Oscar’s early free kick and Cesc Fabregas’ first goal in the Premier League since 2010, was enough for Chelsea to see off Crystal Palace in a game that saw two red cards and tempers flare towards the end of the first half. With the win, the Blues maintained their five-point lead at the top of the table and are looking increasingly like a side who have no real weakness. For Crystal Palace on the other hand, the result leaves them just a point off the drop zone and has them looking back nervously.
Here are the three major talking points from the game.
1. No Costa, No problem
After weeks of constantly telling the press that he will be out for the game, before proceeding to play him anyway, Diego Costa was finally ruled out of the game against Crystal Palace with hamstring problems that have been troubling him all season long. If anyone predicted that the loss of their leading scorer was supposed to stop Chelsea from being their imperious best, they were proven wrong.
For in Loic Remy, they have a more than able replacement, who can take over the reins from the 25-year-old Spanish international. Although the Frenchman didn’t score a goal, his link up play throughout the game, brought his team mates into the game and had a few good chances himself. It was a game that showed just how strong the current Chelsea side is, even when they were playing with 10 men for more than a half and were without their top goal scorer, they still had more than enough to beat a side, who were supposed to give them a tough fight. It looks as though Costa might be unavailable for next weekend’s big game against Manchester United, but on the evidence of Remy’s performances so far this season, that might not such a huge miss after all.