Stoke City vs. Chelsea: Score, Grades, Reaction from Premier League Game

Chelsea restored their three-point lead atop the Premier League with a hard-fought 2-0 victory against Stoke City on Monday night at the Britannia Stadium. 

John Terry headed Chelsea into a second-minute lead, but the Blues were made to work for the points throughout a physical 90 minutes. Stoke had chances to equalise, but Cesc Fabregas sealed the points with Chelsea's second goal 12 minutes from time.

With the win, Chelsea moved onto 42 points through 17 matches, three points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table. City had pulled level temporarily with a victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday.

But the Blues will have little time to rest as the holidays approach and the fixture list becomes crowded. Up next for Jose Mourinho's side is a home match against fourth-placed West Ham United on Boxing Day, followed two days later by a trip to fifth-placed Southampton. Chelsea will then finish off their festive schedule with a match at Tottenham Hotspur on New Year's Day.

Stoke, meanwhile, remain in 13th place with 19 points. The Potters play at Everton on Boxing Day and host West Bromwich Albion two days later. On New Year's Day, Mark Hughes' side will host Manchester United.

The teams had hardly settled into the match before Chelsea took the lead. In the second minute, the visitors won a corner, which Cesc Fabregas whipped in from the right. Terry muscled past Geoff Cameron to nod down beyond Asmir Begovic for the opener. 

Soon the game became bad-tempered as challenges flew in. Chelsea's Diego Costa required treatment following a tussle with Ryan Shawcross in the 13th minute. Stoke's Phil Bardsley was perhaps fortunate not to receive a red card for a rash challenge on Eden Hazard, as multiple observers noted:

Stoke had a chance in the 21st minute, but Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made a good save to stop Steven N'Zonzi's deflected shot. Ten minutes later, Costa wasted an even better chance, dragging his shot wide of the post after Chelsea countered at pace.

Both teams had a sight of goal early in the second half. For Stoke, Peter Crouch headed over the bar in the 48th minute. For Chelsea, Willian shot weakly at Begovic four minutes later.

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Begovic saved Fabregas' flicked shot in the 55th minute following good work by Hazard on the wing.

In the 71st minute, Stoke substitute Charlie Adam blazed an outside-of-the-boot drive just wide of the post from the edge of the box.

The match was poised delicately, with Stoke seemingly capable of claiming a result. But in the 78th minute, Chelsea sealed victory with their second goal. Hazard served as creator, picking out Fabregas with a low, hard pass into the box. Fabregas popped the ball into the air with his first touch, then dragged a shot into the far corner with his second to make it 2-0 heading into the closing stages.

Armed with a two-goal advantage, Chelsea immediately appeared more relaxed. Courtois was called into action in the 85th minute to stop Oussama Assaidi, but the Blues were able to see out the final 10 minutes—plus five minutes of stoppage time—successfully to take the full three points.

Grades

Starting XI	Rating
Substitutes	Rating
Asmir Begovic	6.9
Phil Bardsley	6.3
Ryan Shawcross	7.1
Marc Muniesa	6.8
Erik Pieters	7.1
Steven N'Zonzi	6.4
Geoff Cameron	6.2
Jonathan Walters	6.2
Bojan Krkic	7.4
Marko Arnautovic	6.5
Peter Crouch	5.9
Mame Biram Diouf (for Crouch, 63')	5.9
Charlie Adam (for Cameron, 68')	6.1
Oussama Assaidi (for Arnautovic, 82')	6.3

Starting XI	Rating
Substitutes	Rating
Thibaut Courtois	7.6
Branislav Ivanovic	7.7
Gary Cahill	7.4
John Terry	8.3
Cesar Azpilicueta	8.0
John Obi Mikel	7.8
Nemanja Matic	8.9
Willian	7.2
Cesc Fabregas	8.9
Eden Hazard	8.3
Diego Costa	6.4
Andre Schurrle (for Willian, 80')	6.8
Didier Drogba (for Costa, 85')	6.1
Kurt Zouma (for Hazard, 90')	6.2

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