Spanish forward Pedro Rodriguez scored twice as red-hot leaders Chelsea crushed Bournemouth 3-0 on Monday to register a club-record 12th consecutive Premier League victory. Pedro struck either side of Eden Hazard's 50th English league goal at Stamford Bridge as Antonio Conte's side opened up a provisional nine-point lead at the summit in the Boxing Day action.
"To win 12 games in a row is not easy in this league," Chelsea manager Conte told the BBC. "It's a fantastic run, but it's important to continue that now. In four days we have another tough game (against Stoke City) and we have to prepare very well. Because now, every team wants to beat you." Olivier Giroud prevented Arsenal losing more ground, his 86th-minute header snatching a 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion to lift Arsene Wenger's side above Manchester City into third place.
But with second-place Liverpool not in action until Tuesday, when Stoke visit Anfield, Manchester City can climb to second if they win at bottom club Hull City in the late game. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored one goal and set up two others as Manchester United closed to within three points of the Champions League places by beating Sunderland 3-1, while champions Leicester City lost again.
Chelsea's victory over Bournemouth left them one win short of Arsenal's 2002 record of 13 successive victories within the same top-flight season. With Diego Costa and N'Golo Kante suspended, Conte paired Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic in midfield, with Hazard starting up front, flanked by Willian and Pedro.
Pedro broke the deadlock in the 24th minute, curling a left-foot shot into the top corner from Fabregas's pass following a neatly worked corner. Hazard made it 2-0 four minutes into the second half, rolling a penalty into the bottom-right corner after he had drawn a foul from Simon Francis, with Pedro adding a deflected shot in stoppage time. Beaten 2-1 by Everton and then City on their two previous outings, Arsenal narrowly avoided going three league games without winning for the first time since January 2012.
Alexis Sanchez's shot against the post looked to be the closest Arsenal would come until Giroud marked his return to the starting XI by looping a header over Ben Foster with four minutes to play. - Opening draw for Allardyce - "In the end we had to be patient against a well-organised West Brom side. When you don't score early, you can't rush," said Wenger. "We knew we had to win today after two disappointing defeats." Manchester United sank Sunderland to record a fourth successive league win for the first time under manager Jose Mourinho.