Chelsea analysis: Eden Hazard makes fools of Arsenal as Marcos Alonso hunger sums up gap between rivals

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Simon Johnson4 February 2017

A firm header from Marcos Alonso, a superb individual effort from Eden Hazard and a lob from Cesc Fabregas earned Premier League leaders Chelsea an emphatic 3-1 victory over Arsenal on Saturday.

Antonio Conte's Blues moved 12 points clear of their London rivals and the chasing pack with a dominant performance at Stamford Bridge.

Simon Johnson assesses the key talking points for Chelsea...

Never make Hazard angry

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Arsenal learned the hard way, but perhaps it's not the best idea to try and kick the Belgium international out of the game.

Hazard, who as Standard Sport revealed earlier in the week has been nursing a minor hamstring injury in recent weeks, started this derby quietly.

Some Chelsea supporters have been getting frustrated with his below par displays, not knowing he has been playing through the pain barrier for the good of the team.

They had cause for concern when Shkodran Mustafi made heavy contact with his knee in the 23rd minute. It was an ugly challenge which the Arsenal defender was rightly booked for.

Hazard needed a bit of treatment, but he emerged with stiffened resolve afterwards and seemed intent to make Arsenal pay.

Suddenly he was dribbling and making fools of the Arsenal players. More importantly he was carrying a threat for the home side.

And his display was rewarded with the kind of goal that will be talked about for years in these parts - a combination of skill, strength and a cool finish to put Chelsea two up.

Opponents may think twice about trying to rough Hazard up in future.

Chelsea will hope Costa gets back to his best

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It's only been a couple of disappointing performances, but the Spain international has suddenly gone off the boil.

While he responded to all the speculation linking him with a move to China by scoring against Hull a few weeks ago, one wonders if it is still on his mind.

In the build-up to this match, there was yet another report claiming that he's already agreed a lucrative contract to move to the China Super League in the summer.

He reacted to the news on social media in furious fashion, but he didn't take that fire out on to the pitch.

Costa, who missed a penalty in a subdued showing at Liverpool in midweek, was guilty of losing possession on a number of occasions.

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The 28-year-old criminally failed to pass to the unmarked Pedro in the first half and tried to do it all on his own.

He did it yet again just before the end, ignoring a few unmarked team-mates to take a shot from a ridiculous angle.

Still, Chelsea will be delighted that even without their top marksman in full flow, they have won another key game.

Alonso has already paid back his transfer fee

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When Chelsea bought Marcos Alonso from Fiorentina for £23m in August, his arrival wasn't heralded with much excitement.

Ashley Cole set the bar very high as a left back during his time at the club between 2006-14 and the Blues have played a right back in Cesar Azpilicueta there instead for the past two-and-a-half seasons.

Alonso is clearly not in either's League defensively, but in the 3-4-3 system he is not too exposed.

What the former Bolton and Sunderland player has contributed is a real offensive threat and crucially, big goals, particularly in the last month.

The brace against Leicester, when Diego Costa was nursing 'that' back injury, secured a vital three points a few days after losing at Spurs.

Then today, Alonso showed his hunger to win the derby and title by beating Hector Bellerin to put Chelsea in front.

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The nature of his challenge came under scrutiny, but his desire to win the ball in the air summed up the difference between the two sides.

Chelsea's Achilles heel continues to be exposed

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Overall Chelsea have been superb at the back since switching to a 3-4-3 formation, but one weakness has been clear to see over the past month.

By playing the diminutive Cesar Azpilicutea in defence, there is always a danger from crosses, especially with inexperienced wing back Victor Moses behind him.

Tottenham showed just how vulnerable the Blues can be from cross whipped in from the right flank when Dele Alli scored twice against them in the 2-0 win last month.

Then on Tuesday, Liverpool's equaliser came from a ball to the left for James Milner to set up Georginho Winjaldum.

They could have won it when another ball into the box from the right found Firminho, but he headed tamely at Thibaut Courtois.

And history repeated itself this afternoon as Gabriel was found unmarked with a ball from the right hand side by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but Courtois was there to deny him.

In the second half, it happened again. This time Alexis Sanchez crossed to an unmarked Danny Welbeck, but his header was well stopped by Courtois again.

This is something coach Antonio Conte will work on at the training ground to try and put right.

Stamford Bridge back to being a fortress

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Chelsea lost their fear factor on home soil last season, but they certainly have it back this term.

It is now 11 successive wins in all competitions for Conte's men, with their only blemish being against Liverpool back in September.

It puts Chelsea in a strong position for the run-in, knowing that if they keep this up, it will only take a few wins on the road to finish top.

Their impressive record here also means many opponents will come here with the feeling that they're beaten before kick-off.

Premier League table

Pos Team P W D L GD Pts
1 Chelsea 24 19 2 3 34 59
2 Tottenham 23 13 8 2 29 47
3 Arsenal 24 14 5 5 24 47
4 Liverpool 23 13 7 3 24 46
5 Man City 23 14 4 5 19 46
6 Man United 23 11 9 3 12 42
7 Everton 23 10 7 6 10 37
8 West Brom 23 9 6 8 2 33
9 Stoke City 23 7 8 8 -6 29
10 Burnley 23 9 2 12 -8 29
11 West Ham 23 8 4 11 -11 28
12 Southampton 23 7 6 10 -5 27
13 Watford 23 7 6 10 -12 27
14 Bournemouth 23 7 5 11 -9 26
15 Middlesbrough 23 4 9 10 -7 21
16 Leicester City 23 5 6 12 -14 21
17 Swansea City 23 6 3 14 -24 21
18 Crystal Palace 23 5 4 14 -9 19
19 Hull City 23 4 5 14 -27 17
20 Sunderland 23 4 4 15 -22 16

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