.

Then the brilliant Belgian charged through and Darlow made a great save to deny him his hat-trick, before he was subbed off to a standing ovation.


FACTS, STATS, GOALS & LOLS

Chelsea had only lost one of their last 22 top-flight home games against Newcastle (W15, D6).
Newcastle's only away victory against Chelsea in the Premier League came in May 2012, with Papiss Cisse scoring twice in a 2-0 win.
Ahead of the game, Newcastle had won just one of their last 18 Premier League away games (D4, L13).
Eden Hazard scored with a cheeky, Panenka penalty to make it 3-1 to Chelsea
Prior to kick-off, Rafa Benitez had only won one of 12 competitive games as an opposition manager at Stamford Bridge (D4, L7).
Eden Hazard has scored more Premier League goals versus Newcastle than against any other team in the competition (6).
Since the start of last season, Alvaro Morata has scored 11 headed goals, more than any other player in Europe’s big five leagues.

WHAT THEY SAID

Chelsea forward Eden Hazard: "It's not a problem for me [to not score a hat-trick]. We won the game; that's the most important thing.

"We play on Tuesday so a rest is sometimes good, when I score two I want to score a hat-trick but the other boys score, no problem.

On his cheeky penalty: "When I take the ball in my hands, instinct. I just want to do this. I just want the goalkeeper to move, if he doesn't move, I'm in trouble.

"He moved, the ball is in the middle, It was a good penalty."


===========================================


Thursday, November 30, 2017

Swansea City 1-0



Telegraph:

Chelsea 1 Swansea 0: Blues record narrow win as Antonio Conte sent to stands

Sam Wallace

It is traditional at Chelsea that when the breakthrough arrives against stubborn opponents, Antonio Conte celebrates by launching himself head-first into the home fans although when the goal at last came against Swansea City, the Italian was already alone in the home dressing room.

Conte had been dismissed and was on his own back stage with one of his three assistant coaches, Angelo Alessio, assuming the duties of excitable touchline motivator when Antonio Rudiger headed in Chelsea’s goal 10 minutes into the second half. Conte had gone in a moment of rage at the end of the first half when he screamed in the face of Lee Mason, the fourth official, and was swiftly dispatched by referee Neil Swarbrick.

Comte said afterwards that he later apologised to the officials and will hope to avoid a touchline ban for Saturday’s home game against Newcastle. “I saw that Swansea were time-wasting and I said this a few times to the fourth official,” Conte said. “I didn’t see anything had changed. I was frustrated about this and I tried to tell him again. Then the referee took his decision.” He admitted, with a nice command of the understatement, that he had been “animated”.

Against a Swansea City team that have won none of their last six league games and failed to score in nine of their 14 league appearances, it always seemed that Chelsea would get there with or without their manager on the touchline. What will have hurt was Raheem Sterling’s late winner for Manchester City which meant that by the end of the night, the gap between Chelsea and the leaders remained 11 points.

Given his high-octane touchline demeanour, Conte might feel that a red card such as this is a risk he runs every week and even despite his rage he knew that he had overstepped the mark. He lost his rag just two minutes before the break when a Pedro effort clipped not one but two Swansea players on its way out and was still given as a goal-kick by the referee Swarbrick.

The Italian manager, incandescent with rage, was straight in the face of Lee Mason, never one for confrontation at the best of times. The Italian’s words were clearly audible even 10 rows back in the pressbox, although to Mason it was more about the aggressive proximity.

Mason had no hesitation in calling over Swarbrick immediately who ordered Conte to the stands where, as always seems to happen in these episodes, the departing manager was at a loss where he was supposed to go. Finally Conte was told that a seat behind the dugout was not allowed and he went down the tunnel, but not before he had given Mason another piece of his mind.

Whether he gets a ban depends on what is in Swarbrick’s report. On balance this was a successful evening for which Conte picked a Chelsea team without César Azpilicueta for the first time after 74 consecutive league games going back to December 2015. Eden Hazard came on as a second half substitute and Chelsea never had to get out of third gear.

