Chelsea make it ten out of ten to top the table at Christmas
Cesc Fabregas goal and Thibaut Courtois save guarantee that the Blues will be top of the tree next week
Sunderland 0 Chelsea 1
A goal from Cesc Fabregas earned Chelsea another three points at Sunderland and ensured the Blues will spend Christmas at the top of the Premier League.
Their tenth consecutive league victory means Chelsea are now six points clear of Arsenal and Liverpool, who moved level on points with the Gunners with a comfortable 3-0 win away at Middlesbrough.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
With Manchester City also winning on Wednesday - 2-0 against Watford - the chasing pack are bunching up behind the Blues, but the six-point gap to Chelsea represents a healthy lead, particularly as the leaders end the year in relatively easy fashion, visiting Crystal Palace, and then hosting Bournemouth on Boxing Day and Stoke five days' later.
Six of the past seven teams to top the Premier League at Christmas have lifted the title in May and given their recent form few would bet against the Blues making it seven out of eight. Since losing 3-0 to Arsenal on 24 September, Chelsea have not only won ten in a row in the Premier League but they've kept a clean sheet in eight of those matches, conceding one goal to Tottenham and one against Manchester City.
Sunderland rarely looked like joining that exclusive club although Thibaut Courtois saved well in stoppage time from Patrick van Aanholt. It would have been tough on the visitors to share the spoils with a side that they dominated for most of the 90 minutes, and Sunderland had keeper Jordan Pickford to thank to keeping the scoreline respectable.
He pulled off smart saves to deny Marcos Alonso and Willian but was unable to keep out Fabregas' strike five minutes before the break, his first league goal of the season.
Although he declared himself "pleased" with the result, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte scolded his side for nearly throwing away two points. "When you have the possibility to kill the game you must kill the game," he said. "We had this possibility but we didn't and at the end Courtois made a good save. I hope in the future we can improve."
And Conte refused to get carried away with Chelsea's six point cushion at the top of the table, telling reporters: "I prefer not to look at the table... we are on top of the table, but there are still three games to end the first part of the season and then 19 games.
"This league is very tough and I think until the end, it will be a big battle between six teams... now for sure we have to continue. In three days on Saturday, we will have another tough game against Crystal Palace. I hope we recover very well after this battle to try to arrive at Christmas in an incredible position in the table."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Chappell Roan is a new kind of boundary-setting celebrity
In the Spotlight She's calling out fans and the media for invasive behavior
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Saudi crown prince slams Israeli 'genocide' in Gaza
Speed Read Mohammed bin Salman has condemned Israel’s actions
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'We could face disaster in the near future'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Thomas Tuchel to become next England football manager
Speed Read 'Divisive' German coach hopes to lead the men's team to victory
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
The Premier League's spending cap: levelling the playing field?
Talking Point Top clubs oppose plans to link spending to income of lowest-earning club, but rule could prevent success gap from widening
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is a new English football regulator an own goal for the game?
Talking Point PM hails 'historic moment for football fans' but West Ham owner warns it could 'ruin' Premier League
By The Week UK Published
-
2023-2024 Premier League predictions: champions, relegation and golden boot
feature A look at the top flight talking points and pundit picks for the new season
By Mike Starling Published
-
Man City: can ‘one of the best sides in history’ win the treble?
feature Guardiola’s Premier League champions have two more trophies in their sights
By The Week Staff Published
-
Premier League: Man City vs. Arsenal predictions
feature What the pundits say about tonight’s title race showdown at the Etihad
By Mike Starling Last updated
-
Antonio Conte leaves Tottenham after ‘extraordinary’ rant at players
feature After another year without a trophy, Spurs are now searching for a new manager
By The Week Staff Published
-
Liverpool 7 Man Utd 0: ‘welcome to Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool 2.0’
feature Anfield’s ‘new front three’ were on fire in the humbling of their bitter rivals
By Mike Starling Published