MATCH REPORT: Liverpool vs Stoke City [Capital One Cup semi-final]

Joe Allen scored the winning penalty in a tense shoot-out to send Liverpool to Wembley for the Capital One Cup final. 

Jurgen Klopp's men beat Stoke 1-0 in the first leg of the tie through a Jordan Ibe goal, giving themselves a big boost going to Anfield.

Stoke weren't ready to sit back and go down without a fight though and they really took the game to Liverpool and possibly deserved a win at the end of the game due to the performance they had put in. 

Early on in the game, Stoke got a foothold in the game and really tested the Liverpool defence as they pushed forward. Jonathan Walters was the first to get into the box as a nice through ball was played to him. He decided to take on the long-range shot and it deflected out for a corner. 

He then had another chance minutes later when he made a brilliant run from the halfway line into the Liverpool box. He pulled away from Mamadou Sakho and directed his shot to the bottom corner across the face of goal, but his shot was just wide of the target. 

Liverpool only managed a few half chances before they were finally given the chance to get the ball into the box with a free kick. Emre Can moves into some space and he tries to curl his effort into the far post, but it is just wide of the post and Jack Butland had it covered. 

That's when Stoke picked up their game again and got their reward on the stroke of half time. The ball is played neatly through the Stoke midfield and out to Bojan on the right flank. He plays a cross into the box to Marco Arnautovic and he was left with a simple tap in under the keeper. 

Arnautovic puts Stoke ahead on the night but under controversial circumstances
Image from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3417783/Liverpool-FC-vs-Stoke-City-Capital-One-Cup-LIVE-score-Jurgen-Klopp-s-aim-avoid-semi-final-defeat.html

Sakho had dropped deeper than the rest of his defenders to try and challenge Bojan for the ball, but Arnautovic was ahead of him as he made his run into the box for the goal. The linesman didn't raise his flag though and the goal stood, levelling Stoke on the aggregate score line. 

Liverpool came out for the second half with a point to prove though. Early on in the half, a free kick was whipped into the box and Jordan Henderson touched the ball onto Roberto Firmino hit the ball towards the goal only to see it bounce back off the post and cleared. 

Then, Sakho almost drew his team level on the night when another free kick was crossed into the box and he rose to get his head to the ball. He aimed his header down at the ground, meaning that the bounce took the ball wide of the target. 

The only other stand out chance in the full time came for Liverpool. Alberto Moreno crossed the ball into the box to Christian Benteke but the forward missed it and landed at the feet of Jon Flanagan. He wasn't expecting the pass and he tried to take the ball around Benteke, who was still on the floor, but Stoke managed to clear the ball without much difficulty. 

Jurgen Klopp giving his team their instructions before the start of extra time
Image from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3417783/Liverpool-FC-vs-Stoke-City-Capital-One-Cup-LIVE-score-Jurgen-Klopp-s-aim-avoid-semi-final-defeat.html

Liverpool were the first to challenge their opponents in extra time as Firmino created some space and hit his shot down the centre of the goal, but Butland was in the perfect position to collect the ball. 

From then, the major chances fell to Stoke. Peter Crouch flicked the ball onto Marco van Ginkel in the box and he got away from two defenders before he smashed his shot at goal, only to see it rebound off the outside of the post and out of play. 

He had another chance minutes before the final whistle blew as well. Crouch once again set up the chance and van Ginkel hit the shot sweetly, but Simon Mignolet did brilliantly to stretch across his goal line to catch the ball and prevent a late Stoke winner. 

So, this meant that penalties would follow. The first two penalties were scored by Walters and Adam Lallana respectively, but then the drama really stepped up. 

Crouch and Can both stepped up and failed to convert their spot kick for the second round of penalties. From then, it was completely equal between the two sides, even as the game entered the sudden death stage. 

Van Ginkel and Lucas both scored the first set of sudden death penalties, but then Marc Muniesa was denied brilliantly by Mignolet meaning the pressure had mounted on Allen stepped up for his goal, which he scored without any problems, sending Liverpool to Wembley in February.

