Alan Pardew and his Crystal Palace hosted the leading team of this year’s Premier League, as Antonio Conte and his Chelsea were looking to keep the momentum going and earn their 11th victory in a row during this Saturday’s matchup.
Once again, the Blues were in control of the game during most of the time, but found it very difficult to send the ball to the bottom of the net before a Diego Costa header just before the end of the first half, and couldn’t seal the victory with more goals.
In the end, Conte’s team kept their 1-0 lead and continued their outstanding run, being the leaders of the table until at least mid-January. Today, we’ll take a look at their player ratings against Crystal Palace.
Thibaut Courtois 7 – 10
The Belgian keeper had a very good performance once again with a couple of cirques Que saves whenever he was needed to step up for his team, although he didn’t have much work against a Crystal Palace team that just shot the ball 6 times.
Gary Cahill 7 – 10
Just like in Courtois case, Cahill wasn’t really needed during most of the matchup, however, the veteran was confident and focus as usual.
David Luiz 7 – 10
Luiz was -as usual- more involved in offence than defence, carrying the ball upfield and being more of a midfielder than a defender.
Cesar Azpilicueta 8 – 10
The Spaniard had yet another outstanding performance, even recorded an assist in the lone score of the game and constantly showing himself and contributing in the offensive flow of the game.
N Golo Kante 7 – 10
The Frenchman showed one more time that he’s probably the best signing Roman Abramovich has made over the past few years, as he was everywhere on both offence and defence, although that yellow cart hurt his score.
Nemanja Matic 7 – 10
After a game on the sidelines playing behind Cesc Fabregas, Matic returned to the starting XI to complement Kante. He delivered as usual and was completely impassable.
Marcos Alonso 7 – 10
Marcos Alonso was a complete beast during most of the game, constantly showing himself and crossing the ball to a much covered Diego Costa.
Victor Moses 7 – 10
The Nigerian continued his great form with another outstanding performance, making a great association with Willian and finding spaces to create chances for Diego Costa.
Willian 7 – 10
Willian missed a couple of chances, but his mobility and dribbling skills often opened spaces for Chelsea’s offence to flow. He’s getting his rhythm back and is set for a big second half of the season playing ahead of Moses.
Eden Hazard 8 – 10
Hazard returned to the line-up and even if there were some concerns about his health for this matchup, he was the best player on the pitch for the team and by a long run, although he couldn’t find the bottom of the nets.
Diego Costa 9 – 10
The Spaniard could’ve had a bigger night but couldn’t shake loose of his defender on a couple of shots. However, he gave Chelsea the victory once again.