Sparkling Hazard
Chelsea dazzle as Tottenham’s patchy away form continue
LONDON: Eden Hazard sparkled as Chelsea swept Newcastle aside to cling on to the coattails of runaway leaders Manchester City but 10-man Tottenham Hotspur slipped further off the pace with a costly draw at Watford.
With Pep Guardiola’s English Premier League pacesetters not in action until today, Chelsea and Liverpool took full advantage of the situation.
But Mauricio Pochettino must find a way of lifting his team after they dropped two more vital points against Watford in a 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road yesterday.
Hazard’s eye-catching performance in a 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge will mean sleepless nights for England boss Gareth Southgate, who has the unenviable task of nullifying the Belgian’s threat at next year’s World Cup in Russia.
Chelsea’s victory, which kept them third in the Premier League, eight points behind City, ought to have been more emphatic but they were forced to work for their win after falling behind early as Dwight Gayle took advantage of some untidy defensive work.
Hazard pulled Chelsea level within 10 minutes and scored the final goal with an impudent penalty either side of an Alvaro Morata header as they turned on the style.
“The gap is eight points now, and there’s still a long way to go so that’s why we have to keep getting closer and closer and hope they slip up,” said midfielder Cesc Fabregas. “They are there because they deserve it. Our job is to keep winning.”
Spurs have challenged for the Premier League crown in the past two seasons but their title push has come to a shuddering halt after a string of damaging results.
Pochettino’s side fell behind to an early Christian Kabasele header. Son Heung-min equalised midway through the first half but Spurs were reduced to 10 men when Davinson Sanchez was dismissed shortly after the restart. Free-scoring Liverpool blitzed Brighton 5-1 on the south coast. Emre Can broke the deadlock after half an hour and a double from Roberto Firmino made it 3-0.
A late strike from Philippe Coutinho restored the visitors’ three-goal margin after a Glenn Murray penalty and an own goal from Lewis Dunk added to Brighton’s pain.
Former Premier League champions Leicester, enjoying a revival under new boss Claude Puel, won 1-0 at home to Burnley courtesy of an early strike from flying winger Demarai Gray.
Sam Allardyce, overseeing his first match since he was confirmed as the new Everton manager, saw his side beat Huddersfield 2-0 for their second consecutive win as they pulled decisively away from the relegation zone.
Stoke came from behind to beat Swansea 2-1 and ease the pressure on manager Mark Hughes and West Brom, under new manager Alan Pardew, played out a goalless draw against Crystal Palace.