Chelsea vs. QPR: Winners and Losers from Premier League Game
Chelsea stretched their unbeaten run to 10 matches to start the 2014-15 Premier League season after beating London rivals Queens Park Rangers at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Oscar opened the scoring with a spectacular, outside-of-the-boot finish, and Eden Hazard got the winner from the penalty spot after being fouled inside the 18-yard box by Eduardo Vargas.
Charlie Austin temporarily restored level terms in the second half, but while the guests gave a good account of themselves, they simply didn't have enough to topple the league leaders.
There were a handful of standout performances during the encounter and one or two underwhelming displays as well, as the following slideshow will reveal.
Here are the individual winners and losers from Saturday's match.
Winner: Oscar, Who Opened the Scoring with a Golazo
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Oscar seems incapable of scoring ordinary goals.
On Saturday, the Brazil midfielder struck his latest golazo, bending an effort with the outside of his boot inside the far corner of the net after accepting Cesc Fabregas' layoff.
The 23-year-old also committed himself on the defensive side of the ball throughout Saturday's match and contributed four tackles for the hosts.
Winner: Robert Green, Who Impressed Yet Again Between the Sticks
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Alex McCarthy's status as second choice goalkeeper is likely to continue when the QPR player makes his return from injury.
On Saturday, Robert Green once again put in a spectacular showing between the sticks for his side, making six saves over the course of the 90 minutes.
He did well to deny Cesc Fabregas' long-range effort in the 25th minute and stopped Oscar's free-kick in the 70th.
Then, in the 83rd minute, the former England international stuck his arm out to keep Andre Schurrle at bay before robbing John Terry of a headed goal from the resulting corner.
Green is providing QPR with a steady, reliable presence in goal at the moment.
Loser: Eduardo Vargas, Who Had No Business Fouling Eden Hazard
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But for his ill-advised clip of Eden Hazard's leg in the 75th minute, Eduardo Vargas put in a decent shift for QPR at Stamford Bridge.
His cross in the 62nd minute led to the Charlie Austin goal, and he also lent a hand in defense whenever Filipe Luis pressed forward.
But with a quarter-hour remaining, and with the score level, the 24-year-old stuck his leg out to impede Eden Hazard on the edge of the QPR box.
Hazard wasn't running directly at goal and the foul was a needless one, but it ended up costing the guests a share of the points.
Moments after the incident, the Belgium international put the ball in the back of the net from 12 yards.
Winner: Eden Hazard, Whose Hot Start to the Season Continued
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Eden Hazard was generally poor for Belgium at the 2014 World Cup, but since returning to Chelsea the playmaker has delivered some of the best performances of his career.
On Saturday, he once again tortured the opposition defense with his dribbling and exceptional close control, and one of his runs produced the penalty that put the Blues back in front.
By the time of his late substitution, the 23-year-old had touched the ball 80 times and completed 89 percent of his passes, many of which were attempted inside the high-risk area of the attacking third.
Winner: Charlie Austin, Who Scored His 5th Goal of the Season
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More than a few eyebrows were raised when QPR striker Bobby Zamora started on the bench against Chelsea, but teammate Charlie Austin repaid manager Harry Redknapp's faith by scoring his fifth goal of the season in the 62nd minute.
Eduardo Vargas started the play with a cross from the right that was punched into the path of Leroy Fer by Blues goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, and when the Dutchman's shot arrived in his path, Austin deftly deflected it into the back of the net with a single touch.
The 25-year-old, who bagged a brace against Aston Villa on Monday, is now the second most prolific English goalscorer in the Premier League so far this season.
Loser: Armand Traore, Who Took Some Stick for Wearing Gloves
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Armand Traore played just 13 minutes for QPR (including injury time) and touched the ball a mere six times.
The 25-year-old's biggest impact was a curious outerwear decision, as he chose to wear gloves on a mild November afternoon.
Television presenter Mark Pougatch had a go at Traore on his Twitter account, joking that the referee had denied the forward a corner because he was wearing gloves.
All statistics courtesy WhoScored.com