There was a fine performance from Alfie Mawson and Mike Van der Hoorn in the centre of the Swansea defence and behind them Lukasz Fabianski was reliable. As for the rest of Swansea, they had no width in this team with Renato Sanches and Jordan Ayew tucked in tight alongside Wilfried Bony and all of them chasing shadows. The club with the lowest number of goals in the division, seven in 14 games, did not manage a single shot on target.

These are difficult days for Sanches, the Portuguese prodigy who was part of the Euro 2016 winning team, and has got a lot of the stick. He passed the ball straight out of play on 33 minutes and generally looked shattered during the rare periods when Swansea actually had the ball. He came off at half-time.

“He had a poor half,” Clement said later. “He’s struggling for confidence and form but we believe we are the right environment to get him out of it.” As the 20-year-old looked on moodily from the bench a N’Golo Kanté shot deflected off Bony and Rudiger got a head to it to score at the back post.

Clement lamented that moment as one in which his players switched off momentarily from the constant pressure of defending. He began his press conference with a tribute to his late friend Dermot Drummy who was remembered with a minute’s applause before the match. Then it was back to the business of football, with Swansea away at Stoke City on Saturday and a game that Clement knows he can ill-afford to lose.


============================

Mail:

Chelsea 1-0 Swansea City: Antonio Rudiger scores first Premier League goal for the hosts after manager Antonio Conte sees red

By Sami Mokbel

Antonio Conte lost it. Thankfully for the Chelsea manager, his players didn't.

The thought of injustice was too much for Conte, who was sent off for an incensed tirade at fourth official Lee Mason after his team weren't awarded a corner.

But the real injustice would have occurred if Chelsea had left Stamford Bridge on Wednesday with anything other than victory.

In the end, Antonio Rudiger's first Premier League goal for the club was enough to secure victory.

The narrow scoreline doesn't paint an accurate picture. Chelsea, who weren't at their best, could easily have scored seven or eight. Conte will wince when he sees replays of his diatribe at Mason. It was unnecessary.

Indeed, Conte moved quickly to apologise, seeking out Mason and referee Neil Swarbrick in the tunnel after the final whistle.

'I think it's normal, it's right to apologise for what happened during the game,' said Conte. 'I saw that Swansea were wasting time. I said this a few times to the fourth official and I did not see anything change. I was frustrated for this situation. For sure, I made a mistake.'

At least Conte's players kept their cool, though Manchester City's last-gasp winner took some of the gloss off this win. City's march to the title is the last thing on Swansea manager Paul Clement's mind. Defeat against his former club on Wednesday night extended his side's sorry run to one win in 11 Premier League games, a sequence that leaves his job in jeopardy.

Firing Clement after this loss would be harsh. But defeats in their next two fixtures against Stoke and West Bromwich will leave the ex-Chelsea assistant in serious trouble. The moments before kick-off, however, were all about another former Chelsea coach. Dermot Drummy, passed away earlier this week and a rapturous minute's applause was accompanied by an emotional video montage of the former Crawley Town manager's time with the Blues.

Chelsea managed 21 shots, 11 of those coming in the first half. Yet, somehow, it was goalless at the break.

You could sense the anxiety growing with every squandered opportunity. Conte relented to the frustration in the 42nd minute. Swansea had just been wrongly awarded a goal-kick after Willian's low cross ricocheted off Swansea centre back off Alfie Mawson. Conte was already at boiling point and this decision pushed him over the edge. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich watched from the stands as his manager howled in the face of Mason, demanding the fourth official inform Swarbrick of Swansea's tactics.

Mason called Swarbrick over and the official immediately dismissed the Italian, who took up position behind the home dugout. Conte faces the prospect of disciplinary action from the FA.

You would imagine Conte's reaction would not have been so furious if his team had taken one of the hatful of openings they created. Willian, Alvaro Morata and Marcos Alonso were the most guilty figures in blue, missing excellent chances.

