John Terry’s early header and Cesc Fabregas’s second-half strike restored Chelsea’s three-point Premier League lead heading into a busy Christmas programme after a 2-0 win at Stoke City last night.
Chelsea were ahead inside two minutes at the Britannia Stadium when Terry met a Fabregas corner with a powerful downward header.
Stoke pushed forward after the break without ever causing fit-again Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois many problems and Fabregas sealed victory with a scuffed finish 12 minutes from time.
Steven Nzonzi had Stoke’s best chance but his deflected shot was well saved.
Chelsea, who host West Ham United on Friday, have 42 points from 17 games with Manchester City, who visit West Brom the same day, on 39 and Manchester United on 32.
This is the fourth time Chelsea have been top of the Premier League at Christmas and this is without doubt a good omen for the Londoners.
In fact in the previous three occasions – 2004, 2005 and 2009 – the Blues went on to win the title.
Next fixtures
Boxing Day: 13.45 Chelsea vs West Ham. 16.00 Burnley vs Liverpool; Crystal Palace vs Southampton; Everton vs Stoke City; Leicester vs Tottenham; Man. United vs Newcastle; Sunderland vs Hull; Swansea vs Aston Villa; West Brom vs Man. City. 18.30 Arsenal vs QPR.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Chelsea | 17 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 38 | 13 | 42 |
| Man. City | 17 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 36 | 14 | 39 |
| Man. United | 17 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 30 | 18 | 32 |
| West Ham | 17 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 29 | 19 | 31 |
| S’thampton | 17 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 28 | 13 | 29 |
| Arsenal | 17 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 30 | 21 | 27 |
| Tottenham | 17 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 22 | 23 | 27 |
| Swansea | 17 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 19 | 25 |
| Newcastle | 17 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 18 | 23 | 23 |
| Liverpool | 17 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 21 | 24 | 22 |
| Everton | 17 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 27 | 27 | 21 |
| Aston Villa | 17 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 21 | 20 |
| Stoke City | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 23 | 19 |
| Sunderland | 17 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 15 | 24 | 19 |
| West Brom | 17 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 23 | 17 |
| QPR | 17 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 20 | 32 | 17 |
| C. Palace | 17 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 15 |
| Burnley | 17 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 26 | 15 |
| Hull City | 17 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 24 | 13 |
| Leicester | 17 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 29 | 10 |