Allen celebrates with his teammates after scoring the penalty that won the match for Liverpool
Image from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3417783/Liverpool-FC-vs-Stoke-City-Capital-One-Cup-LIVE-score-Jurgen-Klopp-s-aim-avoid-semi-final-defeat.html

Mark Hughes will feel that his Stoke side have been very hard done by after they out performed Liverpool by a mile in the second leg of this tie. Stoke put in an all-round great performance as they were defensively solid and posed a massive threat when going forward.

On the other hand, Liverpool did perform the better of the two sides in the first leg, which Liverpool fans will probably say is the reason that they deserve to be in the final. In many ways, the away side did get lucky in this tie, but sometimes, luck is the thing you need to win you matches.

MATCH REPORT: Arsenal vs Chelsea

Guus Hiddink's Chelsea carry on their undefeated win as they beat 10-man Arsenal 1-0 at the Emirates. 

If you look at the statistics for previous meetings between the two, then it would have been obvious that the game would end with a Chelsea win; Arsenal have failed to beat Chelsea since 2011 and Chelsea are yet to lose a game since Jose Mourinho left the club. 

However, Arsenal have been in excellent form this season and if they had won today, they would have gone back to the top of the table which would have been the best way to celebrate Theo Walcott's 10 year anniversary at the club. It just wasn't meant to be though.

In the first 2 minutes of the match, both teams had already registered a good chance. Joel Campbell was played in by a great cross from Walcott and he had to adjust slightly to get to the ball but he didn't catch it right and his volley ends very wide of the target. 

Down at the other end seconds later, Laurent Koscielny plays a slack pass straight into the path of Oscar who was just outside the penalty area. With little time to get his shot away, the midfielder hit the shot to catch Petr Cech out, but the keeper got down low to turn it away.

Out of the two sides, it was Arsenal who looked the most likely to score. Campbell played a one-two off Olivier Giroud on the edge of the box and found Mathieu Flamini in the middle of the box. His touch is poor though and he lost control of the ball, leaving Thibaut Courtois with an easy save. 

Not long after, that's when things started to heat up in the match. A brilliant ball is played over the top to Diego Costa and his first touch allows him to go past the defender and he was in the clear. Per Mertesacker, as the last defender, rashly slid in to the back of Costa, which left the referee no choice but to send him off the pitch. 

Mark Clattenburg shows Mertesacker a red card for a bad challenge
Image from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/match-centre/arsenal-vs-chelsea-live-reaction-7209910

Following Mertesacker's dismissal, Arsene Wenger decided to bring on Gabriel Paulista for Giroud to try and keep some defensive solidarity in his team. This decision wasn't received well from both the fans and Giroud, but the need for another defender seemed to weigh on Wenger's decision. 

The manager's decision didn't have the desired effect. Branislav Ivanovic was left in some space down the Chelsea right and he played an excellent ball into the Costa in the box. The forward got around Gabriel without much difficulty and easily stroked the ball past Cech at the near post. 

From there, it was all Chelsea in the first half. Cesc Fabregas swung a cross towards the far post which cleared the head of Hector Bellerin and landed with Costa. He tried to hit the shot on the volley but failed to get a clean connection with the ball and the shot finished off target.

Costa stepped up again not long before half time when Willian played a square ball into him. The forward took the ball around the defender to get a one-on-one with the keeper, but he couldn't direct the ball past Cech at his near post.

The pressure mounted minutes later as Chelsea swung a corner into the box and it was Ivanovic who rose best to power a header towards goal. Cech was diving across his goal line, and he would have got there, but Nacho Monreal cleared the ball off the line to keep his team in it. 

Costa getting the better of the Arsenal defence and slotting the ball into the back of the net
Image from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/match-centre/arsenal-vs-chelsea-live-reaction-7209910

Chelsea had the upper hand in the second half, and they will feel that Arsenal got very lucky just before the hour mark. Fabregas got away from his defender and drifted into the box and with no other cover, Koscielny went across and barged into him, causing him to topple to the floor in the penalty area, but the referee simply waved play on. 

Arsenal were still pushing for a goal though, and it looked most likely to come from a corner. As the ball was into the box, Chelsea made a huge mess of defending it. Arsenal had a few shots on goal, but the ball pin-balled off the defenders and they eventually cleared the danger out of their box. 

