Stoke City vs. Chelsea: Score and Reaction from 2017 Premier League Match

Gary Cahill scored an 87th-minute winner to help Chelsea beat Stoke City 2-1 at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday and increase their lead at the top of the Premier League to 13 points.

Cahill was the central figure on the day after giving away a penalty in the first half that Stoke forward Jonathan Walters converted. Walters' goal evened things up after Willian had given Chelsea an early lead with a clever free-kick.

Pedro returned to the Chelsea lineup after missing the FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester United on Monday, per the club's official Twitter account:

Meanwhile, the Potters included Saido Berahino up front:

The league leaders went in front in less than 15 minutes after Willian deceived Stoke goalkeeper Lee Grant with a crafty free-kick. Chelsea appeared to be coasting after that, routinely stringing together some excellent combinations in the final third.

In particular, Pedro was combining superbly with Diego Costa. However, the latter's fiery temperament saw him booked for dissent by referee Anthony Taylor, who proved a key figure seven minutes before the break.

Taylor deemed Cahill's challenge in the box to be worthy of a penalty. Walters gratefully tucked away the spot-kick to put the hosts back on level terms.

However, tempers were soon flaring again as Stoke consistently irked Costa, with the striker coming close to a fatal second booking more than once.

Costa survived until half-time, but Simon Johnson of the London Evening Standard felt Taylor was struggling to stay in command:

Chelsea reasserted their control after the break, with left-back Marcos Alonso striking the bar with a free-kick. Blues manager Antonio Conte also introduced Cesc Fabregas off the bench, and the Spanish playmaker helped make the visitors more of a threat between the lines.

With Fabregas dictating possession, Stoke were forced onto the back foot, as Pete Smith of The Sentinel pointed out:

Things stayed deadlocked until Cahill made up for surrendering the penalty by putting Chelsea ahead with just three minutes to go. There was more late drama when Potters defender Phil Bardsley was shown a second yellow card after a bad tackle on Fabregas.

Stoke tried to press for an equaliser at the death, but the Blues held firm to take one more step toward what looks like an inevitable title win in Conte's first season in charge.

Post-Match Reaction

Conte commended Costa for keeping his focus while walking the disciplinary tightrope, per Chelsea's official website:

"

It is not simple to receive a yellow card after a few minutes but Diego has been showing this season, not only this game, to be very disciplined. He showed me great commitment and thought for the team, not only for himself, and I want this type of behaviour from my players.

...

It is normal for a team to try to make a player angry so he reacts and commits another foul, but the great news is Diego is showing to be a great player in this aspect because I know in the past he has sometimes not finished games.

"

Meanwhile, Potters manager Mark Hughes praised his side's efforts in a losing cause against the league leaders, per Stoke's official site: “We stood toe-to-toe with the Champions-elect this afternoon and we have run them really close, just as we did at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season, so from that point of view the guys can be proud."

Hughes' assessment of Chelsea as likely champions rings true after the Blues yet again found a way to win away from home. There seems to be no stopping Conte's men.