Independent:
Antonio Conte's side maintain winning streak to confirm top spot at Christmas
Sunderland 0 Chelsea 1: Cesc Fabregas' first-half strike proved enough to claim all three points, but the league leaders could and perhaps should have won by more
Martin Hardy at the Stadium of Light
Imperious Chelsea; played 10, won 10, scored 24, conceded 2. Sometimes you just have to doff the cap. Since the start of October, they have become the Premier League untouchables.
The roll continued without any threat at the Stadium of Light. For David Moyes it was about different numbers. Five centre halves, two full backs, one goalkeeper. More or less nil ambition. There was an attempt to stifle Chelsea but it never looked enough, not once Cesc Fabregas had scored a fine goal in the 40th minute, surprisingly his first of the season.
It was enough for a victory far more comfortable than the scoreline might suggest. It was the only number to query on the night. Chelsea were never shot shy, or short of ambition, just lacking an ounce of clinical finishing. It was hard to be too picky.
Victory moved them six points clear of second placed Liverpool and Arsenal. Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Stoke are up next. There are coat tails for those with title credentials to hold onto. Chelsea are the team to keep up with.
That was something Sunderland never even looked liked they fancied doing.
Marcos Alonso had shot over and Diego Costa had misconnected a volley from a left wing cross from the same player before they had their lead, five minutes before the interval.
David Moyes will have rued poor defending, headers not headed properly from John O’Shea and Billy Jones before the outstanding N’Golo Kante out jumped Jan Kirchhoff to head the ball into the path of Pedro.
Pedro drove and fed Fabregas and from there Sunderland were in serious trouble, outnumbered even with seven defender in their 10 outfield players. Fabregas went wide to Willian, took a return pass and then struck a fine, crisp, right footed finish into the bottom corner of Jordan Pickford’s goal.
It would prove to be the game-winning goal, and there was surprise in that. The Sunderland goal was peppered after the interval. Chelsea, dominant and superior all over the pitch, fluffed their lines only in the home penalty area.
The chances were endless. Three minutes into the second half the tone was set. Victor Moses ran and fired an angle shot that flew over the corner of Pickford’s goal. Willian saw a deflected shot clip the crossbar, Moses was denied, low to Pickford’s left and Costa’s driving run was ended by the Sunderland goalkeeper.
The Chelsea forward was denied when clear though by Lamine Kone, Moses went close, again, and then again, and the watch showed only an hour had been played. The home side had nowhere to play. Willian shot narrowly wide and Kante, the game’s best player burst through, only to shoot straight at Pickford.
Only briefly was there consternation for the visitors, at the start of the second half and then at the death. Jermain Defoe remains a shining light in a poor team. It was his ball, as he ran at a back peddling Chelsea defence in the 47th minute that teed up the overlapping Adnan Januzaj, to his right.
The former Manchester United winger took a touch and then struck a low, right footed shot that Thibaut Courtois did well to save with his outstretched left leg. In the third and final minute of added on time, after a left wing Sunderland corner, Patrick van Aanholt volleyed from the edge of the box and Courtois took off to his right to produce a fine, finger-tip save. It was enough. Chelsea finished as they started. Top. Sunderland did the same, bottom, rock bottom, and more struggle ahead.
‘Ten in a row,’ came the cry from those supporters heading south. It deserved an airing.
Sunderland (5-2-2-1): Pickford; Jones (Love 59), Kone, O’Shea, Djilobodji, Van Aanholt; Denayer, Kirchhoff (Larsson 57); Januzaj, Borini (Khazri 83); Defoe.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill, Alonso; Kante, Fabregas; Moses (Ivanovic 90), Willian (Chalobah 89), Pedro (Matic 76); Costa.
Referee: N Swarbrick
=======================
Guardian:
Fàbregas sweeps Chelsea past Sunderland and six points clear at top
Sunderland 0 - 1 Chelsea
Louise Taylor at the Stadium of Light
They say perfection is a flame that many touch but few can hold. If so, Chelsea are showing every indication of possessing sufficient ruthless consistency to achieve it this season, with the latest, fairly compelling, evidence arriving at Sunderland’s expense.