Towards the end of the match, Chelsea struggled to deal with another Arsenal corner. This time it was the keeper as he failed to hold onto the ball twice and just about managed to shield the ball from the Arsenal players while his defenders cleared the box. 

It was Arsenal who finished the match the stronger of the two. After the introduction of Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arsenal seemed to see a lot more of the ball and cause problems for the Chelsea midfielders and defenders.

The last big chance of the game came when Oxlade-Chamberlain took a swing at the ball in the penalty area and instead of hitting the target like he planned, the ball bounced into the path of Flamini. He couldn't sort his feet out quick enough though, leaving Courtois with an easy catch and a quick clearance. 

Chelsea remain in the bottom half of the table but also have an unbeaten record under Hiddink
Image from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/match-centre/arsenal-vs-chelsea-live-reaction-7209910

So, Arsenal missed their chance to go back to the top of the league table after falling behind both Leicester and Manchester City. Nobody is writing off their chances of winning the Premier League trophy just yet, but if they want to keep up with the other title challengers, they will need to bounce back from this loss pretty quickly. 

As for Chelsea, they have bounced back very well in the past few weeks and have put more space between themselves and the relegation zone, which they will feel they were too close to. If the results continue this way, then they might be able to push for a higher finish in the table than many people thought possible only a couple of months ago...

FA Cup Third Round [2016]

It's that time of year again when all the teams around the country are pulled together into one competition to form some of the best entertainment a football fan can find. This is the competition where form doesn't come into consideration and even the least likely winners can come forward. And so, as the Premier League and Championship teams joined in, the fun commenced...

The first game of the weekend saw League Two Exeter City face Premier League Liverpool at their home ground, and it was a game that Liverpool would be expected to win. However, it wasn't quite the game many expected. Exeter gave Liverpool a very tough time in the game and two goals from Tom Nichols and a brilliant one scored from a corner by Lee Holmes on either side of a goal by Jerome Sinclair put some real pressure Jurgen Klopp's side. 

Brad Smith managed to pull one back for Liverpool to earn a replay, but the outcome could have been very different if Exeter had managed to convert some of their chances when they were 2-1 up. 

Tom Nichols applauding the fans after his great performance against Liverpool
Image from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/35155398

The shock of the round actually happened today though. Oxford United of League Two welcomed Swansea City and the away side seemed to get off to a brilliant start as a superb goal from Jefferson Montero took them into the lead. Oxford rallied brilliantly though. A debatable penalty was awarded and scored by the home side on the stroke of half time and switched into another gear when they came out for the second half. 

Kemar Roofe was the player to truly rub the salt into Swansea's wounds as he scored two wonderful goals and gave his team some breathing space. Bafetimbi Gomis did pull one back for Swansea, but it was a little too late meaning that they exited the competition. 

Oxford players celebrate a brilliant win against Swansea City
Image from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/35216450

Cardiff City were another team that were beaten by a lower league team and had to exit the competition. Andy Mangan of Shrewsbury Town headed the visitors into the lead on the hour mark and the League One side held onto their lead as Cardiff wasted many chances that could possibly have earned them a replay. 

It wasn't the exit to a lower league side that would have been embarrassing for Cardiff, but the fact that less than 5,000 people attended the game in total to watch the game. So all-in-all, not a great day for the home side. 

There was a lot of late drama in the game between Tottenham and Leicester. Christian Eriksen drew first blood early in the first half after the keeper parried Nacer Chadli's shot back into the penalty, but Leicester soon fought back. Marcin Wasilewski and Shinji Okazaki pulled the game back for the away side and Spurs were handed a lifeline. 

The ball hit Nathan Dyer's hand in the penalty area as he tried to tackle Danny Rose and the ref awarded a penalty which Harry Kane converted to earn the replay. However, it is debatable as to whether it was actually a penalty or not as the handball didn't seem deliberate, but I'm sure the Spurs team will be happy they get another chance to get to the fourth round. 

