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Apr 4, 2015 at 5.30pm UK
 
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2-1

Hazard (39' pen.), Remy (62')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Adam (44')

Player Ratings: Chelsea 2-1 Stoke City

:Headline: Player Ratings: Chelsea 2-1 Stoke City: ID:215254: from db_amp
Sports Mole looks at who stood out during Chelsea's 2-1 victory over Stoke City at Stamford Bridge.

Charlie Adam scored from inside his own half but was unable to prevent Stoke City from losing 2-1 at the hands of Premier League leaders Chelsea this afternoon.

Goals from Eden Hazard and Loic Remy either side of Adam's spectacular 60-yard strike sealed the points for the Blues as they took another step towards the title.

Here, Sports Mole looks at who stood out at Stamford Bridge.


CHELSEA

Goal

Thibaut Courtois: Had very little to do before or after Adam's wonder goal. It says a lot for the quality of the strike that a keeper of Courtois's ability could do nothing about it. (6/10)

Defence

Branislav Ivanovic: Able to spend most of the match on the front foot but did not have quite as big of an attacking impact as he might have liked under the circumstances. (6/10)

Gary Cahill: Made a couple of good interceptions and clearances to deal with testing crosses into the box. Had little to do aside from that, though, with Stoke not threatening too much in the final third. (7/10)

John Terry: Enjoyed a comfortable match, keeping tabs on the Stoke attack with relative ease. Was as helpless as everybody else when watching Adam's goal soar in. (6/10)

Cesar Azpilicueta: Sound as ever defensively, but perhaps could have offered a little more going forward, with Hazard often having to do it all himself down that flank. (6/10)

Midfield

Nemanja Matic: Provided a sturdy base for those in front of him to do the damage. Did not need to be at his best today. (7/10)

Cesc Fabregas: Guilty of over-playing on more than one occasion as he continued to search for his best form again. (6/10)

Willian: An all-action display down the right, terrorising the Stoke defence at times. His work rate was once again notable and he helped to set up the winning goal as he pounced on an errant throw. (8/10)

Oscar: Missed a decent chance to break the deadlock on the half-hour mark and was taken off at half time after a rather quiet display. (5/10)

Eden Hazard: The best player on the park. Coolly converted his penalty and unselfishly set up the winning goal, in addition to posing a constant threat wherever he popped up. (9/10)

Attack

Loic Remy: Handed a rare start and rewarded Mourinho's faith with the winning goal, although it was the simplest of finishes for the striker. Is likely to be heavily involved for the rest of the season now, with Costa picking up another hamstring injury. (7/10)

Substitutes

Diego Costa: Came on at half time, but only lasted a little over 10 minutes before his hamstring went again. His season may now be over depending on the severity of the injury. (6/10)

Didier Drogba: Replaced Costa shortly before the hour mark and provided the hosts with a good target man to hold the ball up. (6/10)

Juan Cuadrado: Introduced moments after what proved to be the winning goal, but did not make an impact during his cameo. (6/10)


STOKE

Goal

Asmir Begovic: A mixed bag. Made a string of excellent saves to keep his side in the game, including one particularly impressive double stop. Gifted Chelsea the winner, though, with a poor throw out that was picked off by Willian. (7/10)

Defence

Geoff Cameron: Came up against an in-form Hazard and struggled to get near the Belgian at times. Not his easiest 90 minutes. (4/10)

Ryan Shawcross: Did his best to keep Chelsea at bay, but has his goalkeeper to thank more than anybody for keeping the score down. (6/10)

Philipp Wollscheid: Conceded the penalty with a rash challenge on Fabregas inside the box that was rightly punished. Struggled to keep tabs on Remy's movement too. (5/10)

Marc Wilson: Had his hands full with a busy Willian, who did not stop working. Held his own for the most part, though. (6/10)

Midfield

Stephen Ireland: Never really got into the game as Stoke spent most of their time chasing the ball. Barely posed any threat in an attacking sense. (5/10)

Glenn Whelan: Plenty of energy and intensity in the middle of the park as he refused to make life easy for Chelsea, although he lacked the quality to truly make a telling difference. (6/10)

Steven N'Zonzi: Came close with two efforts from outside the box, the second of which clipped the post with Courtois beaten. Stoke's best player on the day. (7/10)

Charlie Adam: Scored one of the greatest Premier League goals of all time with a 60-yard strike that flew over Courtois. To have the audacity to even try that against one of the best goalkeepers in the world is impressive, but to pull it off was truly remarkable. Maybe fortunate not to have seen red after what looked like an elbow on Fabregas, but luckily he stayed on and was able to provide a truly memorable moment. (7/10)

Attack

Mame Biram Diouf: Barely involved at all as Stoke struggled to get the ball forward to him in dangerous areas. Eventually taken off with just over an hour gone. (5/10)

Jonathan Walters: Unable to offer anything more going forward as Chelsea comfortably dealt with what little attacking intent Stoke showed. (5/10)

Substitutes

Marko Arnautovic: Missed a late chance to grab an equaliser by blazing a loose ball well off target when he should have done better. (6/10)

Peter Crouch: Introduced as a final throw of the dice by Mark Hughes and won a couple of headers as the ball was predictably hoisted up to him, but could not change the course of the match. (6/10)

Erik Pieters: Came on at the same time as Crouch, but did not have much of an impact in his 11-minute cameo. (6/10)


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