[ 2014-03-09 ]

Chelsea opens 7-point gap in BPL
Quick-fire goals by Samuel Eto'o and Eden Hazard
inspired Chelsea to a 4-0 win over Tottenham
Hotspur on Saturday that sent them seven points
clear in the Premier League.

Eto'o put Chelsea ahead in the 56th minute and
Hazard added a penalty four minutes later after
Younes Kaboul had been sent off for a foul on
Eto'o. Demba Ba added a late brace.

Eto'o's opener was gifted to him by Jan Vertonghen
and both of Ba's goals also stemmed from errors,
as Spurs' 23-year wait for victory at Stamford
Bridge went on.

Chelsea now lead Liverpool and Arsenal by seven
points, but both teams have a game in hand, while
fourth-place Manchester City, who are nine points
off the pace, have three fixtures to fulfil.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho continued to play
down his side's title chances, saying: "I would
prefer to be in Man City's position, because they
have three matches in hand.

"We don't have control of our destiny. If we win
all our matches, then maybe we are not champions.
If Man City win their games, they are champions."

After Fernando Torres was injured in the warm-up,
Eto'o came into the starting XI and he gave Spurs
an early scare when he raced through and rounded
Hugo Lloris, only for an offside flag to stop him
in his tracks.

Hazard also took the ball past the Spurs
goalkeeper moments later, but could only shoot
wide, while at the other end, Nabil Bentaleb
dragged wide from a promising position and Petr
Cech saved from Sandro and Kaboul.

Spurs were very much in the game, but Vertonghen's
blind pass 11 minutes into the second period
enabled Eto'o to run through and score.

The Cameroon star celebrated with relish,
referencing Mourinho's recent comments about his
age by staggering towards the corner flag like an
old man.

Kaboul's innocuous challenge from behind on Eto'o
saw him dismissed and enabled Hazard to add a
second, before Ba struck twice in the dying
stages.

His first, in the 88th minute, saw him pounce
after Sandro was unable to cut out a low cross
from Oscar and a minute later a calamitous back
header from Kyle Walker allowed the Senegalese
striker to complete his brace.

Defeat left Spurs four points below fourth-place
Manchester City, who have three games in hand on
them, and manager Tim Sherwood was scathing in his
assessment of his team's display.

"You can't legislate for the capitulation – you
can't have that," he told Sky Sports.

"Lack of characters, too many of them too nice to
each other, and you need to show a bit more guts
and not want to be someone's mate all the time."

Source - Supersports

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