A 10th straight Premier League win left Antonio Conte’s team six points clear at the top of the table on a night when Cesc Fàbregas not only scored the winning goal but, courtesy of a high-calibre central-midfield performance, reminded everyone of his enduring importance in west London.
Starting his third League game of the campaign, Fàbregas also helped keep the home side stuck firmly to the bottom of the division with their horizon looking increasingly bleak. Despite restricting Chelsea to that single goal, Sunderland created precious little of note until stoppage-time when Thibaut Courtois’s brilliant diversion of Patrick van Aanholt’s volley came between Conte and a technical area meltdown.
“I’m pleased for sure,” said Chelsea’s manager. “It’s not easy to win 10 games in a row in this league and we had to fight to win this one. We couldn’t quite kill it and, at the end, Sunderland had a big chance to equalise.”
After joking about his decision in selecting the “very good” Fàbregas, Conte stressed there can be no room for complacency. “Me and my players are doing something important,” he said. “But this league is very tough – the title is between six teams.”
David Moyes has never championed three at the back and points out that serious prizes are rarely won by sides configured with central-defensive trinities. There are exceptions to every rule though and, here, Sunderland’s manager arranged his team in a 3-4-3 formation, mirroring Chelsea’s system.
Maybe the full moon high in the Wearside sky prompted such boldness, perhaps imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery or possibly matching your opponents’ shape is the latest tactical fad. Whatever the reason, John O’Shea mirrored the David Luiz sweeping role as Sunderland started quite securely, if a little cagily, in a new design well suited to Billy Jones and Van Aanholt, their wing-backs. Chelsea enjoyed more possession but they initially struggled to trouble Jordan Pickford.
Change beckoned when, for once, Diego Costa escaped the attentions of O’Shea, Lamine Koné and the former Chelsea centre-half Papy Djilobodji. Unmarked, the centre-forward connected with a cross from Marcos Alonso, a one-time Sunderland loanee, but failed to get a proper purchase and sliced wide.
It was a warning Sunderland failed to heed as they permitted N’Golo Kanté to seize possession deep in midfield. That interception prefaced Fàbregas and Willian – deputising for the injured Eden Hazard – exchanging passes. By shaping to shoot but, instead, squaring, Willian deceived a backline that proved powerless to prevent Fàbregas sweeping the ball imperiously past Pickford into the bottom right corner from the edge of the area.
Moyes’s gameplan of sitting back and hoping to snatch something on the break shattered instantly and the resultant frustration seemed manifested by swift bookings for Jermain Defoe and O’Shea for fouls on Fàbregas and Costa. Indeed, with a Willian free-kick whizzing fractionally off target half-time could not come quickly enough for the home side.
They emerged apparently galvanised and, almost immediately, nearly scored with their first real chance. Catching Chelsea in momentarily dozy mode, Defoe played in the overlapping Adnan Januzaj whose fine, first-time, shot forced the previously marginalised Courtois into a superb diving save.
Suitably stung, the visiting riposte proved rapid and vicious. Willian delighted in dodging Koné in a manner that made a mockery of the £25m release clause contained in the defender’s contract and his ensuing shot brushed the bar after deflecting off Djilobodji. Pickford barely had time to sigh with relief before ably repelling Costa’s low angled shot.
Victor Moses bewildered Sebastian Larsson before shooting left-footed and narrowly wide in an on-going onslaught also featuring Willian missing the target after collecting David Luiz’s typically elegant pass.
Fàbregas, meanwhile, delighted in showing off his stellar passing range with one particularly exquisite delivery almost prompting a goal for Willian before a volley of his own swerved off target.
Such near misses almost proved extremely costly when, in stoppage time, Van Aanholt unleashed a spectacular volley destined for the top corner until Courtois’s stunning, win-preserving, intervention. “I thought it was in,” said Moyes. “But he made a top save.”
======================
Telegraph:
Sunderland 0 Chelsea 1: Cesc Fabregas strikes to keep league leaders in sight of record 14th win in a row
Sam Wallace
In the brave new world of Chelsea 2016, there has rarely been a place for Cesc Fabregas in Antonio Conte’s rebuilt team but the midfielder demonstrated there is still life in this 29-year-old veteran yet with a goal that gives his side their 10th straight Premier League win.
