A third consecutive 1-0 victory, an 11th straight Premier League win, a club record, and a nine-point lead at the top. The Chelsea juggernaut just rolls along its merry way, with no stops signs in sight.
With a win set to put the pressure on the chasing pack – a nine-point lead becomes a lot scarier than the more manageable six – Chelsea did what they have done during this brilliant winning run – stay strong at the back and make sure they ride on the brilliance of one of their world-class players in the forward areas.
Diego Costa was the one who produced the moment of brilliance, hanging in the air like Michael Jordan before placing a header across Wayne Hennessey off a cross from Cesar Azpilicueta. That goal came right at the end of a first half Palace had actually shaded, even if the header was the first shot on target in the match, which just went to show how tightly-contested the match at Selhurst Park was.
Crystal Palace might have been given a lot of grief for their abject defending this season, and rightly too, but in this game, they were pretty solid, with the midfield three of Yohan Cabaye, James McArthur and Joe Ledley keeping the Chelsea attacks at bay, particularly in the first half – until that Costa moment, of course.
When Chelsea took the lead, you knew the game was only going one way. Palace persevered, went on a few attacks – they have 28 goals this season, more than every team not in the top four – but that spark up front was missing.
Christian Benteke wasn't provided the service he is usually used to, with Wilfried Zaha drifting in and out of the game and not giving Marcos Alonso enough problems.
As Palace chases the game, Chelsea looked more and more like scoring the insurance goal, with substitute Cesc Fabregas, N'Golo Kante and Marcos Alonso all forcing saves from Hennessey, while the Spanish fullback also hit the crossbar with a wicked freekick.
With the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, who play each other on Sunday, Tottenham and Manchester United all to play now, what Chelsea have done with this win is crank up the pressure, with the only sour point from this win being the fact that both Costa and Kante will be suspended for the Boxing Day match against Bournemouth.
No doubt, Antonio Conte will find a way to win even without two of his special players.
