Chapter 1: What was the outcome of the Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace match?
Pellegrini joins the attack and looks for Costa in the centre. He's done it again. Diego Costa on target. Goal number 13 of the season for him. That's the first headed goal of the season for Chelsea and it gives them an 11th win in a row. 1-0 winners here at Sellers Park. 13 attempts for the visitors to Palace's six. Two on target from Palace. Chelsea had six.
And in terms of the possession, Palace actually had more but Chelsea far more effective in terms of what they did with the ball. And one of their most effective players today was Cesar Azpilicueta. Quite brilliant for Chelsea once again. He and his captain Gary Cahill are alongside Patrick Davison.
Guys, well played. Gary, when you're chasing titles, is that the sort of result you need to come and dig out?
Yeah, I think so. It's been the same way for us the last two games we've played, so these games are very important. Obviously, we knew it was out first and everyone else is to follow, so we know that it was an important match for us today. Delighted with the result. I've got a good rest now before we play next time.
So you made the goal. With Palace blocking off a lot of your attacking players, did you feel the need to step forward and help create?
Yeah, it's something that we have worked on it and obviously sometimes we find not too many spaces so we try to find the best one and well in that action came the goal, the winner and that's obviously a massive three points for us.
And talk to me about 3-4-3 and your position in it, because you seem to be thriving in what's a new position for you.
It's a new position, but since we changed the formation, we have worked a lot every week. So we try to keep improving. I try always to give my best for the team, and obviously I'm really happy with the wins on the table.
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Chapter 2: How did Chelsea's performance compare to Crystal Palace's?
Gary, kicking yourself and not scoring?
Yeah, 100%. But that happened, I thought he got him well defended, but I don't know how I've not scored that. I think my eyes lit up and I was thinking more about the celebration. Never mind, we won 1-0, so it's irrelevant now, but it was a good chance.
So 11 wins on the spin, in one season no Chelsea team's ever done that. You look a tough side, do you feel unbeatable at the moment?
We feel very confident. We feel that we're, like you just said, we're a very strong team. We've worked hard on it. Physically, we're in good shape. And we've got some fantastic players playing in top form. So that's the reason behind it.
Chapter 3: What role did Cesar Azpilicueta play in Chelsea's victory?
We're organised and we're enjoying it. And like we said before, you build momentum, you win games, you step out on the pitch and you're in the tunnel.
you're confident that you're going to go out and do the business, and that's the way it's gone for us, so we want to keep going, just come up to Christmas now, so loads of football to play, but it's a record that we should be very proud of, so it's going well.
Nine points clear now, if you're one of the teams still to play, if you're City, Liverpool, Arsenal, are you at home a bit worried, a bit nervous?
I don't know, we've been there before, where they've gone out before us and got the result, so you can look at it two ways, they're either nervous or they're going to go out with their bit between the teeth and know that they have to give extra to get that result, so look at it two ways, but all I know is we've got the three points in the pocket, we're delighted with that, a very tough place to come and play, and like I said, we've got a good break now to recover for our next game.
It often goes to the goalscorers, but the Premier League man of the match today, Cesar Azpilicueta,
We'll talk about his performance specifically in just a moment, but in terms of that Chelsea performance today, Ashley, how good was it?
I think it was a championship performance. I don't think, of course, they didn't score the goals that we know Chelsea for, but it was a great defensive performance. Everyone worked hard and I think at the end they deserved the result.
And it is a third 1-0 win in a row, four out of the last six by a 1-0 scoreline. Is that the mark of champions?
Yes, great sign. I think today, I think second half, Jamie was saying there off camera how good Chelsea were without the ball. I mean, they're very tough for Palace. And if you can grind out 1-0 wins, you know, coming to a place like this is never easy. So, you know, they just won 11. It's 33 points they've taken. That's fantastic, unbelievable.
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Chapter 4: How important is Diego Costa to Chelsea's success this season?
And that's what Costa does, isn't it? And that's what Diego Costa does, and that's what Christian can do, because we've seen him do it. When he does it, he is a handful, absolutely. Make no mistake, he is a handful.
Only four Premier League home wins here at Selhurst Park, all 2016, but today they were up against an unstoppable Chelsea. They lose by a goal to nil. Here's Alan Pardew with Patrick Davison.
Alan, not the points you were after, but did you draw a lot of encouragement from the way your team played today?
Well, you know, I think we've shown in the last two games what we've shown most of the year, really. We're committed and strong performance today, but they didn't give us anything. We've been the first team we've not scored for a while, but they defended superbly well today. I mean, obviously, as a fellow coach, I have to say that that was as good a defensive display.
We couldn't find a way through, even on set plays, which we're strong at. They defended them very well. So it made it very, very difficult once we conceded that first goal. It was a shame because we had a couple of big chances first half.
You talked pre-match about trying to get Zaha into positions high and wide and get him up against Gary Cahill. Why was that so tough to do?
Yeah, we couldn't get him isolated, really. Our transition was quite good. We kept the ball well, which we talked about. They're going to sit back and we passed it well. And then our final pass was very, very difficult because they block your angle passes to your wide players, so... It was tough to get the ball to him today. I felt for our offensive players, this is the toughest game they've had.
But, you know, as I say, this team is not getting what it deserves, in my opinion. And I think that is going to correct itself.
What are the problems that Chelsea give you then? I mean, we talk a lot about 3-4-3. Is it more than that, or is it just you and other coaches having to get used to finding a way through this?
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Chapter 5: What strategies did Chelsea employ to secure their 11th consecutive win?
He's brought that here and he fills a lot of holes that go unnoticed.
Anything you could have done about the goal or is it just a good ball and a quality striker that finishes it?
Yeah, I mean, it's the only sort of person we give up, really. It was perhaps the side centre-half who might have had a little bit more time than we would have liked. You don't really expect a centre-half to have that kind of quality. It was a Fabregas-type pass, and OK, I could argue centre-halves, goalie, maybe you could have done something a little bit different, but...
It was a goal, a crucial time, again, just before half-time, like United scored, and that was a big blow to us.
So after a week when it's been about good performances and you've had them, does the focus now shift back onto the pressure to get results?
Yeah, points now. I said that in the dressing room, really. The difference for us now is that we're coming up with games, we've got to get points, teams in and around us. But we can get great heart from these two performances. We've come up against two of the informed teams in the division and had a real close run and deserved something this week, but it wasn't to be. Thanks, Alan. Thank you.
Cheers, Patrick.
It wasn't to be, and when they look back on their record over 2016 as the year begins to draw to a close, look at this, played 36, only six wins in that time. They've lost 22... 44 goals for 67 against and only 26 points picked up, Chris, as they enter into the busy festive period. I mean, they are in a relegation battle, but when you look at that, have they got enough to get out of one?
In terms of quality, the players, yeah, for sure. I think that'll be the saving grace. I think there's enough quality in the team. And like Alan said, there's some games coming up now over this Christmas period anyway. One team comes from nowhere, one team falls away. It's a very important period. They've definitely got enough in the dressing room to make sure that they accumulate enough points.
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