The winning machine ploughs onward, six points clear of Liverpool in second place and showing no signs of malfunction, even without the injured Eden Hazard.
This was Fabregas’s first league goal of the season in just his third league start of the season, a player who has had to learn the subtleties of Conte’s new 3-4-3 on the job and slotted in perfectly. The Premier League record is 14 wins in a row, achieved by Arsenal in 2002 and Chelsea are now within sight with Saturday’s game at Crystal Palace followed by home matches against Bournemouth and Stoke City before a visit to Tottenham on Jan 4.
It would be a momentous day indeed if they were to equal the record at White Hart Lane, although there is some way to go yet.
They dominated the game against Sunderland, resilient but limited in a 3-4-3 formation adapted by David Moyes to try to deal with Conte’s new system, one that is causing many opposition managers to rethink their plans.
The Premier League record is 14 wins in a row, achieved by Arsenal in 2002 and Chelsea re now within sight with Saturday’s game in south London followed by home matches against Bournemouth and Stoke City before a visit to the old enemy Tottenham on Jan 4. It would be a momentous day indeed if they were to equal the record at White Hart Lane although there is some way to go.
Unburdened by European football and supremely well-organised, they were made to work hard for their victory. Fabregas’ goal won them the match but it was hard to look beyond another masterful performance in midfield from N’Golo Kante who controlled the game for the away side. Diego Costa was not at his sharpest although he worked hard for a side without Eden Hazard.
Moyes’ players pushed to the end of the match and they created two good chances in the second half for Adnan Januzaj and Fabio Borini, both of which were wasted. The Sunderland manager will take encouragement from the performance of his three-man defence and it took an exceptional late save from Thibaut Courtois to deny Patrick Van Aanholt an equaliser against his former club.
Moyes did what so many Premier League managers feel compelled to do against Chelsea these days and adapted his team’s formation to a 3-4-3 system in order to combat the awkward winning machine that Antonio Conte has created.
It is not that Sunderland did not have the players to do it, in fact Patrick Van Aanholt is quite well adapted to play wing-back on the left-hand side, the problem is more that Chelsea do it better than anyone else. Even so there were times when Sunderland’s determination to close down their opposition and work hard for the ball stood them in good stead, but the quality would tell in the end.
Even so it took a fine save from Thibaut Courtois in the final moments of the game to deny the former Chelsea man Patrick Van Aanholt from pinching a point for the home side.
Conte said afterwards in his solemn style that he hoped his team would “try to arrive at Christmas in an incredible position in the table”.
“I prefer not to look at the table,” he said, “for me and for my players because we are doing something important until now but the league didn’t finish today.” They are guaranteed being top for Christmas a position they have held when winning their four Premier League titles, starting in 2004-05.
The likelihood now is that Fabregas has hit form and claimed an irregular place in the team in sufficient time to rule out the need for a move away in January, as had previously been on the cards. Not so for Oscar, whose £60 million move to Shanghai SIPG in the Chinese Super League is now on with Conte all but confirming the Brazilian has a deal in place to leave next month.
The 25-year-old’s situation would be clear “in the next [few] days”, Conte said. “He started the season very well for us. We played 4-3-3 and he played very well and then when I switched to another formation he didn’t play a lot, but I always counted on him because Oscar is a really good player. He’s young, but sometimes there is a situation that is very difficult to face, but I repeat in the next days it will be clearer .”
As for Sunderland the reality is a budget next month a little more restrictive than the January outlay of Shanghai SIPG. In fact, the new chief executive Martin Bain has said there will be no prospect of investment in the next transfer window.
When it was put to Moyes, he suggested it was not the way the job was sold to him in the summer. “I came with two objectives, first to stay in the Premier League and second to build a club,” he said. “I don’t see that has changed.”
Asked if he was frustrated at the lack of funds, Moyes was straight. “Yes, because I knew I had a short summer and I knew I couldn’t do much business and it was difficult. I did expect to do business in January. That was the understanding and what I had been told.”
