Chelsea have moved seven points clear at the top of the Premier League with a 4-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge.
Two goals and a sending-off in the space of four second-half minutes changed the complexion of the game, as the Blues extended their lead over the chasing pack in style.
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The home side came close to making the breakthrough early on as Eden Hazard rounded Hugo Lloris when played through on goal, but he could not find the back of the net, instead firing wide of the post.
Spurs had a couple of chances to open the scoring themselves in the first half. First Nabil Bentaleb burst into the box before poking an effort wide, while Sandro got on the end of a clearance just outside the area, firing the resulting volley towards goal for Petr Cech to push away.
The first goal of the contest came on 54 minutes courtesy of Samuel Eto'o, with the striker slotting the ball past Lloris having made the most of an error by Jan Vertonghen in the Spurs' defence to give Chelsea the lead.
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Four minutes later Hazard doubled the hosts' advantage from the spot, with the referee awarding a penalty after Youness Kaboul was adjudged to have brought down Eto'o, with the defender being shown a straight red card as a result.
As the game edged towards its end, two bad moments in the space of a minute condemned Tim Sherwood's side to a heavy defeat, with Demba Ba finding the back of the net twice following more errors at the back.
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A Sandro slip allowed Ba to score his first, before Kyle Walker's weak header back to his keeper was intercepted by the striker to add his second and Chelsea's fourth of the evening.
Daniel Lewis