Boos rang round Stamford Bridge at half-time. Swarbrick and Mason were the target of home supporters' angst, but the Chelsea faithful would have been far from impressed with their team's composure in front of goal. But if you think Conte was having a bad day, spare a though for Swansea midfielder Renato Sanches, who was substituted at the break following a torrid first half.

Chelsea assistant coach Angelo Alessio occupied the technical area for the second half as the Blues continued to dominate. Finally, in the 55th minute, Chelsea scored the winner.

It took a significant slice of fortune, though: N'Golo Kante's drive from the edge of the area took a deflection off Wilfried Bony into Rudiger's path, and the Germany defender had the simplest of tasks to nod the ball home.

Relief. Somewhere in Stamford Bridge, their manager was puffing out his cheeks.


CHELSEA (3-4-3): Courtois 6; Cahill 6.5, Christensen 6.5, Rudiger 7; Zappacosta 6.5 (Moses 75), Kante 7, Fabregas 8, Alonso 7.5; Willian 7 (Drinkwater 81), Morata 6.5, Pedro 7 (Hazard 80)

Subs not used: Caballero, Bakayoko, Azpilicueta, Ampadu

Manager: Conte 4

Goal: Rudiger 55'

Booked: Morata


SWANSEA (4-3-1-2): Fabianski 8.5; Naughton 6.5, Hoorn 7.5, Mawson 8, Olsson 6.5; Ki 6, Mesa 5 (McBurnie 65, 5.5), Carroll 6; Sanches 4 (Fer 46, 5); Bony 5, Ayew 5 (Routledge 85).

Subs not used: Nordfeldt, Dyer, Clucas, Rangel

Manager: Clement 5.5

Ref: Neil Swarbrick 4

Att: 41,365


MOTM: Fabianski

=========================================

Guardian:

Antonio Conte sent off before Rüdiger header sees Chelsea past Swansea City

Chelsea 1 - 0 Swansea

Ed Aarons at Stamford Bridge

These are nervous times for Paul Clement. In a week during which two of Swansea City’s relegation rivals will appoint new managers, a narrow away defeat against the reigning champions, courtesy of Antonio Rüdiger’s second-half header, does not sound like the worst result.

Yet the manner of this performance – Swansea barely mustered a shot in anger – and with the Welsh club now the only team in the bottom five not to have parted company with their manager this season, it is clear that Clement’s time is running out fast.

The sending off of his counterpart Antonio Conte just before half-time for a bizarre tantrum at the fourth official had perhaps given Clement a glimmer of hope that this could be his night on his return to Stamford Bridge. Those hopes were dashed when Chelsea finally took the lead and never looked like surrendering it as they maintained their faint chances of retaining the title they won with such style last season.

“The most disappointing thing was the nature of the goal – there were players that had their backs turned, they weren’t in the right position,” Clement said. “What I was pleased about was that we didn’t fold and in the last 10 minutes we started to come back into the game and the players had the belief that they could create something. It was disappointing because we are desperate for points and on another night we could have got something.”

Clement selected the same team that drew with Bournemouth on Saturday, with a third consecutive start in midfield for Renato Sanches, the Portugal international on loan from Bayern Munich, with Jordan Ayew also tasked with providing Wilfried Bony with support in attack.

For the first time in a Premier League match since he arrived at the club, Conte opted to leave César Azpilicueta on the bench. Rüdiger took his place, with Eden Hazard also surprisingly left on the bench – after his master class at Liverpool – in favour of Willian and a recall for Cesc Fàbregas in place of Danny Drinkwater.

This was Clement’s second return with Swansea to the club where he spent more than a decade working as a youth coach. Before the match, tributes were paid to his former colleague Dermot Drummy, with whom Clement worked for Chelsea’s Under-18s side. He admitted afterwards that the had been “devastated” by the news of Drummy’s death on Tuesday, with fate dictating that he would be back in southwest London the following day.

