Chelsea breathed new life into their season – and emphatically eased the pressure on boss Maurizio Sarri – with a superb derby triumph at Stamford Bridge.
Pedro put the Blues ahead 13 minutes into the second half and Kieran Trippier’s late own goal sealed the victory.
Pedro collected Cesar Azpilicueta’s pass and brilliantly turned away from Toby Alderweireld before firing through the legs of keeper Hugo Lloris at the near post.
And a calamity for Trippier and Lloris with six minutes remaining doubled Chelsea’s lead.
Trippier was under very little pressure when his back-pass to the onrushing Lloris went past the Frenchman and into the net.
The win kept Chelsea in the thick of the battle for a top-four finish on a great night for Sarri amid reports the Italian was likely to be sacked if the result went against him.
Sarri dropped Kepa Arrizabalaga in response to the keeper refusing to go off when the head coach tried to substitute him during Sunday’s Carabao Cup final.
He was replaced by Willy Caballero, who kept a clean sheet although he was beaten just before half-time by a 25-yard strike by Harry Winks, which hit the bar.
Chelsea also hit the woodwork during a frenetic first half – the recalled Gonzalo Higuain firing against the post after Moussa Sissoko had only half-cleared Azpulicueta’s cross.
Chelsea: Caballero, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Alonso, Jorginho, Kovacic (Loftus-Cheek 77), Kante, Pedro (Willian 60), Hazard, Higuain (Giroud 84).
Subs not used: Arrizabalaga, Barkley, Hudson-Odoi, Christensen.
This post was last modified on 28/02/2019