Harry Kane converts a late penalty to earn Spurs a replay at the King Power Stadium
Image from: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/fa-league-cups/fa-cup-third-round-live-oxford-vs-swansea-chelsea-vs-scunthorpe-and-tottenham-vs-leicester-city-a6804636.html

For West Bromwich Albion, it was almost a shock exit as well. They took the lead halfway through the second half through Saido Berahino, but Bristol City managed to flip the game in their favour when Jonathan Kodija scored from close range and minutes later Kieran Agard added a second. 

It looked like they might just come away with the win, until James Morrison pulled a goal back in the dying minutes of added time in the second half to earn his team a replay and stop any celebrations from the Bristol City faithful.

There were, of course, the results that everybody expected in this round. Manchester City played well away against Norwich and Sergio Aguero started off the flurry of goals in the 3-0 result. 

Last season's winners Arsenal also pulled together to win 3-1 after they went behind to a Jeremain Lens goal for Sunderland. 

Chelsea didn't have the smoothest of games, but they still managed to overcome Scunthorpe with a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Diego Costa and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Manchester United were another team that struggled against lower league opposition as Sheffield United put on a brilliant and resilient defensive display at Old Trafford. However, the visitors suffered heartbreak in the third minute of added time as a penalty was given away and converted by Wayne Rooney. 

And so comes the end to another FA Cup weekend. The replays will be played in just over a week and it will be interesting to see if any teams who almost pulled off a great shock in this round will be able to finish off what they almost started. For the fans of those teams that did make it through to the next round, the draw will happen tomorrow and the next round of predictions about possible upsets will make their appearance pretty soon after. 

The only question left is whether or not any of the underdogs will cause the upsets so many fans crave during that round. 

MATCH REPORT: Everton vs Manchester City [Capital One Cup semi-final]

Everton rally at Goodison Park to earn a 2-1 advantage going into the second leg of their semi-final tie against Manchester City. 

After a good night for the team across the city from Everton last night, many felt that this would give the Merseyside team a little more incentive to really put up a good fight against City. It has been 20 years since they last lifted a major trophy and their performance tonight gave them a good push in the direction of this year's final. 

City have been in this position quite often in recent years and at this stage in the competition, they have really showed their true class. One of these performances was a 9-0 aggregate win against West Ham, but they just couldn't recreate anything close to this tonight. 

The beginning of the first half was very boring from a neutral perspective. City were dominant in possession in the opening 10 minutes and Everton struggled to get any sort of foothold in the game, and this carried on. No clear cut chances were carved out by either team for a long period of the game. 

It wasn't until the 19th minute that Kevin De Bruyne decided to take the first shot of the game. The slight frustration at the lack of forward play was showing in the players and De Bruyne took on the shot from a long range but it way off its target.

Minutes later, City had another chance that finally brought some excitement into the game. De Bruyne swung in the City corner and Nicolas Otamendi beat John Stones to the ball and put some power behind his headed shot but the ball finished just wide of the near post.

It was Everton who looked closest to drawing first blood after that. Leighton Baines dropped a free kick into a good position in the box and Ramiro Funes Mori squared the ball back across the box with his head where Stones fired the ball into the back of the net. However, the offside flag had gone up after Baines' first pass as Gareth Barry and Funes Mori had drifted offside. 

Everton played a long ball up field to Romelu Lukaku minutes later and he headed the ball into the path of Gerard Deulofeu who made a direct run into the City box. Instead of taking on the shot himself, he passed the ball into Lukaku and the forward slotted the ball under Willy Caballero only to see the offside flag raised by the linesman again. 

Despite the growing Everton pressure, Sergio Aguero still looked dangerous at the other end. He hit his first shot on the turn at the near post and forced Joel Robles into his first save, only for the rebound to land at Aguero's feet again. The Argentine hit another powerful shot towards goal, but Funes Mori was in the right position to block the shot. 

Then just before the half time whistle, Everton won a corner which Tom Cleverley swung into the box. It did bounce through the box to the feet of Ross Barkley and he hit the shot well and Caballero could only palm the ball away to Funes Mori who side-footed the ball into the net without any challenge from the City defence to put Everton ahead. 

Funes Mori scoring the first goal of the match for the home side
Image from: http://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2016/jan/06/everton-v-manchester-city-capital-one-cup-semi-final-first-leg-live

Everton started the second half as they had finished the first and were very close to doubling their lead early in the half. Barry played the ball across the ball in a dangerous position and Lukaku flew forward and was centimetres from getting to the ball, but even if he had found the net, the flag was raised once again. 

