CRYSTAL PALACE 0 CHELSEA 1

BY AYODELE ODUMADE AT SELHURST PARK

CHELSEA MADE it eleven wins out of eleven as they dispatched a spirited Crystal Palace side 1-0 and marched nine points clear at the Premier League summit.

The hosts gave a good account of themselves but yet again switched off at a crucial moment as a Diego Costa header got their Christmas off to a poor start.

Chelsea were not at their majestic best but they did not need to be and Palace did not threaten them enough.

This time last year Chelsea were just a point above the relegation zone as they endured a torrid season. Now they are setting the pace and sit top of the pile with two home games to come over the festive period.

Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace made a bright start to the game as they went toe to toe with Chelsea and Yohan Cabaye got on the ball quite often to dictate the pace of the game.

Palace created a chance in the 20th minute. The ball was worked from the left to right via Joe Ledley and Cabaye and then to Martin Kelly who fizzed a cross into the area but Jason Puncheon did not quite connect well and his shot went wide.

At this stage Palace were compact and closed down all the spaces in which the likes of Eden Hazard usually operates. They carved out another chance when Kelly crossed to James McArthur but his header was just wide.

As half time beckoned Caesar Azpilicueta crossed the ball into the area where the alert and hungry Costa managed to split both centre halves and rose above them like a salmon and nodded the ball past Wayne Hennessey to give Chelsea the lead.

That was Chelsea’s first effort on target and yet again it was to prove costly for Palace. Until then Pardew’s troops had dealt with everything the league leaders threw at them.

Straight after the break Palace put some pressure on Chelsea and Cabaye forced Thibaut Courtois to make a save with a shot from distance.

Cesc Fabregas replaced Willian and he was soon in the thick of things as he passed to Victor Moses who put a cross into the Palace area but Marcos Alonso’s shot hit the side netting.

Minutes later Fabregas got on the end of a cross from Alonso but Hennessey gathered his shot at the second attempt.

Chelsea had turned up the heat now and were pressing for a second goal. Moses laid a pass back to N’Golo Kante who hit a shot across Hennessey, which he palmed away from danger. Hennessey then had to make a save from a shot by Alonso.

Deep into the match Chelsea were awarded a free kick for a foul on Eden Hazard. Alonso stepped up and curled the ball which struck the underside of the crossbar and rolled back into play; Palace were still in this game by a whisker.

In typical Chelsea style they saw out added time and went over to their fans to salute those that had made the short trip across London.

Palace will need to find someone who is going to support Christian Benteke who once again was left isolated up front.

A disappointed Pardew said: “We have to get some points on the board. Today was really difficult. They are very sound defensively. They were confident in their defending. I thought we did enough in the first half to come in at 0-0.”

Winning manager Conte said: “We are working a lot. We try to improve. We want to stay top of the table. We had the right concentration and we learnt to fight.

“We have two more games this year and then 19 games. Anything can happen.”