There was always a possibility that Moyes’s team would throw at least one punch and in the end it was two, with Courtois also equal to a shot from Adnan Januzaj just after half-time. There was also a superb performance from N’Golo Kanté in midfield who won the ball for Fabregas’ goal and in one burst through midfield was so quick that Fabio Borini could not even foul him.
Moyes did what so many Premier League managers feel compelled to do against Chelsea these days and adapted his team’s formation to give them extra defensive cover, but it was not enough.
Fabregas’s goal represented all that is good about Chelsea at the moment. Diego Costa chased down Jordan Pickford to force the goalkeeper to kick the ball long and when finally it broke in midfield it was the 5ft 6in Kanté who won the header against the 6ft 5in Jan Kirchhoff. From there, Pedro skipped past two challenges on the left side before cutting in and suddenly Sunderland were in trouble.
From Pedro to Fabregas to Willian and back into the path of Fabregas for him to sweep the ball past Pickford with his right foot.
Januzaj’s chance came just after half-time and was missed and then Chelsea should really have put the game away. Papy Djilobodji deflected a Willian shot onto the bar. Lamine Koné used a bicycle kick to clear after Pickford had saved from Costa. All these chances went begging and Sunderland were still hanging on. They had a good opening of their own on 59 minutes when Januzaj cut back to Borini and the former Chelsea man skied his shot.
Courtois’ save at the end was exceptional, but it was in keeping with a Chelsea display that showed how far this team have come.
==============================
Mail:
Sunderland 0-1 Chelsea: Blues extend winning run to 10 Premier League matches as Cesc Fabregas scores only goal against struggling Black Cats
By Craig Hope for the Daily Mail
What a difference a year makes. What a difference a manager makes. Exactly 12 months ago to the day Chelsea lost at Leicester as their shambolic title defence plunged a new low. It was too much for owner Roman Abramovich and, by the end of week, Jose Mourinho was gone.
Compare that mess to the Chelsea of today - six points clear at the top of the Premier League and guaranteed to be at the summit come Christmas Day, a position from which they have won the title on four previous occasions.
What Mourinho made look difficult, Antonio Conte makes easy. This was a 10th straight victory; five more and they’ll have a new Premier League record, surpassing Arsenal’s run of 2002.
And Conte said: ‘It’s fantastic to win 10 in a row in this league, because it is very tough. You have to fight in every game. Our players deserve this for their commitment and work-rate, every day and in games.
‘But I prefer not to look at the table. The league did not finish today.’
There is a calmness and authority about Conte, much like his side. While Mourinho had lost the dressing-room, the Italian has every one of his players performing at a level unrecognisable from last season.
He even lets them enjoy a post-game beer. And it is fair to say supporters are drunk on their success right now.
Yes, they needed a fine last-minute save from Thibaut Courtois to deny Patrick van Aanholt, but this was impressive.
Cesc Fabregas was one of the players at odds with Mourinho but he was the match-winner here with a first-half strike which oozed class.
‘I’m very happy for Cesc,’ added Conte. ‘He’s a great example for the other players. It’s only his third start but he has shown great commitment.’
For Sunderland and David Moyes, meanwhile, this 11th defeat of the season came the day after an interview in which chief executive Martin Bain revealed the club will not be able to spend its way out of trouble this January.
And the Scot is evidently miffed.
‘I knew I had a short summer and I knew I wouldn’t do much business and that it was going to be really difficult, but I did expect to do some business in January,’ he said.
‘But I won’t be able to. That’s the understanding, that’s what I’ve been told. It’s frustrating.’
Moyes, then, will have to find a solution from within and he might well look to Conte and Chelsea for inspiration.
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and Moyes, having praised Conte’s use of a three-man defence on the eve of the game, duly mirrored the selection of his opposite number; he must be doing something right, after all. Needless to say, however, Sunderland’s wing-backs were operating more like full-backs.
Three of those selected in Moyes’ new-look formation were former residents of Stamford Bridge. But that Van Aanholt, Fabio Borini and Papy Djilobodji managed just six league appearances between them for the Blues perhaps explains why they are now playing for the division’s bottom club and no longer on the books in West London.
It was easy to see, however, why Marcos Alonso has made the journey in the opposite direction and the Chelsea wing-back - a popular loanee on Wearside three years ago - was again outstanding at both ends of the park.