Swansea’s owners are rumoured to have sounded out Tony Pulis over his potential availability should they decide to dispense with Clement, although on this evidence, even the Welshman would have his work cut out solving Swansea’s defensive issues as Chelsea repeatedly created chances throughout the first period. Álvaro Morata came closest to breading the deadlock with a header in the 22nd minute that was turned over by Lukas Fabianski. The Swansea goalkeeper produced an even better save after Morata connected on the volley with Fàbregas’s pinpoint cross, while Marcos Alonso wasted another great opportunity from a corner.

When Alfie Mawson’s touch diverted a cross and the referee Neil Swarbrick awarded a goal-kick, Conte’s frustrations boiled over. He was sent to the stands after shouting directly in the face of the fourth official Lee Mason as Swansea somehow made it to the break with parity.

“After the game it’s right to apologise for what happened,” said Conte, who watched the rest of the game from the dressing room. “I saw that Swansea were wasting time and I said this a few times to the fourth official but I didn’t see that something had changed. I was frustrated about this situation and tried to tell him again and the referee took this decision. For sure I made a mistake but during the game I suffered with my players. It’s a pity.”

It was no surprise to see Leroy Fer replace Sanches at half time given the number of times the 20-year-old had given the ball away in a hapless opening 45 minutes, with Clement later admitting Sanches is struggling with confidence. But within 10 minutes of the restart, Chelsea were in front thanks a slice of good fortune as N’Golo Kanté’s shot from just outside the box deflected off Bony and straight into the path of Rüdiger to head home.

The return of Victor Moses after six weeks out with a hamstring injury – swiftly followed by the introduction of Hazard and Drinkwater – was Chelsea’s attempt to kill off the game. The change almost had the desired effect as Swansea were once again forced to scramble the ball away from under their own crossbar after good work from the Belgian.

At the other end, the substitute Wayne Routledge had a golden opportunity to rescue something from the game but his cross was, like Swansea, severely lacking in quality.

===========================================


Independent:

Chelsea dominate but rely on Antonio Rudiger to see them past Swansea

Chelsea 1 Swansea 0: The Blues were in control for the whole game but struggled to find the net

Ben Burrows

A routine home win courtesy of an anything but routine source. When Chelsea shelled out £34m for Antonio Rudiger in July they did so not for his goalscoring prowess. But when your club record signing is having an off day and your star man is only waiting in the wings sometimes you need another to take centre stage and Rudiger was that on a bitingly-chilly evening at Stamford Bridge, a first Premier League goal enough for a precious three points.

Manager Antonio Conte wasn’t around to see it, however, the always fiery Italian having  a night to forget of his own but the Blues hung on stay on the pace in the top four and title races.

The match began on a sombre note, the stadium standing as one to honour the late Dermot Drummy, a much-loved former coach here, who tragically died on Monday. Chelsea were soon into their stride, however, and despite the absence of Eden Hazard, given a breather after his dazzling display at Anfield at the weekend, started on the front foot, beginning an aerial assault which would, eventually at the umpteenth time of asking, batter the visitors into submission.

Even without Cesar Azpilicueta, rested to snap a 74-game streak of successive league starts, Chelsea’s intentions were clear from the outset. Davide Zappacosta and Marcos Alonso, given the freedom of both flanks by a meek Swansea defence, whipped ball after ball into the box, Morata waiting menacingly for any scraps on which to feed. Willian teased while Pedro, operating in Hazard’s usual left sided spot, probed.

It seemed only a matter of time for the south Welsh dam to break but it continued to hold, if not remotely firmly. Morata tested the ever busy Lukasz Fabianski with an improvised volley before Alonso snatched at a presentable chance from 18-yards.

