Chelsea defeat Southampton to open 7-point gap at the top

         

Diego Costa scored twice, as Chelsea beat Southampton 4-2 at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night, to go seven points clear of Tottenham Hotspur on the Premier League table.

Antonio Conte’s men lost 2-0 to Manchester United in their last league fixture and were eager not to drop more points ahead of Spurs’ trip to Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

Eden Hazard put the Blues ahead as early as the 5th minute, before former Chelsea midfielder Oriol Romeu equalized. Captain Gary Cahill restored the home side’s lead before half time.

Costa scored twice after the restart, before another old boy Ryan Bertrand pulled one back in the last minute of play.

Conte’s men now have 78 points with five games left to play.