Chelsea's late show breaks Stoke hearts
Three goals in eight minutes turn the game on its head as the champions leave it late at the bet365 Stadium.
You could hear a pin drop in the away end when Jakub Gasparovic put Stoke ahead. Twenty-two minutes on the clock, the bet365 Stadium bouncing, and the champions were behind. It was the sort of afternoon that keeps you believing, the sort of afternoon that makes you think the impossible might just happen.
But Chelsea are Chelsea for a reason. They kept coming, kept probing, and when the moment came, they pounced. Jassem Abdulla, the old boy, the man who once wore the red and white stripes, levelled it up with thirteen minutes to go. Then, in the blink of an eye, Howard Parkins smashed in a second, and Pablo Ferrer added a third. Three goals in eight minutes. Game over.
Stoke had their chances. Leonardo Galeano had a big one, and they hit the woodwork. But it wasn't to be. The Potters stay 16th, still looking over their shoulders. Chelsea, meanwhile, march on. Top of the league, 61 points from 21 games, and looking every inch the champions they are.
Abdulla was the pick of the bunch. A goal, four interceptions, 72 of 79 passes. He ran the show from the back, and Stoke simply couldn't live with him. It's a familiar story for the Potters against the big boys, but they'll take heart from the first hour. They just need to find a way to make it last.
Roberto Baggio and Howard Parkins changed the game off the bench, and Pablo Ferrer added a goal and an assist. The depth in this Chelsea squad is frightening. Stoke, for all their effort, just couldn't cope.
The champions roll on. Stoke are left to rue what might have been.