If crossing was the game’s theme on the pitch then Conte’s increased incredulity at fourth official Lee Mason was the growing one off it. Even before his 43rd-minute dismissal the Italian had grown more and more livid at what he perceived to be the gratuitous time-wasting efforts of the visitors. When a clear deflection behind from Alfie Mawson’s outstretched leg was awarded as a goal kick, enough was enough. Conte exploded and Neil Swarbrick  sent him on his way.

Swansea’s draw with Bournemouth halted a four-match losing run but this remains a poor side and a lack of cutting edge belied by only three away goals all season was all too clear to see here with captain Wilfried Bony a willing but far too isolated figure up front all night long.

Renato Sanches paid the price for his side’s paucity in attack, the Portuguese summer signing hooked at the break after an AWOL 45 minutes. Conte, now in absentia, could have been forgiven for making a change of his own at the break, especially given the options available to him on his bench, but he was soon rewarded for his patience just 10 minutes after the interval.

Another ball from wide was cut inside from the right to N’Golo Kante whose shot was deflected into the path of Rudiger who couldn’t miss. The resistance was broken. Chelsea were ahead.

The floodgates looked ready to fly open, Alonso first side-footing too close to Fabianski before Morata twice should’ve done better with a close-range header and minutes later a one-on-one scooped harmlessly over.

A second goal could well have finished the Swans, but instead of rolling over they redoubled their efforts with Jordan Ayew and half-time introduction Leroy Fer finally giving Bony the company in the final third he craved so often earlier on.

Victor Moses made his long-awaited return after a lengthy lay-off, before Danny Drinkwater and man of the moment Hazard also entered the fray to sure up the points. Morata, enduring one of those nights that even the greats have, swung and missed at two more glimpses as the hosts failed to add the cushion their dominance deserved, but Conte, deep within the bowels of Bridge, won’t have cared a jot. The Blues are back to winning ways and still in the hunt.

Chelsea: Courtois, Rudiger, Christensen, Cahill, Zappacosta (Moses 75), Fabregas, Kante, Alonso, Willian (Drinkwater 81) , Pedro (Hazard 81), Morata.

Unused subs: Caballero, Bakayoko, Azpilicueta, Ampadu.

Swansea: Fabianski, Naughton, van der Hoorn, Mawson, Olsson, Ki, Roque (McBurnie 65), Carroll, Sanches (Fer 45), Bony, Ayew (Routledge 84).

Unused subs: Dyer, Nordfeldt, Clucas, Rangel.

Referee: Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire)


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Sun:

RUDI GOOD JOB

Chelsea 1 Swansea 0: Antonio Rudiger secures points after Antonio Conte is sent to the stand

Blues eventually find a way past the heroic Lukasz Fabianski in the visiting net as the German heads home ten minutes after their manager was given his marching orders

By Andy Dillon

ANTONIO CONTE gave a couple of his stars a night off but it did not mean the rest of them could sleepwalk to victory.

With the exception of keeper Lukas Fabianski, Swansea were so awful it should have been a tougher task sitting on the bench than tearing them to shreds.

Yet Chelsea made terribly hard work of it until Antonio Rudiger finally put the ball in the back of the net to maintain the champions’ momentum in their bid to keep pace with Premier League leaders Manchester City.

Even then, it took a lucky deflection off the head of City striker Wilfried Bony to put the chance his way for the defender to score his first league goal for the club since signing in the summer.

On a frustrating night for Chelsea on many levels, they missed a series of much easier opportunities to put the result to bed with poor finishing and excellent keeping from Fabianski getting in the way.

Conte was also sent to the stands four minutes before half time for losing his rag over a disputed corner but you get the feeling Chelsea’s fuming manager was actually taking out his frustrations with his players on the officials.

By half time Chelsea had amassed six genuine attempts on goal with perhaps the closest of them all coming from Swansea defender Alfie Mawson, whose scuffed attempt to clear a cross from Willian rebounded off the back of his leg and skidded just past his own goal post.

It proved the flashpoint for the best action so far. Conte was so incensed that ref Neil Swarbrick gave a goal kick instead of a corner that the Italian lost the plot.

