HUDDERSFIELD, England: Willian scored one goal and set up two others as Chelsea overwhelmed Huddersfield 3-1 in the Premier League early this morning, moving the defending champions level on points with second-placed Manchester United.
Chelsea are 11 points behind leaders City, whose game in hand is against Swansea today.
Huddersfield have beaten United and run Manchester City close at home this season, but were easily dispatched by the other member of the league’s top three as Chelsea rebounded from a loss at West Ham at the weekend.
Willian, recalled to the team with striker Alvaro Morata out injured, set up the opening goal by Tiemoue Bakayoko in the 23rd minute and headed in the second in the 43rd.
The Brazilian winger laid the ball off for Pedro Rodriguez to score the third in the 50th minute as Chelsea cut through Huddersfield at will.
Substitute Laurent Depoitre grabbed a stoppage-time consolation for Huddersfield, which is playing in its first season in the top division in 45 years.
Burnley’s Ashley Barnes fired a last-gasp winner as his off-colour side climbed to the heady heights of fourth with a 1-0 win over struggling Stoke City.
A scrappy game in which Stoke created the better chances was petering out into a stalemate when Barnes blasted an unstoppable shot past goalkeeper Jack Butland in the 89th minute.
The victory took Sean Dyche’s battling side to 31 points from 17 games above Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Liverpool, all of whom play today.
It was tough on Stoke who responded well to a 5-1 thrashing at Spurs on Saturday. Only a post prevented Peter Crouch giving the visitors an early lead while Kurt Zouma wasted another good chance and Mame Diouf fired an effort into the side-netting.
Burnley’s fans were showing their frustration until their side scored with only their second shot on target and by the end it was Stoke’s supporters who were again grumbling as their team stayed just three points above the relegation zone.
Crystal Palace scored twice at the death to earn a precious 2-1 win over Watford that moved Roy Hodgson’s side out of the relegation zone.
Trailing to Daryl Janmaat’s third-minute opener, Palace really should have been out of contention before halftime as Watford spurned several good chances to extend their lead.