But Chelsea - minus the injured Eden Hazard, the playmaker responsible for a quarter of his side’s goals this season - struggled for inspiration during the opening exchanges.
They were only snapped from their slumber by a pair of robust home challenges which left Diego Costa and Willian in a heap. Lamine Kone and Jason Denayer were the perpetrators and, while it stirred the home crowd, it also livened the visitors.
Alonso soon escaped down the left and drew back for the unmarked Costa on the penalty spot. Goal, you assumed. But perhaps the Spaniard was still feeling the effects of being flattered by Kone moments earlier, for he sliced horribly wide.
Sunderland did not learn their lesson and again Alonso found space high on the flank and whipped through the six-yard area. This time, however, there were no takers. That three-man defence of Sunderland’s was looking more like a six-man unit as Chelsea exerted their dominance.
David Luiz soon took aim from a 20-yard free-kick and, when it was deflected off Adnan Januzaj in the home wall, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was handily placed to save with relative ease.
But the young England stopper stood little chance with Chelsea’s breakthrough goal.
It may have looked simple - Fabregas to Willian to Fabregas, goal - but the execution of each pass and the Spaniard’s subsequent finish - a first-time tuck into the bottom corner from 20 yards - was of the highest quality.
By the time the hour-mark arrived Victor Moses had twice drilled inches wide from range and Willian came even closer when striking the crossbar.
This was turning into a shooting session for the league leaders and, with the home supporters somewhat subdued, Willian shaved the base of the post after drifting infield unopposed from the right.
Sunderland pressed late on but Courtois clawed Van Aanholt’s strike from the top corner.
It was a deserved victory for Chelsea and their brilliant manager. A year, it seems, is a long time in football.
Sunderland (5-3-1-1): Pickford 6.5; Jones 6 (Love 59, 5.5), Kone 6, Djilobodji 6.5, O’Shea 6, Van Aanholt 5.5; Januzaj 5, Denayer 5.5, Kirchhoff 5.5 (Larsson 57, 5.5); Borini 5 (Khazri 82); Defoe 6
Subs not used: Mannone, Asoro, Maja, Honeyman
Bookings: Defoe, O’Shea
Chelsea (3-4-3): Courtois 6; Azpilicueta 6.5, Luiz 6.5, Cahill 6.5; Moses 7 (Ivanovic 90), Kante 7, Fabregas 7.5, Alonso 7; Willian 7, Costa 6.5, Pedro 6 (Matic 75)
Subs: Begovic, Zouma, Loftus-Cheek, Batshuayi, Chalobah
Scorer: Fabregas 40
Bookings: Pedro, Moses
Referee: N Swarbrick
Attendance: 41,008
MOTM: Fabregas
==============================
Mirror:
Sunderland 0-1 Chelsea: Cesc Fabregas scores to keep Blues at the Premier League summit
The Spaniard netted his first Premier League goal of the season to extend Chelsea's winning run
BY BEN WELCH
Chelsea made it 10 Premier League wins in a row as they ground out a 1-0 win against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
A fine finish from Cesc Fabregas just before half-time ensured the Blues extended their lead at the top of the table.
Antonio Conte's men are now six points clear after capitalising on Arsenal's defeat at Everton last night.
David Moyes set his side up to frustrate with seven defenders in his starting line-up and for 40 minutes Chelsea had no answer.
As half-time approached Sunderland's resistance was broken. The visitors swept upfield and Willian laid the ball into the path of Fabregas who picked his spot with pinpoint precision.
The home side continued to battle in the second half, affording their visitors little space in the final third.
Chelseas couldn't find that precious second as Willian hit the bar and Jordan Pickford stepped up when called upon. In the end, the home side's depleted side didn't have enough quality to trouble Chelsea who showed their title-winning credentials with a hard-fought win.
Sunderland almost nicked a point at the death when Patrick van Aanholt hit a left-foot rocket goalwards, but Thibaut Courtois flung out a hand and denied the Dutchman with a fine save.
Here's five things we learned from Stamford Bridge.
1 Sunderland need to be a bit more adventurous
We appreciate that Chelsea are flying high at the top of the Premier League and Sunderland are rock bottom, but selecting seven defenders in your starting line-up for a home game... seriously? Come on, Dave? Surely you can be a little bit more adventurous?