City fought back though and the first clear cut chance for them came from a corner. Jesus Navas, who had replaced Fabian Delph, whipped the ball into the box after a corner and Fernandinho climbed the highest and got his head to the ball. He headed the ball into the ground though and Joel was perfectly placed to prevent the goal. 

Straight after, Joel played a long ball up the field for Barkley to chase. Otamendi was with him all the way but made the mistake of not clearing the ball when he had the chance, allowing Barkley to run into the box with the ball. From a tight angle, he directed his shot on target, but Caballero did well to put the ball out. 

With only 15 minutes left of the tie, Everton wasted another opportunity from a corner and Fernandinho set up a City counter attack with a long field ball up to Aguero who took the ball down with an incredible first touch. He turned from his defender and spotted Navas on the run to his left and squared the ball to the winger. Navas took the ball into the Everton box, waited for Joel to leave his line and then slotted the ball under the keeper to level the score. 

Navas levelled the scoring for City after some excellent work from Aguero
Image from: http://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2016/jan/06/everton-v-manchester-city-capital-one-cup-semi-final-first-leg-live

It wasn't over yet though. From the kick off, Everton started pushing forward, looking for an opening to get their lead back, and it didn't take them long. After some patient play from the home side, Barry put a great cross into the box that sailed over the head of Martin Demichelis and onto the head of Lukaku. The forward managed to time his run perfectly this time to stay onside and Caballero had no chance of stopping the ball this time as it hit the back of his net.

So, both Liverpool teams take a slender lead into the second tie of this year's Capital One Cup semi-final. Everton did well in the game tonight after they survived the dominant start made by City, and also managed to hold City off in the closing moments as they were down to 10 men due to Seamus Coleman going off injured. 

Lukaku celebrates scoring what proves to be the winning goal for his team
Image from: http://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2016/jan/06/everton-v-manchester-city-capital-one-cup-semi-final-first-leg-live

This does leave the tie nicely poised for the second leg which will take place at the Etihad Stadium in three weeks' time. These two teams do face each other in the Premier League in this time as well, so it will be interesting to see who comes out on top in that match and if it will be reflected in this competition. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

MATCH REPORT: Stoke City vs Liverpool [Capital One Cup semi-final]

Jordan Ibe gives the Reds an advantage over their opponents going into the second leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final tie. 

Liverpool were going into this game on the back of a "passive" defeat to West Ham in the league. At least that was the view of Jurgen Klopp after the match. The manager was looking for a strong comeback but they faced tough competition. However, the Liverpool injury list included a lot of the team's big names which meant that this wasn't the strongest team that Klopp would have liked to field today, and it didn't get much better for him during the match as three more players were added to this list.

Dejan Lovren leaving the field with a hamstring injury, adding to the long list of already injured Liverpool players
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/12081866/Stoke-City-v-Liverpool-Capital-One-Cup-semi-final-first-leg-live.html

Stoke City may have lost to West Bromwich Albion last weekend due to a goal in added time, but they had beaten Everton and Manchester United emphatically in the weekends previous to this, which meant that Liverpool would have to find a way to deal with that front trio of Bojan, Marco Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri. 

It was the away side that started the match the stronger of the two and they pushed forward from the starting whistle. They didn't get their first chance until the eighth minute though when Roberto Firmino played the ball across to Adam Lallana. He had a little bit of space so he decided to take the shot on from outside the box and it forced a good first save out of Jack Butland who turned the ball away with a strong hand. 

Liverpool also got the second chance this time coming from Firmino. The ball was cleverly worked into the Stoke box once again and the midfielder fired the ball towards the goal on the turn but the Stoke defender got across well to send the ball out for a corner before it could cause any problems.

Ibe replaced Philippe Coutinho who left the field with a hamstring injury and he had a chance minutes after he entered the field. He made a direct run at the defence and took it on himself. He didn't set himself right though and the ball swerved high and wide of the target. 

