Palace 0 Chelsea 1: Kante scores a 3 point goal

Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante is enjoying his most prolific season in a blue shirt and scored a fine winner against Crystal Palace.

N'Golo Kante scored his third goal of the season to earn Chelsea a deserved 1-0 win at Crystal Palace that moves the Blues five points clear of fifth-placed Arsenal.
David Luiz provided a rare assist from open play to allow Kante an opportunity that he pounced upon before scoring a goal that trebles his previous best tally in a Premier League season.

Palace went into the game seeking to extend a three-match unbeaten streak that included a famous win over Manchester City before Christmas, but they struggled to prise the ball away from a Chelsea side determined to avoid a repeat of their Selhurst Park defeat last season.

The result left Roy Hodgson's men just five points clear of the relegation zone, while fourth-placed Chelsea pulled away from Arsenal, who lost heavily at Liverpool on Saturday.

Antonio Rudiger headed tamely into the arms of Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita before Kante sent a more forceful shot wide as Chelsea enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges.
Olivier Giroud had the ball in the net after 27 minutes, lashing home from a tight angle only to see an offside flag raised against him.
The best attempt of the first half came from Willian, whose wickedly curling free-kick from 25 yards was saved by Guaita at full stretch just moments before the goalkeeper denied the Brazilian again when he tried a low drive.
The deadlock was broken after 51 minutes when David Luiz's exquisite chipped ball into the box was controlled instinctively on the chest by the on-rushing Kante, who then applied a low, left-footed finish that sneaked past Guaita despite the keeper getting a hand to it.
Guaita made another save from Willian, denying the winger when Hazard played him in for a shot, before another unfortunate moment for Giroud, who twisted his ankle in the process of scoring another goal that was ruled out by the assistant referee's flag.
The Frenchman limped off and was replaced by Alvaro Morata as Chelsea saw out the closing stages of a comfortable victory without any real threat of a Palace comeback.

The Blues will hope to make amends for their home defeat to Leicester when they entertain Southampton on Wednesday, while Palace seek to resume their mid-December form at Wolves.

Comments

Breaking- United sacks Mourinho

Manchester United announces that manager Jose Mourinho has left the club with immediate effect," a statement read. "The club would like to thank Jose for his work during his time at Manchester United and to wish him success in the future. "A new caretaker manager will be appointed until the end of the current season, while the club conducts a thorough recruitment process for a new, full-time manager." Mourinho replaced Louis van Gaal in the United hotseat in the summer of 2016 and was tasked with leading the 20-time English champions back to the top of the domestic game after a barren three years since Sir Alex Ferguson's appointment. He started well, winning the Community Shield in his first match in charge before claiming the League Cup thanks to a Zlatan Ibrahimovic-inspired 3-2 win over Southampton. Form in the league was not as strong, however, with the Red Devils only able to finish in sixth place, though their season did end on a high as a 2-...

Morata, loosing hope or regaining hope?

Restored to the starting line-up for Wednesday's game at Stamford Bridge, the Spanish striker drew another blank to cast further doubt on his future It's hard not to feel sympathy for Alvaro Morata. He is immensely talented and is trying so hard to make a success of his Chelsea career but it is just not happening for him, with Wednesday night's stalemate with Southampton just the latest in a long line of frustrating outings for the Spanish striker. It is now 18 months since he joined the Blues from Real Madrid for £58 million (plus add-ons) and he is running out of chances to prove his worth. As ever with Morata, there were positive moments against Southampton, with a delightful dribble in the 17th minute probably the highlight. But despite going close on numerous occasions, he failed to score and it was clear long before the end of this dour 0-0 draw that the fans' patience is wearing thin. It's not that he played badly. He even managed to stick the ball in...

Amazing: Rinaldo finishes as Real Madrid's 2018 Top scorer despite leaving six months into the year

Cristiano Ronaldo may have already left Real Madrid but his shadow continues to linger at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Portuguese played for the Blancos for nine years but ended his association with the club last summer.Having completed a mega-move to Juventus, Ronaldo has not looked back at all. The 33-year-old is still enjoying his football and has netted 14 Serie A goals for the Old Lady. This is a return that puts him top of the scoring chart in the Italian topflight.Although some of the Real Madrid players have often said that the club does not miss Ronaldo, results have proven otherwise. In fact, the Portuguese still managed to finish the year as top scorer of Madrid with 28 goals despite leaving the club six months ago.Some weeks ago when he spoke about his departure, Ronaldo said he felt he wasn’t valued enough by Florentino Perez and the club. “I felt it inside the club, especially from the president, that they no longer considered me the same way that they did in the start,...

I don't want to leave: Solskjaer don't want to leave United at the end of the season

The Red Devils claimed their fourth consecutive win under their new caretaker boss and he is hoping to stay in charge beyond this season. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confessed he hopes to remain in charge of Manchester United beyond May, after watching his side beat Newcastle United 2-0 on Wednesday evening. The Red Devils made it four wins out of four under Solskjaer , meaning the caretaker manager has equalled Matt Busby's best-ever start to a United tenure. The visitors had to bide their time at St James' Park, with the breakthrough coming as substitute Romelu Lukaku made an instant 64th-minute impact after Martin Dubravka spilt Marcus Rashford's free-kick. Rashford then sealed the points 10 minutes from time, producing a composed finish after good link-up play from Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez. Solskjaer has already managed to restore the feel-good factor at the club and he admitted post-match that he doesn't want to depart at the end of his projected six-month spell...

