English premier League leaders Chelsea on Saturday overawed Arsenal 3-1 in a Week 24 London derby of the English Premier League (EPL) this extending their lead of the log by 12 points. It was Arsenal second consecutive defeat having lost to Watford at the Emirates on Tuesday night.
Manager Arsene Wenger, watching from the stands as he served the third of a four-match touchline ban, was hoping Arsenal could respond to Tuesday’s shock home defeat by Watford.
Marcos Alonso gave Chelsea the lead after 13 minutes, with a controversial header after Diego Costa’s header came back off the bar.
Eden Hazard made the decisive contribution with a magnificent solo goal eight minutes after half-time, leaving a trail of Arsenal players in his wake in a run from the halfway line before beating Petr Cech.
The goalkeeper’s poor clearance gifted substitute Cesc Fabregas Chelsea’s third, five minutes from time, and Olivier Giroud’s late goal barely counted as consolation for Arsenal.
In other EPL matches played on Saturday, Alfred N’Diaye and Oumar Niasse scored in each half as lowly Hull City stunned Liverpool 2-0 at the KCOM Stadium.
Also, Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe heaped misery on Crystal Palace as Sam Allardyce’s side conceded three goals in six minutes just before half-time; two of them scored by Defoe to give Sunderland a 4-0 victory.
Romelu Lukaku also hit four goals as Everton saw off a brave Bournemouth fight at Goodison Park.
Bournemouth fought hard after Everton raced into a three-goal lead, but Lukaku eventually hit four goals to seal a 6-3 win for the host.
Elsewhere, Andy Carroll inspired West Ham’s fight back to shock Southampton 3-1, while Watford M’baye Niang and Troy Deeney both scored headers to give Watford a 2-1 home victory over 10-man Burnley.