Stoke registered their first chance of the half towards the half hour mark when they won a corner. The ball was swung in low to the penalty spot where Bojan had made a run behind the Liverpool defence. He completely misjudged his touch causing the ball to ricochet off his body. A few seconds later the ball landed to Glen Johnson and he decided to have a go, but his shot didn't come close to hitting the target. 

In the 37th minute, Liverpool finally got their reward. James Milner, who had replaced the injured Lovren, played a great ball down the right flank to Lallana who beat the offside trap. The midfielder crossed the ball into the box and Joe Allen tried to hit a shot at Butland's goal, but he got his touch wrong and instead played a square pass to Ibe coming into the box. The winger did what Allen couldn't and curled the ball under the diving keeper and the covering defender. 

Ibe and Firmino celebrating the important Liverpool goal
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/12081866/Stoke-City-v-Liverpool-Capital-One-Cup-semi-final-first-leg-live.html

Stoke didn't sit back after this; instead they went straight down the other end with Johnson whipping a brilliant cross into the box. Arnautovic got ahead of his defender and made a connection with the ball but the wet ball skimmed across his head and finished wide of the far post. 

Just before the end of the first half, Shaqiri won his side a corner and Johnson almost pulled his side back into the game. He beat Allen to the ball and hit his shot on target, but a brilliant save from Mignolet protected Liverpool's first half lead. 

The second half was definitely much brighter for the home side. Less than 10 minutes in, Kolo Toure gave away a free kick which is crossed into a dangerous area of the box and Glenn Whelan is the first player to the ball, but he was knocked off balance as he went to take the shot. Ryan Shawcross was next to have a go and he managed to fire his shot at a Liverpool defender on the turn. The last of the chances was a wild shot that ended up flying high over the crossbar. 

Liverpool did have a few chances though. Ibe was keen to add to his tally and he made a direct run into the box from the left side before cutting back to get some space from his defender. He decided to hit the low shot towards the near post, but he could only find the side netting. 

Butland suffered a scare not long after when he was played the ball back by one of his defenders. The keeper tried to clear the ball from his penalty area with his first touch but only managed to rebound the ball off Firmino on the edge of the box. Much to his relief though, the ball landed neatly back into his gloves instead of causing him any problems. 

At the other end of the field, Ibrahim Afellay tried to hit a low, hard shot at goal from outside the box, but it took a deflection off a defender. This caused the ball to loop up and Simon Mignolet had to back track quickly to tip the ball over his crossbar before it could sneak into the goal. 

In the dying moments of the match, Jonathan Walters got some space in the Liverpool box and instead of taking on the shot first time, he seemed to hesitate. He still managed to get his shot away before the defenders closed him down but the ball skimmed past the far post. 

Klopp applauds the travelling Liverpool fans after his team beat Stoke
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/12081866/Stoke-City-v-Liverpool-Capital-One-Cup-semi-final-first-leg-live.html

This result gives Liverpool a good advantage going into the second leg of this semi-final, especially as they will be playing it at Anfield. Klopp will also be impressed by an improved performance from his side compared to the West Ham game. However, he should feel slightly worried as Coutinho, Lovren and Toure were all added to the very long growing injury list.

Stoke will still feel that they can take this tie from Liverpool as they are only behind by one goal. Mark Hughes also knows that his side can perform in the big games as they have already beaten a number of big teams this season. He will need to figure out a way to get that brilliant trio into the game in the next leg though as Liverpool seemed to deal with them very well and snuff out most of their chances during the build-up play. 

MATCH REPORT: Crystal Palace vs Chelsea

Today's game definitely showed a lot of promise for last season's champions as they beat Crystal Palace 3-0 away from home. 

Many Chelsea fans would be hoping for that New Year cliché of 'new year, new me' to apply to their team after they suffered through a horrendous start to the season which saw their team sitting in 16th place with only 20 points. Guus Hiddink had already overseen two games which resulted in two draws against Manchester United and Watford; the latter of the two could have been a win if Oscar hadn't missed a late penalty. 

It was Palace that started the game brighter out of the two teams. Their first chance came after Joel Ward put a great ball into the centre of the box where Fraser Campbell had the perfect opportunity to put Palace ahead, but his shot was deflected which took the ball wide of the post. 