Self preservation was at the forefront of Moyes' selection as he picked Billy Jones, van Aanholt, Papy Djilobodji, Lamine Kone, John O'Shea, Jason Denayer and Jan Kirchhoff to execute his 'don't cross the halfway line unless you absolutely have to' gameplan.
Sunderland were actually playing a 3-4-3, but you wouldn't have known it as the men in red and white stripes retreated to their defensive barricades in front of Jordan Pickford for 90 mintues.
In fairness to Moyes, it looked to be working as Sunderland frustrated Chelsea for 40 minutes until Fabregas slotted a crisp finish into the bottom corner.
We understand your plight Dave, but seven defenders? Come on, live a little.
2 Cesc has still got it
He might not have been back to his swashbuckling best, but his measured finish to give Chelsea the lead was a timely reminder he's a quality player.
After an impressive first season in west London where he helped Chelsea to their first Premier League title in five years, he stalled last term and has struggled to establish himself in Antonio Conte's 3-4-3 system.
He has been recalled to the side in recent weeks and continues to showcase his defence-shredding skills.
The Spaniard set up Diego Costa goals against Watford and Manchester City and found the net against Sunderland tonight.
In true Fabregas fashion he passed the ball into the bottom left hand corner as Pickford looked on helplessly.
3 Chelsea have strength-in-depth
The Blues missed Eden Hazard, no doubt about that. His explosive bursts and blood twisting runs would have helped them penetrate the red and white brick wall erected in front of Sunderland's 18-yard-box, but his deputy Willian did a fine job in his absence.
The energetic Brazilian unselfishly teed up Fabregas goal when he could have shot himself and he hit the bar in the second half.
If Chelsea are to maintain their title charge they're going to need a member of their squad to come to the fore when called upon.
Willian proved tonight he has the quality to step in to the shoes of Hazard and deliver.
4 Sunderland need to spend in January
Rooted to the bottom of the table with the worst start to a Premier League season in history, Sunderland look doomed - but they're not.
Moyes' team, which has shown promise in recent weeks, are only four points from safety.
With the right investment in January they could bolster their squad and fight their way out of trouble.
Moyes' team selection reflected his lack of options. Veteran goalscorer Jermaine Defoe has plundered eight goals with very little support. If he gets injured they'll be relying on Fabio Borini and Victor Anichebe for goals. Nuff said.
5 Football is just a game
Worrying if your team is going to win three points or not seems pretty trivial when you hear Bradley Lowery's story.
The brave 5-year-old was re-diagnosed with cancer in July and has been given months to live.
Unfazed, he led Sunderland out at the Stadium of Light and stuck a penalty past Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic during the pre-match warm up to the delight of the fans.
In the fifth minute applause rang around the stadium with both sets of fans showing their support for Bradley.
He has previously led his beloved Sunderland out onto the pitch before, but when he revealed to his parentss that he’d really like to score a goal for Sunderland, Chelsea agreed to help make his dream come true.
There's much to bemoan about the world of football, but when it comes together like this you realise the bond between fans surpasses tribal allegiances. Keep fighting Bradley.
==============================
Sun:
FAB 'N GRAB Sunderland 0 Chelsea 1
Cesc Fabregas breaks down Black Cats’ overloaded defence to send Blues six points clear at top of the table
Spaniard also helped visitors equal the club's ten-game win record set in Jose Mourinho's reign at Stamford Bridge
BY DAVID COVERDALE AND TOBY GANNON 15th
CESC FABREGAS scored his first Premier League goal since May to extend Chelsea’s lead at the top of the table to six points.
Sunderland lined up with SEVEN defenders in the team.
But David Moyes’ tactics were undone five minutes before half time.
Fabregas played a one-two with Willian, receiving the ball back on the edge of the box and picking out the bottom corner with a curling effort.
Sunderland left it late to press for an equaliser and were only denied by the superb Thibaut Courtois.
The Belgian had a quiet night but was alert and focused in injury time to keep out first Jason Denayer, and then Patrick van Aanholt.
