Football: Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 1-0, secure 4th English Premier League title
Eden Hazard celebrates after scoring the first goal for Chelsea. The English football club bagged a fourth English Premier League title with three more games to go on Sunday. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON (AFP) - Eden Hazard scored the only goal as Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 1-0 at a festive, sun-soaked Stamford Bridge on Sunday to claim their first Premier League title since 2010.
The Belgian headed in after Julian Speroni had parried his self-won penalty late in the first half to register his 19th goal of the season and carry Jose Mourinho's side over the line with three games to spare.
Chelsea moved 16 points clear of outgoing champions Manchester City, who visit Tottenham Hotspur later on Sunday, and Arsenal, who travel to Hull City on Monday, meaning they can no longer be caught.
"It's been five years since we've won it," Chelsea captain John Terry, an ever-present this season, told Sky Sports during a post-match interview on a pitch strewn with blue and white ticker-tape. "The first one (in 2005) was special and when you go four or five years without it, it hurts. So I'll really enjoy it today."
The title success, the club's fifth in total, follows Chelsea's triumph over Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup final and sets the seal on a campaign they have dominated from start to finish.
The title-clinching win was characteristic of Chelsea's gritty recent displays and it gave Mourinho the first league crown of his second stint at the club, as well as the eighth of his managerial career.
Published on May 3, 2015 10:22 PM
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