They had a second not long after which came from Wilfried Zaha who put a lot of power behind his long range shot but the ball simply skimmed across the surface and past the far post.

They followed this up not long after through another two good chances for them to take the lead. Damien Delaney wriggled away from his defender on a corner but he didn't make the most of this opportunity as he couldn't control his header and the ball looped up and into the waiting gloves of Thibaut Courtois. 

Campbell stepped up minutes after him after Jason Puncheon played a brilliant cross into the box from the left wing. The cross sailed over the head of Scott Dann, and Campbell was waiting at the far post. He connected with the ball, but it wasn't a great touch and the ball finished well wide of the post.

Palace didn't make the most of their chances at the beginning of the first half and Chelsea punished them just before the half hour mark. Cesc Fabregas played a great ball in behind Delaney who mistimed his clearance and Diego Costa carried the ball into the Palace box. Instead of taking on the shot himself, like many of the Palace players expected him to, he squared the ball back to Oscar who calmly slotted the ball into the open net to put Chelsea ahead against the run of play. 

From left to right: Pedro, Oscar, Costa, Willian and Cesar Azpilicueta celebrating Oscar's goal
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/12077653/Crystal-Palace-vs-Chelsea-Premier-League-live.html

Palace didn't let this deter them though. They went straight back up the other end and Chung-Yong Lee received the ball in the box and he tried to direct the ball on target with his first touch but instead hit the ball high over the crossbar. 

At the other end of the field minutes later, Lee lost Azpilicueta and the defender was left in a lot of space when inside the box to try and catch Wayne Hennessey out at his near post. Hennessey got down well to clear the ball away with a little help from his defender for the rebound. 

However, if the first half had been all about Palace, Chelsea certainly proved their worth in the second half, with a much brighter performance than they've shown in recent weeks. Mile Jedinak gave away a free kick which allowed Willian to whip the ball into far post where Kurt Zouma got his head onto the ball, but he couldn't find the target with his header. 

Palace did have a couple of half chances in the second half, but one chance stood out from the rest after the Chelsea team seemed to stop. They felt they should have had a free kick which the referee didn't give, and Campbell carried on going and passed the ball through to Zaha. He hesitated before taking the shot though which allowed the Chelsea defence to get back and his final attempt was tame and easy for Courtois to save.

The keeper set his team off quickly following the Palace attack and the ball was passed into Fabregas who quickly played in Oscar. Just before he could run into the box, he was tripped and Willian took the ball from him and with his first touch he sent the ball flying into the top corner of Hennessey's net with some power and it was a truly stunning goal from Chelsea's star player this season. 

Willian scores a brilliant goal which soars past the Palace defender and keeper to double Chelsea's lead
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/12077653/Crystal-Palace-vs-Chelsea-Premier-League-live.html

Just over five minutes later, Palace were really made to rue the many chances they had missed throughout the game. Willian was at the centre of the build-up play once again as he made a direct run into the Palace box and from the right side he squares a ball across the front of the keeper. Hennessey sensed the danger of the ball and got down to palm the ball away but only got it as far as Costa at the far post and he was left with a simple finish to finish the game for Chelsea.

Chelsea remained in complete control of the game after this and Palace were unable to get their foothold in the game again. Chelsea only really had half chances for the last part of the game and Palace did well to snuff them out and prevent any more damage being done.

Chelsea did have one last stand out chance in the match just before full time when Willian was left in a lot of space down the right and he gave the ball to Costa once again at the far post. Costa pulled back to hit the shot on the volley, but the ball was sent into the stands over the crossbar. 

Oscar and Costa celebrating after Costa's goal sealed the points for Chelsea
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/12077653/Crystal-Palace-vs-Chelsea-Premier-League-live.html

So, Chelsea kicked off the new year with their first win under Hiddink and if performances carry on in this way, they should be able to turn their situation around and climb back up the table and forget the beginning of this season. 

Palace may not be smiling after this match, but their silver lining is that they finished the day in 7th position which is a much improved position compared to the lowly 16th they found themselves in last year. Surely, Alan Pardew and his team will see this as a blip in their progress and will turn their full focus to the task ahead of them in the FA Cup next weekend.