Chelsea now lead second-placed Arsenal by six points, while basement boys Sunderland remain bottom with 11 points.
Sunderland welcomed five-year-old fan Bradley Lowery to join with their warm-up – and even scored past Chelsea stopper Asmir Begovic. He is suffering from neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer, and is sadly not expected to stay alive long into 2017.
Oscar was missing from the Chelsea squad. He says he is “90 per cent certain” to move to Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG in January.
Antonio Conte has now equalled the Chelsea record of ten wins in a row
Eden Hazard was also out for the first time this season. He picked up a knock against West Brom.
Sunderland’s injury curse has hit again. They have already had more crocks than any other side this season. And against Chelsea they were without Steven Pienaar and Victor Anichebe.
It meant two 17-year-olds, Joel Asoro and Josh Maja, were in their squad against the Blues.
With his limited options, David Moyes sprung a surprise by matching Chelsea’s formation and going with three centre-halves for the first time this season – John O’Shea being recalled.
Thibaut Courtois produced an incredible save at the end of the game to ensure the win
Sunderland had three former Chelsea players in their side. But between them, Patrick van Aanholt, Papy Djilobodji and Fabio Borini only made six league appearances for the Blues.
Jermain Defoe is the only player to have scored against Chelsea with four different Premier League clubs. He scored Sunderland’s third in a 3-2 win here versus the Blues in May.
What a difference a year makes. On this day last year, a defeat away to Leicester left Chelsea just a point above the relegation zone. Now they are six points clear at the top.
Cesc Fabregas scored his first league goal of the season in just his third Prem start this term.
=======================================
Star:
Sunderland 0 Chelsea 1: Fabregas fires Blues to tenth Premier League win in a row
CESC FABREGAS gave Antonio Conte a reminder of his special qualities with his first league goal of the season last night.
By Ian Murtagh
The Spaniard has spent recent weeks warming the bench as his team-mates have reeled off win after win.
Last night he decided it was time to join the party.
Sunderland had proved stubborn opponents, just as Conte predicted, and the Black Cats were five minutes away from going in at half-time level when Fabregas stamped his class on proceedings.
Taking a Pedro ball in his stride, he skipped past Jan Kirchoff and after swapping passes with Willian, stroked a sublime right-foot shot between Jordan Pickford's outstretched hands and left-hand post.
The Premier League's bottom club should have equalised two minutes after the restart when Jermain Defoe fed the overlapping Adnan Januzaj inside the box but the Manchester United loanee's shot was turned behind by Thibaut Courtois.
Moments later, a Willian drive clipped the bar after taking a heavy deflection off former Chelsea defender Papy Djilobodji before Victor Moses tested Pickford.
David Moyes' side had matched Chelsea's 3-4-3 formation but whereas the visitors' wing-backs spent the first period marauding down the flanks, their Black Cats counterparts concentrated on defence.
If the Sunderland gameplan was cautious, it looked effective until Fabregas struck.
While they were prepared to concede territory and possession to the league leaders, Chelsea struggled to get behind them.
And Pickford produced a blinding save to deny Pedro, even though the linesman's flag was already raised with the Spaniard just offside.
Chelsea's first shot on target did not arrive until the 39th minute but David Luiz's 30-yard free-kick brought a regulation save out of Pickford.
Within a minute, though, Conte's men were ahead, thanks to Fabregas' gem.
They were within a whisker of doubling their lead in first-half injury-time when John O'Shea fouled Diego Costa and Willian's free-kick brushed the roof of the net.
Despite being pushed back for long periods, Sunderland did carve out two half-chances of their own.
Defoe released Billy Jones whose cross-shot was just wide, while Januzaj couldn't get enough curl on his 25th-minute effort.
Sunderland opened up after the break although Chelsea had the better chances with Willian again going close.
But it took a stunning injury-time save by Courtois to keep Chelsea's winning run going, diving to his right to push away a piledriver from Patrick van Aanholt.
SUNDERLAND (3-4-3): Pickford; Kone, O'Shea, Djilobodji; Jones, Denayer, Van Aanholt, Kirchhoff; Borini, Januzaj, Defoe. Subs: Mannone, Larsson, Khazri, Love, Asoro, Maja, Honeyman.
