Chelsea won the English Premier League title on Sunday as former champions Manchester City strengthened their bid for direct entry into next season’s UEFA Champions League.
Eden Hazard scored the only goal of the game as Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 1-0 in front of their own fans at Stamford Bridge to give the Blues an unassailable lead at the top of the table with three games to spare.
On the stroke of halftime, Hazard’s poorly struck penalty was saved by Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni only for the Belgian star to head in the rebound.
Photo: AFP
“Every title is a consequence of hard work and a reason to be happy and proud,” said Blues manager Jose Mourinho, who has now won three English Premier League titles with Chelsea after previous successes in 2005 and 2006 during his first stint.
By the time second-placed Manchester City kicked off across London, away to Tottenham Hotspur, they knew they had been deposed as champions.
However, Manuel Pellegrini’s men still had something more than pride to play for as while the top four clubs at the end of the season qualify for the UEFA Champions League, only the top three go straight into the tournament, with the fourth-placed side having to enter a qualifying round.
City started the day level on points with third-placed Arsenal and two in front of Manchester United, whose shock 1-0 defeat by West Bromwich Albion revived fifth-placed Liverpool’s seemingly ailing bid for UEFA Champions League soccer.
Sergio Aguero cemented his position as the English Premier League’s top-scorer this season by firing in the only goal of the game as City won 1-0 at White Hart Lane.
Aguero’s 22nd top-flight goal this term came just before the half-hour mark when, after good work by David Silva, he finished off a rapid counterattack with a blistering shot into the top corner.
England goalkeeper Joe Hart preserved City’s lead with several fine saves as Spurs remained sixth.
City’s win left them 13 points behind Chelsea, with only a maximum of nine on offer to Pellegrini’s side in their three remaining league games.
Meanwhile, Arsenal were set to kick off away to Hull yesterday 16 points adrift of Chelsea, with only 15 more available to Arsene Wenger’s men.
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