Chelsea vs. Norwich: Score and Reaction from 2015 Premier League Match

Chelsea halted their three-match losing streak as they beat Norwich City 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Saturday.

Diego Costa gave his side a deserved lead in the second half as Chelsea generally looked much-improved from their recent showings.

Chelsea should in fact have scored several goals as they dominated the game for large spells, but they were frequently thwarted by either poor finishing or a strong performance from John Ruddy in the Norwich goal.

Brazilian youngster Kenedy—a winger—started for the Blues at left-back, while summer signing Baba Rahman failed to even make the bench.

The Blues looked sharp in the first half and fashioned a number of chances but were unable to find a breakthrough. Indeed, Chelsea should have been ahead after just 10 minutes when Eden Hazard picked out Cesc Fabregas, but the Spaniard could only send his effort over the bar from close range.

JUSTIN TALLIS/Getty Images

John Terry's cute flick-on from a corner hit the side netting before Asmir Begovic's save to deny Nathan Redmond sparked a Chelsea counter-attack, which resulted in Willian having an effort of his own stopped by Ruddy.

The Blues continued to turn the screw as Pedro and Costa had attempts, and Fabregas forced another smart save from Ruddy. Costa was again picked out at close range, but he was denied by some quick thinking by the impressive Canaries 'keeper.

The Telegraph's Paul Hayward was particularly critical of Costa's wasteful performance after the Spaniard attempted to engineer a penalty:

Norwich, who were perhaps unfortunate not to win a penalty after Robbie Brady went down under a clumsy challenge from Willian, came close with a chance as Terry made a vital block to deny Sebastien Bassong.

Squawka Football shared the first-half stats:

After the break, Kurt Zouma should have done better with a volley from six yards and Fabregas sent a tame effort into Ruddy's hands.

Costa redeemed himself somewhat to give the hosts a deserved goal shortly after the hour-mark when he sent a curling finish past Ruddy after Fabregas picked him out with a quick free-kick.

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

Chelsea almost doubled their lead immediately when Zouma crashed an effort onto the crossbar, before Norwich manager Alex Neil decided to roll the dice with a triple substitution.

However, the reinvigorated Blues continued to control the proceedings with some confident play and saw out the win fairly comfortably.

The Guardian's Barney Ronay wryly noted their improvement:

The hosts will need to maintain a similar level of performance in Week 14 when they take on the in-form Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.

Chelsea have thus far failed to turn a corner after their isolated wins earlier in the season, but they will be greatly encouraged by Saturday's display.

As for the Canaries, they played fairly well but will be lucky to claim a positive result when they host Arsenal in their next outing.

Post-Match Reaction

Journalist Dan Levene shared Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho's quotes after the match, as he praised Costa and admitted relief at the result:

The 52-year-old also reacted humorously when asked of his team's chances of finishing in the top four:

Canaries boss Neil bemoaned the referee's decision not to award Norwich a penalty. Per Norwich's official Twitter feed, he said:

"Chelsea had opportunities in the game, but we seem to be on the wrong end of decisions at times. If we get a penalty, we could have gone a goal up and it would have changed the game. The game plan that we came with worked well, but we switched off at a free-kick and it cost us."