He screamed in the face of Lee Mason, so close that the fourth official would have felt the Chelsea manager’s hot breath on his face and the full force of his frustration.

It was way over the top and in Italian yet Mason was having none of it. You do not need to be bilingual to get the jist of what furious Conte was banging on about.

Mason called immediately for Swarbrick to step in. The ref pointed Conte to the stands, although the guilty man merely stomped off to sit a few rows behind his dugout – still hurling his heated opinion at the officials.

Well, if half the team were having the evening off, why not the manager? Assistant coach Angelo Alessio took over duties of shouting at the players from the technical area. And they seemed to need a wake up call of some sorts.

Despite dominating in every aspect of play Chelsea went in at half time goalless and as fed up as the manager.

Even without key players Eden Hazard and Cesar Azpilicueta who were on the bench, it was one way traffic, albeit at the speed of London rush hour.

With only 11 minutes on the clock Willian had taken the first shot at Swansea’s goal. His curling free kick from just outside the box swerved just wide of the left hand post.

Swansea keeper Lukas Fabianksi was kept busy but had to make only one spectacular save, leaping to tip over a volleyed shot from Alvaro Morata on 28 minutes.

Davide Zappacosta tested him too, as did Pedro and Morata again. Chelsea’s players were queuing up to take pot shots at goal.

In contrast Swansea, with only one goal in the last five games, continued to struggle in the final third.

Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois did not have a save to make in the first half. Swansea barely got into the home side’s area and were depressingly feeble weak up front in the absence of leading scorer Tammy Abraham - on loan from Chelsea and therefore ineligible for the match.

Azpilicueta was ‘dropped’ for the first time for a Premier League game since Conte took over in the summer of 2016. That is a gruelling 51 game run.

But Conte is mindful that from here on in, the fixtures come thick and fast with a 12.30pm kick off against Newcastle on Saturday, followed by the final Group Champions League match against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

A London derby at West Ham, then Huddersfield and Carabao Cup action follows in the next three weeks. Conte is preserving energy levels and from last night’s sluggish performance he needs to.

Conte and Fabianski seemed to be the only two people wide awake at Stamford Bridge. Having saved from Morata once in the first half, he produced another great tip wide of the goal from the Spanish forward in the 63rd minute.

But City’s impressive keeper was helpless to prevent Rudgier breaking the deadlock from a set-piece.

Cesc Fabregas curled a free kick to the far side of the box from in front of the East Stand and his ball pinged off the unsuspecting Bony, meaning that Rudiger could not be offside as he pounced on the deflection and headed in ten minutes into the second half.

It was hardly a classic goal but it was hardly a classic match.

And to cap it all guilty Conte missed it having seen enough and deciding to sit out the second half in the Chelsea dressing room.


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Express:

Chelsea 1 - Swansea 0: Antonio Rudiger header seals win as Antonio Conte sees red

ANTONIO CONTE was sent off for a heated rant at the fourth official – and that was about as passionate as it got at Stamford Bridge.

By TONY BANKS

Chelsea registered their fifth win in their last six league games as they kept up their pursuit of Manchester City at the top of the table, thanks to Antoine Rudiger’s second-half header.

But it was laboured stuff and Conte lost his temper and ranted at fourth official Lee Mason as referee Neil Swarbrick failed to award his side a corner. The Italian, whose red card was his first in English football, now faces a touchline ban.

Struggling Swansea, whose manager Paul Clement is under increasing pressure, had only one shot on target and should have been seen off far easier in front of a watching Roman Abramovich.

Conte took a gamble in leaving Eden Hazard on the bench and also resting the usually indefatigable defender Cesar Azpilicueta, after 74 consecutive Premier League games.

Clement’s team went into the match having lost seven of their last nine games and having not scored in their last three. To make matters worse, top scorer Tammy Abraham was ineligible, on loan from Chelsea for the season.

