Chelsea tighten grip on EPL title with win over Man City

Eden Hazard's brace powered Chelsea to a 2-1 victory against Manchester City as the London club maintained a seven-point advantage over Tottenham Hotspur in the race for the English Premier League (EPL) title.

Chelsea on Wednesday bounced back with a vengeance after faltering 1-2 last weekend at home to Crystal Palace, while City were coming off a 2-2 draw with Arsenal, reports Efe.

For City, the match marked the return of captain and defensive stalwart Vincent Kompany, sidelined since November by an injury.

Chelsea struck first in the contest at Stamford Bridge here, as Hazard scored in the 10th minute on a shot that visiting goalkeeper Willy Caballero should have stopped.

Man City pulled level in the 26th minute, courtesy of an unaccustomed gaffe by Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois, whose poor clearance ended up on the foot of David Silva.

The Belgian international made the initial save against Silva, but Kun Agüero pounced on the rebound and put the ball in the net.

Nine minutes later, the referee pointed to the spot after Kompany fouled Pedro in the area. Courtois stopped Hazard's first effort from the line only to see the Belgian convert on his second try and put the Blues ahead 2-1.

City, who enjoyed an edge in possession throughout the night, never really threatened the Chelsea goal in the second half.

In Wednesday's other matches, Tottenham came from behind in a 3-1 win at Swansea City to keep pace with Chelsea, while Arsenal dominated West Ham United 3-0 to vault over Manchester United into fifth place, trailing Man City by four points with a game in hand.

Hull City climbed out of the drop zone, beating relegation-bound Middlesbrough 4-2. Southampton topped Crystal Palace 3-1 and Bournemouth produced a late goal to hold Liverpool 2-2 at Anfield.

--IANS

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