CHELSEA (3-4-3): Courtois; Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill; Moses, Kante, Fabregas, Alonso; Willian, Costa, Pedro. Subs: Begovic, Ivanovic, Zouma, Matic, Loftus-Cheek, Batshuayi, Chalobah.
Referee: Neil Swarbrick.
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Express:
Sunderland 0 - Chelsea 1: Fabregas strikes to send Conte's men six points clear
FULL marks to Chelsea – ten out of ten, in fact – as Antonio Conte’s rampant Londoners extended their winning run into double figures to move six points clear at the top.
By NEIL SQUIRES
A precision strike from Cesc Fabregas maintained the force of the blue tide currently engulfing the division and plunged bottom-of-the- table Sunderland into further strife.
If there was one criticism last night it was that Chelsea did not put away Sunderland more emphatically.
Before last night’s game, they had made only nine changes to their starting team in 15 league games.
So the introduction of Willian for the injured Eden Hazard and the rotation of Fabregas back into the side for Nemanja Matic amounted to radical surgery.
It did nothing to affect the smooth flow of a side which arrived on Wearside floating on confidence.
Sunderland, having switched to a back three to ape the Chelsea way, sat back with containment rather than creativity on their minds and allowed the leaders to monopolise the play.
The waiting game meant the passion one expected at The Stadium of Light was strangely absent. It took the flooring of Diego Costa and Willian twice in a few seconds midway through the first half to bring a crowd desperate for something, anything, briefly to life.
Both challenges by Lamine Kone and Jason Denayer were above board although inevitably Costa disagreed.
The latter, involved in a running battle with Sunderland captain John O’Shea, was in full pantomime villain mode, going to ground regularly and appealing more often than a Bangladesh short leg.
The rogue can play though and it was his neat flick through to Pedro which forced a fine save from Jordan Pickford only for the Spaniard to be ruled fractionally offside.
Moments later the Sunderland keeper was called upon to take a deflected free-kick from David Luiz and as the home side continued to chase shadows there was a sense of inevitability about what was coming.
The Chelsea goal when it arrived in the 40th minute was a work of some artistic merit with Fabregas’s astute bent finish after an exchange of passes with Willian leaving Pickford no chance.
It was his first league goal of the season. Jermain Defoe was rendered a spectator up front and his frustration boiled over with a rash tackle on Fabregas which earned him a yellow.
O’Shea followed him after Costa was sent sprawling just outside the area but Willian was unable to engineer enough dip on the free-kick.
Complacency seemed Chelsea’s one issue and a sloppy ball from Luiz allowed Adnan Januzaj an opening for Sunderland early in the second period only for Thibault Courtois to save.
Pickford’s gloves were much the hotter with the Sunderland keeper called upon to thwart Victor Moses and Costa in quick succession after Willian’s deflected shot had hit the bar.
Costa had two penalty claims brushed away as Chelsea’s movement continued to befuddle Sunderland and their unfamiliar defensive system.
Sunderland at least played with more attacking intent after the break but the gulf in class was painfully obvious. With Sunderland losing money, the extent of Ellis Short’s generosity this Christmas looks like being a satsuma and a walnut in David Moyes’s stocking.
Yet it took a superb flying save from Courtois to deny Patrick van Aanholt in injurytime.
SUNDERLAND (3-5-2): Pickford 7; Kone 6, O’Shea 5, Djilobodji 5; Jones 6 (Love 57, 6), Denayer 6, Kirchhoff 4 (Larsson 55, 6), Van Aanholt 5, Janujaz 5; Borini 6 (Khazri 82), Defoe 6. Booked: Defoe, O’Shea, Borini. NEXT UP: Watford (h), Sat PL.
CHELSEA (3-5-2): Courtois 6; Azpilicueta 6, Luiz 6, Cahill 6; Moses 6 (Ivanovic 90), Kante 7, Fabregas 8, Alonso 6 (Matic 70), Pedro 7; Costa 7, Willian 7 (Chalobahat 89). Booked: Pedro, Moses. Goal: Fabregas 40. NEXT UP: Crystal Palace (a), Sat PL.
Referee: N Swarbrick (Lancashire).
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