Chelsea goes 6 clear despite Saints draw
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CHELSEA was frustrated by Southampton’s dogged defending and Fraser Forster’s saves yesterday, going six points clear of Manchester City with a 1-1 draw but missing the chance to open up a bigger lead at the Premier League summit.
After Diego Costa ended a seven-game goal drought for Chelsea in the 12th minute, Southampton quickly leveled from the spot through Dusan Tadic in the 19th and seized the initiative.
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois came to Chelsea’s rescue with instinctive saves in the first half. And Chelsea was then repeatedly thwarted after the break by Forster demonstrating why Southampton has conceded the fewest goals this season.
Southampton dominated for much of the opening period but Chelsea asserted its authority after the break with Costa clipping the post while John Terry was denied in a frantic finish.
After opening the league season with 10 successive home wins, Chelsea has drawn three of its last four but it still has a game in hand over second-place City, which was beaten 0-1 by struggling Burnley on Saturday.
Southampton is sixth, three points behind fourth-placed Manchester United, which was hosting fellow Champions League qualification hopeful Tottenham Hotspur while Newcastle United was traveling to Everton later yesterday.
City manager Manuel Pellegrini, meanwhile, believes the Premier League title race is not over despite the damaging loss to Burnley at Turf Moor.
Burnley forward George Boyd scored the decisive goal with a superb half-volley to give the Clarets a deserved victory against the reigning champion on Saturday.
But Pellegrini refused to concede that City can no longer win the title. “When you have a mathematical chance, you have a chance to win the title,” he said.
“The reality is that it’s more difficult to do so now. Every point we drop will be more difficult.
“When you have mathematical chances you must continue fighting and see at the end of the season where you will finish.
“We are not worried about just our team. We know every time we drop it is more difficult. We have 27 points more we must fight for.”
City now turns its attention to the second leg of its Champions League last-16 tie against Barcelona at the Nou Camp, which it trails 1-2.
And perhaps with that match in mind Pellegrini refused to be critical of the performance of his own players against Burnley, despite being outfought by the Clarets.
“I am sure they tried to give everything,” added the Chilean.
“Of course we’re doing something wrong as we are not winning the games we normally do. I don’t want to focus on two or three players. We are a team, a squad of 22 players, and I’m sure they’re giving the most they can. It’s important to continue trusting what they are doing.”
Despite the win Burnley is still in the bottom three but moved on to 25 points, one behind 17th-placed Sunderland which lost 0-4 at home to Aston Villa.
Arsenal tightened its grip on a top-four spot, continuing an impressive run of form with goals from Olivier Giroud, Aaron Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini sinking West Ham United.
Leicester City remained bottom after a 0-0 draw against Hull City, which had Tom Huddlestone sent off in the second half, while Queens Park Rangers are four points from safety after a dismal 1-3 defeat at Crystal Palace.
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