EPL title race blown open as Chelsea lose to Crystal Palace

Chelsea 2-1 loss at home against Crystal Palace has blown wide the race for the English Premier League, EPL title after Tottenham won 2-0 on Saturday.

The Blues went into the game knowing a win will draw them close to their second EPL title in 3 years, but a shocking defeat from strugglers, Palace shrugs their ambition. The Eagles on the other hand has now gone 4 games winning streak, conceding only 1 goal in the last four.

The Blues went in front in the 5th minutes when Cesc Fabregas guided an Eden Hazard cross which clips the side of the bar and into the net.

Crystal Palace responded very well in the 7th minute as Christian Benteke fed Wilfred Zaha who took out four Chelsea defenders to draw the game level. Two minutes later, Benteke puts the Eagles in front in what looks like the goal of the season as the Blues fails to deal with a counter attack, allowing the Belgian to rubbish his fellow country man, Thibaut Courtoise to poke home a find finish.

Chelsea responded well after the break, but the game ended in favour of Palace as both teams missed glorious chances. Cutting Chelsea lead to 7 points at the top of the table with less than 10 games remaining.

The other games saw Manchester United being held on a goalless draw by West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford, while Champions Leicester City beat Stoke City 2-0 at King Power Stadium – thanks to goals from Wilfred Ndidi and Jamie Vardy.

Earlier, Liverpool claimed the Merseyside Derby with a 3-1 win over Everton to strengthen their place on the top four. While Hull City came from behind to beat West Ham 2-1, Watford thwarted Sunderland on a long goal and Southampton vs Bournemouth ended in a goalless draw.