London, England (SportsNetwork.com) – Eden Hazard converted a penalty kick in
the 75th minute to lift Chelsea to a 2-1 win over QPR at Stamford Bridge on
Saturday, keeping the Blues four points clear at the top of the Premier
League.
Oscar scored a fantastic goal in the 32nd minute for the hosts to hand them a
1-0 lead, but his effort was canceled out in the 62nd by QPR’s Charlie Austin,
who scored for the third time in the past two games.
Hazard made the difference, however, as he drew a foul inside the penalty area
and converted the subsequent spot kick 15 minutes from time, keeping Chelsea
unbeaten with eight wins from 10 league matches.
The opening goal was a moment of magic from Oscar as Cesc Fabregas carried the
ball into the box and laid a pass off to the Brazilian on the right. Oscar
then curled a shot with the outside of his foot that struck the far post and
found the net for a sensational finish.
Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois had very little to do in the game, but he
was picking the ball out of his net in the 62nd when he turned away a shot
from Leroy Fer, who collected the rebound and drove another ball toward goal
that Austin redirected home with a clever flick.
Hazard then separated the teams as he made a good run into the box on the left
and was bundled over by QPR defender Eduardo Vargas. Hazard picked himself up
and sent goalkeeper Rob Green the wrong way from the spot, handing Chelsea all
three points.
Southampton’s tremendous start to the season continued on Saturday as the
Saints secured a 1-0 win at Hull City to remain in second place.
Victor Wanyama struck the lone goal for Southampton in the third minute when
he collected a poor clearance from Hull goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic and fired
the ball into the empty net from 40 yards.
A pair of goals from Alexis Sanchez and another from Calum Chambers allowed
Arsenal to move into the top four with a 3-0 win over Burnley that saw the
Gunners score all three of their goals in the last 20 minutes.
Newcastle collected its third straight win on Saturday as substitute Ayoze
Perez scored the lone goal in the 74th minute of a 1-0 Magpies win over
Liverpool, which lost for the fourth time this season.
West Bromwich handed Leicester City a 1-0 defeat as an own goal from
Leicester’s Esteban Cambiasso early in the second half was the difference,
while Everton and Swansea City battled to a 0-0 draw at Goodison Park despite
Swansea playing the final 20 minutes with 10 man after Jonjo Shelvey received
a second yellow card.
The other match on Saturday saw West Ham come from two goals down to salvage a
2-2 draw at Stoke City.
Stoke took a 2-0 lead in the opening 56 minutes through goals from Victor
Moses and Mame Biram Diouf. However, Enner Valencia pulled a goal back on the
hour mark after being set up by Stewart Downing, who scored the equalizer for
the Hammers in the 73rd.