Leichester 0 Cardiff 1: Cardiff puts an end to Liechester's impressive performance after penalty miss

Leicester City were denied after James Maddison's penalty was saved and Victor Camarasa scored a magnificent stoppage-time winner as Cardiff City earned a 1-0 Premier League win at Leicester City. Leicester thought they were set to celebrate another win – after the impressive triumphs over Chelsea and Manchester City – when Maddison stepped up from the spot with 15 minutes left, but goalkeeper Neil Etheridge made a vital save. That denied Leicester a third straight Premier League win and gave fuel to fans at the King Power Stadium who had booed regular penalty taker Jamie Vardy's second-half substitution when the game was in the balance. And it got worse for the hosts when Cardiff struck in the second minute of added time, Camarasa collecting Bobby Reid's pass and curling in a stunner from 20 yards. The visitors' Greg Cunningham was inches away from stabbing into his own goal in the fifth minute, before Ricardo Pereira's 20-yard strike forced a stop from Eth...

Hazard talks about leaving Chelsea after Watford win

Chelsea star, Eden Hazard, has brushed off talk of an imminent move to Real Madrid, by insisting he wants to become a legend at Stamford Bridge. Hazard netted his 100th goal for the Blues, in their 2-1 victory at Watford on Boxing Day. The game was finely poised between the two London teams before Hazard burst clear, set on his way by Mateo Kovacic and he showed composure to round Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster to reach his century in a Chelsea shirt. The Belgian scored his 101st from the penalty spot in the second half, ensuring Roberto Pereyra’s strike was just a consolation. Speaking to Sky Sports, Hazard said: “(The 101 goals) mean a lot especially because we won today. “One-hundred-and-one goals with this amazing club is something I will never forget! “Now I think me, the fans and players want more. I want to score more goals for the club and want to be a legend like (Frank) Lampard, (Didier) Drogba and try to be my best. “My target is to score goals and try to win the g...

I don't know about Pulisic's signing: Sarri

The Blues boss admitted he was unaware the transfer would go through, despite giving a positive assessment of the American a month ago. Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has admitted he was in the dark over the club's signing of Christian Pulisic. The American was brought in on a £58 million (€64m/$73m) deal on Wednesday, and then loaned back to Borussia Dortmund for the rest of the season. Despite the Blues splashing out the third highest transfer fee in their history for the 20-year-old, the Italian said he was unsure if the deal would go through. Sarri did say, however, that he had been consulted on the transfer around a month before the move went through. “I didn’t know anything about [signing] Pulisic yesterday," Sarri told the BBC following Chelsea's 0-0 draw with Southampton on Wednesday. "They asked my opinion about him one month ago. My opinion was positive and today I knew that the deal is done but I didn’t know anything." The Italian reiterat...

Breaking: Cech announces retirement from football

The 36-year-old claims to have achieved everything that he set out to in football and feels the time is right to hang up his gloves. Petr Cech has announced that he will be retiring from professional football at the end of the season, with the Arsenal goalkeeper to bring an end of a 20-year career. The vastly-experienced keeper feels the time is right to walk away as he has "won every single trophy possible". He will turn 37 shortly after the current Premier League campaign comes to a close and admits he continue to work hard for the Gunners, aiming to win a trophy in what is his final season. Cech posted in a message on social media: "This is my 20th season as a professional player and it has been 20 years since I signed my first professional contract, so it feels like the right time to announce that I will retire at the end of this season. "Having played 15 years in the Premier League, and won every single trophy possible, I feel like I have achieved ever...

Breaking: Missing aircraft carrying Sala found

David Mearns, the marine scientist directing the search, made this disclosure on Sunday, NAN reports. Sala was travelling from Nantes to the Welsh capital to join his team-mates following his £15million move when his plane went missing over the English Channel on January 21. Sala’s plane was lost from the radar as it crossed the English Channel and the 28-year-old is now feared dead. A privately-funded underwater search had begun on Sunday, several days after investigators said they found two seat cushions on the French coast that likely belonged to the aircraft. “Wreckage of the plane carrying Emiliano Sala and piloted by David Ibbotson was located early this morning,” Mearns said on Twitter. Mearns said Britain’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) had moved its vessel over the position his team had located to visually identify the plane using a remote-operated vehicle. “The families of Emiliano Sala and David Ibbotson have been notified by police. The AAIB will be ma...

Man city 2 Liverpool 1: City end Liverpool's unbeaten run

Leroy Sane's 72nd-minute goal has breathed life back into the Premier League title race, as Manchester City beat Liverpool 2-1. Leroy Sane's 72nd-minute strike proved decisive as Manchester City reinvigorated their title defence and ended Liverpool's unbeaten Premier League run with a crucial 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium. Roberto Firmino looked to have sealed a potentially vital point for leaders Liverpool in the title race when he equalised just past the hour, but Sane struck soon after, confirming the Reds' first league defeat of the season in their 21st game and moving City to second and within four points of the summit. Liverpool were mightily unlucky not to take an early lead when a defensive mix-up between John Stones and Ederson followed Sadio Mane hitting the post, but they survived and finished the first half well – Sergio Aguero netting in ruthless fashion. Firmino restored parity in the 64th minute and City initially looked rattled, as if they coul...

Gonzalezsports

Search This Blog