Chelsea continue their fine form with a win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday. The Blues were without one of their main players, Eden Hazard, who picked up a knock in the 1-0 win over West Brom over the weekend.
His absence had cause panic among the Blues faithful. He has formed a formidable partnership with Diego Costa and there were speculations their winning run could end against David Moyes men. But a first half goal from forgotten man Cesc Fabregas was enough to give them their 10th consecutive league win and opened up six points gap at the top of the league.
Expectedly the London club felt the absence of the Belgian forward in the early stages of the match as they found it difficult to find a way through Sunderland seven-man defence but Chelsea’s persistence paid off later on.
Fabregas has found himself stifled out of the first team with Nemaja Matic preferred ahead of him but injury to the Serbian has given him the opportunity to show Antonio Conte his qualities.
Starting against Man City, his first start in as many games, the Spaniard assisted Chelsea equalizer in the 3-1 win and scored the winner last night- which could later give Conte some selection headaches.
One of the key elements to their success is Conte’s consistent with his team. He has used the same team in eight of nine games. They have been unstoppable since October; played 10, won 10, scored 24 and conceded 2. They are presently the team to beat even though they need to improve on their finishing. They won three of their last four matches by a lone goal.