Cesc Fabregas inspires Chelsea to win at Stoke

Chelsea are three points clear at the top of the Premier League at Christmas after a fiery 2-0 win at Stoke City.

The Blues went into the clash level with Manchester City but settled any nerves thanks to John Terry's second minute header as Jose Mourinho's men made a supercharged start at the Britannia.

The visiting skipper marked his 650th club appearance in style as he rose brilliantly to power Cesc Fabregas' corner into the net.

Diego Costa could and should have added to the advantage but dragged wide late in the first half before Fabregas capped his return from suspension in style with a miscued finish 12 minutes from time.

Stoke rarely threatened with long-range drive from substitute Charlie Adam and Bojan the best they could muster, and they were also lucky not to lose Phil Bardsley to an early red card when he thundered into a reckless challenge on Eden Hazard.

Hazard was a constant menace throughout but picked up an injury late on following a foul by Jon Walters that saw him hobble off. It was the one sour point on a night when the Blues came out on top in a real physical encounter.

The result sees Chelsea sitting at the summit at Christmas for the fourth time in Premier League history and the omens are good for Mourinho and his troops, as they have been crowned champions on the three previous occasions.

PRE-MATCH - Courtois and Fabregas return for Chelsea: Thibaut Courtois is recalled to the Blues goal in place of Petr Cech after overcoming a groin injury. Cesc Fabregas is back from suspension while Cesar Azpilicueta is the last of three changes made by Mourinho. Stoke are boosted by the news that Bojan is fit to start with Marc Muniesa and Marko Arnautovic also involved.

2' - GOAL!STOKE 0-1 CHELSEA. Chelsea get off to a flyer as John Terry rises to thump Fabregas' right-wing corner into the net.

20' - SHOULD STOKE BE DOWN TO 10-MEN? Stoke furiously surround the referee as Bardsley is booked for a late, high lunge on Hazard on the left touchline. Mourinho is also fuming. Could that have been a straight red? The home players looked worried there. On another day, with another referee...

21' - GOOD SAVE! Courtois gets down well to push N'Zonzi's deflected effort past his near post.

31' - CHELSEA CHANCE! Matic wins the ball brilliantly to tee up a Chelsea break. Fabregas feeds Costa who rampages into the area but drags his shot wide of the far post.

52' - CHELSEA CHANCE! Willian bursts into the right side of the area but sees his low shot across goal thwarted by Begovic.

72' - STOKE CHANCE. CLOSE! N'Zonzi and Walters cause chaos on the edge of the Chelsea box and when it falls for Adam he lashes just wide from 20 yards. Unlucky.

78' -GOAL!STOKE 0-2 CHELSEA. Chelsea are two up! Fabregas takes a wonderful first-touch to create space from Hazard's pass and then bobbles a shot across goal into the net. A miscued finish but he won't care.

84' - GREAT SAVE! Schurrle feeds Costa who looks all set to make it three, only to be denied by a fine stop from Begovic.

90' - INJURY BLOW? Hazard goes down following a tackle by Walters on the left. The Belgian receives treatment and hobbles on for a bit before being subbed. Mourinho will be hoping that isn't going to rule him out for any of their festive fixtures.

90+5' - STOKE CHANCE. Bojan lets fly from 25 yards but it arrows just wide.

John Terry is Chelsea's 13th goalscorer in the Premier League this season. No team has more different scorers. It came on the Blues skipper's 650th club appearance.

Terry's goal on two minutes is Chelsea's second fastest in the PL this season, after Diego Costa (35 seconds) against Everton on 30 August.

Terry enters the top 10 of Chelsea goalscorers in the PL on 35 goals, equal to Malouda and one more than Tore Andre Flo.

Stoke City have now conceded a goal in each of their last 11 Premier League games; the longest run without a clean sheet in the competition this season.

Cesc Fabregas has 12 assists in the Premier League season. The most by any player last season was 13 (Gerrard).

Fabregas has now been involved in 14 PL goals this season (two goals, 12 assists) - only Sergio Aguero (17) has been involved in more.

Chelsea's first goal was Stoke's 10th PL goal of the season conceded from a set-piece, a PL-high alongside West Bromwich Albion.

Chelsea have lost only one of their last 20 Premier League games played on a Monday (W12 D7 L1).

The Potters have failed to score in six of the last seven Premier League games against Chelsea.

Stoke City will remain on 19 points - their worst points total at this stage of the season in the club's PL history (7 seasons).

Chelsea will lead the table at Christmas for the fourth time in top flight history, winning the league on the three previous occasions: 2004/05, 2005/06, and 2009/10.

The win means it is the eighth occasion in which Jose Mourinho has been leading a league table at Christmas, and he has won the championship on all seven previous occasions

Is that the stuff of champions? Stoke have enjoyed a fine record against the Premier League big boys this season, but they struggled to impose themselves on the game as Chelsea responded to Manchester City's routine win over Crystal Palace with the type of hard-fought, controlled triumph that championship-winning campaigns are made of.

Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea): The Blues had a hosts of contenders, particularly Nemanja Matic, but the Spaniard just about shades it as he continues to be a huge influence in the attacking third, notching up a goal and an assist.

STOKE: Begovic 7, Bardsley 5, Shawcross 7, Muniesa 6, Pieters 6, Cameron 6, Nzonzi 6, Walters 6, Bojan 6, Arnautovic 6, Crouch 6. Subs: Diouf 5, Adam 7, Assaidi n/a.

CHELSEA: Courtois 7, Ivanovic 7, Cahill 7, Terry 8, Azpilicueta 7, Mikel 6, Matic 8, Willian 7, Fabregas 8, Hazard 7, Diego Costa 7. Subs: Schurrle 6, Drogba n/a, Zouma n/a.