And Chelsea’s players wore black armbands in honour of former youth coach Dermot Drummy, who died on Monday.

Conte’s team started brightly, as Willian’s free-kick was missed by everyone and flew just wide of the far post. Then Davide Zappacosta’s shot was saved by Lukasz Fabianski. Pedro, recalled to the attack, twice forced the Polish goalkeeper into saves, as did Alvaro Morata with a firm header.

Then from a lovely chip by Cesc Fabregas, Morata produced a volley that Fabianski did well to tip over the bar. Chelsea were utterly dominant, as Marcos Alonso headed into the side netting.

Conte was growing increasingly frustrated on the touchline at his side’s inability to break through, with Swansea seemingly content to sit and soak up the pressure.

Then Pedro’s prod from Willian’s cross somehow trickled past the far post and as referee Neil Swarbrick wrongly gave a goal kick – and Conte exploded.

The Italian ranted face to face at fourth official Lee Mason, yelling: “Tell him about the corner, tell him about the corner.”

Mason called over Swarbrick and there was more ranting from the Italian and the referee sent the Chelsea manager off. A fuming Conte went to sit behind the bench but was then told to move.

It was perhaps a surprise Conte went, given his fiery touchline antics. Coach Angelo Alessio took over the touchline duties from Conte - who watched from a monitor in the dressing room - as Chelsea kept pressing, but the frustration continued as Pedro blazed over when he should have done better.

And then at last came the breakthrough. N’Golo Kante fired in a shot from the edge of the area, the ball deflected off Wilfried Bony and Rudiger pounced to thump home a header for his first league goal for Chelsea.

Alfie Mawson, who seemed at times to be holding Chelsea at bay on his own, then somehow cleared Alonso’s shot off the line.

Fabianski produced another excellent save to tip Morata’s header over the bar and then the goalkeeper kept out Alonso’s low effort.


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Star:

Chelsea 1 Swansea 0: Rudiger nets first Premier League goal as Blues earn victory

CHELSEA boss Antonio Conte was dramatically sent to the stands after losing his rag against Swansea at Stamford Bridge.

By Chris Hatherall

It’s no wonder Conte was wound up, because he knew this was a match that Chelsea really had to win if they wanted to step up their title bid.

And they did so, finally cracking Swansea’s resistance in the 55th minute.

A shot by N’Golo Kante was deflected into the path of defender Antonio Rudiger, who headed past Lukasz Fabianski for his first Premier League strike.

The match heralded the start of a run of seven games against teams 10th or lower in the Premier League table and that’s a big opportunity if the Blues are to have any hope of defending their crown.


Even so, Conte took the gamble of resting star player Eden Hazard, leaving him on the bench alongside Cesar Azpilicueta.

In fact, Willian, Pedro, Rudiger and Cesc Fabregas all earned recalls as the Italian dramatically rotated his squad.

Perhaps the knowledge that Swansea hadn’t won at Stamford Bridge since 1925 gave him confidence.

There were three penalty shouts in the first half, two against Mike van der Hoorn and one when Renato Sanches tangled with Marcos Alonso.

Willian almost opened the scoring when his free-kick from the left evaded everyone but just flew wide of the far post.

The pressure is again mounting on Swans boss Paul Clement, a former Chelsea coach, after last weekend’s goalless draw against Bournemouth ended a run of four defeats in a row.


CHELSEA (3-4-3): Courtois; Rudiger, Cahill, Christensen; Zappacosta, Fabregas, Kante, Alonso; Willian, Morata, Pedro. Subs: Caballero, Drinkwater, Hazard, Bakayoko, Moses, Azpilicueta, Ampadu.

SWANSEA (4-3-3): Fabianski; Naughton, Van der Hoorn, Mawson, Olsson; Ki, Mesa, Carroll; Ayew, Bony, Sanches. Subs: Nordfeldt, Fer, Dyer, Routledge, Clucas, Rangel, McBurnie.

Referee: Neil Swarbrick