Crushing Stoke, Chelsea takes second place from Man Utd

A 5-0 win on New Year's Eve bolstered the defending champions' ambitions and closed their gap with Man City to 13 points.

* Goals: Rudiger 3', Drinkwater 9', Pedro 23', Willian 73', Zappacosta 88'.

Chelsea opened the scoring at the start of the match thanks to Antonio Rudiger's successful aerial duel following Willian's free kick. The gap was doubled after aDanny Drinkwater's moment of genius, the former Leicester player's flick left goalkeeper Jack Butland rooted to the spot.

Chelsea had an easy win in the year-end match. Photo: Reuters.

Pedro made it 3-0 with a cover and a cross-angle finish after receiving the ball from Willian on the edge of the box. After two assists,Willian scored his own goal when he successfully converted the penalty, raising the score to 4-0 after the Brazilian midfielder himself was caught in a situation where he wasGeoff Cameronfoul

SubstituteDavide Zappacosta sealed the score for the home side with a weak left-footed shot from outside the box in a late counter-attack.

Stoke had reason to complain of bad luck when they had a legitimate goal disallowed in the first half. The referee judged that Mame Biram Diouf had handled the ball when controlling a long pass from a team-mate, but it was a legitimate touch by a Stoke player. The early goal and Drinkwater's moment of brilliance to double the lead poured cold water on the visitors' spirits.

Pedro scored to make it 3-0 for Chelsea. Photo: Reuters.

Saido Berahino found Courtois face-to-face on a counter-attack early in the second half as Charlie Adam sent a through ball past two Chelsea defenders. However, the Stoke striker's neat curling effort was saved by the Chelsea goalkeeper.

Conte used the central midfield duo that once dominated Leicester and Chelsea benefited from that decision. N'golo Kante was excellent as usual but the highlight was Danny Drinkwater. The midfielder, who grew up in the Man Utd academy, continuously made interceptions from the opposition's field and was the owner of accurate mid-range passes to his teammates.

With Eden Hazard on the bench, the task of making a difference was perfectly taken over by Pedro and Willian. In addition to scoring, Pedro threatened the opponent's goal many times. It can be mentioned that he received a pass back from compatriot Marcos Alonso and then kicked the outside of his foot off the post or rushed in to receive a cross from Willian but finished over the bar.

Drinkwater had an excellent match in his first start. Photo: Reuters.

Assigned to play as a center forward, Morata did a good job of attracting opponents and creating space for his teammates, but his finishing ability in this match was not good. The former Real striker faced goalkeeper Butland after Willian's pass but was unable to win. Immediately after the corner kick, Pedro unleashed a powerful left-footed shot but the ball went straight into the goalkeeper's chosen position.

Chelsea have 45 points after this win, surpassing Man Utd before the "Red Devils" host Southampton. Stoke continue their sad streak, stuck in 15th place and only two points above the red light group.

According to VNE