Chelsea certainly made a compelling case for lifting the English Premier League for a fifth time come May as they edged past Crystal Palace 1-0 at Selhurst Park. It also meant that Antonio Conte’s side had completed 11 consecutive wins on the trot as they opened up nine-point lead at the top.

The most successful domestic side in England, Manchester United, were stitching a winning run of their own as Zlatan Ibrahimovic masterminded their third consecutive league win. Stoke City were left kicking themselves as they failed to hold on to their lead against 10-man Leicester City; the reigning champions had their talisman Jamie Vardy sent off and equalised in the dying minutes of the game.

Ibrahimovic and Diego Costa, who scored Chelsea’s only goal, were not the only strikers to inspire their team to victory. Former Manchester City frontman Alvaro Negredo struck a brace to inspire Middlesbrough to a comfortable 3-0 victory against struggling Swansea.

Sunderland and David Moyes finally saw some light in a season that has seen them sit at the bottom of the table for most of it. The Black Cats beat Watford 1-0 at the Stadium of Light to move to 18th in the table. Another struggling side, West Ham United, also got three points on the board, getting the better of Hull City through a Mark Noble goal.

Unstoppable Chelsea

What a remarkable turnaround this has been for Chelsea and Antonio Conte, who have now moved nine points clear at the top with a 1-0 . Yet again, the West London side was solid at the back. The midfield won the ball back aggressively and in Costa, the side has a clinical finisher in their ranks who displays tremendous personality and scores at crucial intervals. Costa’s goal was also the Brazilian-born Spanish striker’s 50th in Chelsea colours but will sit out of the next game owing to a suspension.

Crystal Palace’s attackers were denied time and space on the ball and couldn’t create clear-cut chances. The only goal of the game a couple of minutes before the half-time whistle with Costa thumping a powerful header into the net. This is Chelsea’s 11th straight win and have conceded just two goals during this phase.

United’s tenacity

The current United team edged closer to looking like a Jose Mourinho outfit as they registered a solid 2-0 win against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns with Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring both the goals. In defence, the pairing of Marcus Rojo and Phil Jones did wonders once again, keeping Solomon Rondon quiet with ease.

The win was United’s third in a row and the side are now starting to look closer to the archtypical Jose Mourinho side in defence. Apart from Ibrahimovic, skipper Wayne Rooney and record signing Paul Pogba also had impressive outings. Rooney was denied a goal by Ben Foster’s fingertips and the frame of the goal.

Brief scores

  • West Bromwich Albion 0 lose to Chelsea 1 (Diego Costa)
  • Middlesbrough 3 (Alvaro Negredo x 2, Marten de Roon) beat Swansea 0
  • Stoke City 2 (Bojan Krkic, Joe Allen) draw with Leicester City (Leonardo Ulloa, Daniel Amartey) 
  • Sunderland 1 (Patrick van Aanholt) beat Watford 0
  • West Ham United 1 (Mark Noble) beat Hull City 0
  • West Bromwich Albion 0 lose to Manchester United 2 (Zlatan Ibrahimovic)