London: Table toppers Chelsea set a new club record of 12 straight Premier League wins and extended their lead at the top of the table with a 3-0 victory over Bournemouth at the Stamford Bridge here, Monday. The win moves Antonio Conte’s side nine points clear of second-placed Liverpool.
A brace from Spanish winger Pedro Rodriguez and a spot kick from Eden Hazard sealed the points as the Blues showed no signs of missing top scorer Diego Costa, who missed the match through suspension along with midfielder N’Golo Kante.
Pedro opened the scoring midway through the first half before Hazard scored his 50th Premier League goal for Chelsea from the penalty spot shortly after half time. Pedro then added another goal in the injury time, via a heavy deflection, to put the gloss on the victory.
Daley Blind scored a rare Premier League goal while Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan added late strikes to help Manchester United defeat Sunderland 3-1 on Boxing Day.
The breakthrough came six minutes before half time as Ibrahimovic controlled the ball in the corner of the box and laid off for the on-rushing Blind to fire a low shot into the net.
The points were sealed with eight minutes to play when Ibrahimovic picked a Paul Pogba pass to score his 11th goal in last 10 games in all competitions. Four minutes later, Ibrahimovic sent in a cross behind Henrikh Mkhitaryan who flicked the ball into the net with a spectacular back-heeled volley.
Olivier Giroud marked his first Premier League start of the season by heading home a late winner as Arsenal eked out a 1-0 victory over a resolute West Brom.
Agencies
