EPL News: Chelsea Beat Crystal Palace, Clinch Premier League Title
Eden Hazard header helps Blues secure title with three games to spare.
Chelsea secured their first English Premier League title in five years after they beat Crystal Palace 1-0 on Sunday night. Eden Hazard’s header after he missed a penalty was enough for the Blues to secure all three points and claim the championship for the fourth time in 11 seasons.
The Blues entered the game 13 points ahead of Manchester City in second place and needed all three points from this game to clinch the title. After a shaky start in which Crystal Palace, supported as always by their vocal fans, tried their best to get a goal early on but had nothing to show for their efforts and Chelsea soon settled in. They always had men behind the ball to fend off the Palace attackers, especially Wilfried Zaha and Yannick Bolasie.
Chelsea got lucky after being awarded a penalty just before the end of the first half for a debatable foul in which Hazard seemed to go down way too easily. His weak attempt from the spot was also saved by Julian Speroni, but Hazard tucked in the header to send Chelsea fans wild at Stamford Bridge. Substitutions by Jose Mourinho saw Chelsea end the match with six defensive players on the pitch – Kurt Zouma and John Obi Mikel in midfield in addition to the back four as the Portuguese coach made sure that the Blues kept their lead and picked up all three points. It wasn’t the most entertaining of matches, but for Mourinho, as he has openly admitted in recent weeks, it’s all about winning the trophy.
“In my country, they say don't go back somewhere you were happy before because you risk that. So I took that risk. I'm so happy to win another Premier League title” Mourinho said in a press conference after the game, as per ESPN.
“Today was not a game to enjoy. It was a game to finish the job. We needed that at this moment. We have injuries, we have people who are getting tired when the fight for the last points is arriving,” he added, in response to criticism of his team’s style of play.
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