Chelsea continue to stay ahead of the pack as they stay top of the Premier League but Queens Park Rangers nearly held them to a draw. Jose Mourinho watched on as his team needed a penalty from Eden Hazard to overcome a struggling QPR side, who had drawn level in the second half thanks to Charlie Austin.Oscar gave the home side the lead with a wonder goal in a first half in which Chelsea were mostly dominant but the team lacked a killer instinct.
The Stamford Bridge atmosphere was filled with an air of expectancy and anticipation, Mourinho deployed his most powerful squad available, with the return of first-choice striker Diego Costa sine his one month injury lay off. Mourinho clearly wants his team to continue setting the pace in the Premier League and was eager for them to regain their momentum after last weekend’s draw at Old Trafford. QPR have been poor on the road this season losing every game and scoring just once as they conceded 12.
Chelsea have had 10 clean sheets in their last 12 Premier League game s at Stamford Bridge and it was hard to see how QPR would turn the cards on their London rivals. Rangers gave the ball away within two seconds of kick-off, inviting two minutes of pressure during which Chelsea threatened with three successive corners. Chelsea toiled to create chances despite having the bulk of the possession.
Costa looked short of sharpness for much of the first half but did produce a drag-back and pass that created an opening for Oscar, who failed to convert, instead played a soft shot wide from 12 yards. A minute later Branislav Ivanovic made a stealthy run of a natural predator to collect a through ball from Willian, but then spared his quarry by shooting the sidenetting from close range.
Generally , however, QPR were doing a fair job at containing Chelsea and, in the 15th minute, they signalled the first warning of their creeping menace, with Austin heading just over the bar following a cross from Junior Hoillet.
Hazard had a lot of the ball but he was unable to create solid chances for his teammates. It took a mistake by Eduardo Vargas in the 25th minute to create another opening for the team, with Cesc Fabregas pouncing on the Chilean’s loose pass before forcing a save from Rob Green from 25 yards.
Seven minutes later Oscar pounced on a sumptuous pass from Fagregas and flip the ball into the far corner of the net with the outside of his foot.
QPR needed to bounce back but they needed to withstand Chelsea’s pressure. The excellent Richard Dunne blocked a Costa shot from 10 yards after nimble interplay involving Hazard and Oscar. Green then gathered a long-range shot from Willian.
Neither side changed personnel during the break but QPR emerged with more attacking intent. They pressed Chelsea back in the early minutes of the second period, causing Mourinho to fume on the sidelines. Surrendering the initiative at Manchester City and United earlier this season was bad enough; the prospect of doing it at home to QPR seemed intolerable for the Portuguese.
Willian might have soothed his manager by setting up a killer second goal in the 54th minute but instead over-hit an intended pass to Hazard, who lunged but could not connect with the ball seven yards from goal. Chelsea cranked up the pressure and both Hazard and Costa had strong penalty appeals turned down. Redknapp decided it was time to intervene: he introduced Bobby Zamora to give Austin company up front. Two minutes later Austin equalised. It was a wonderful finish, too, as Leroy Fer fired a bouncing shot at goal from 20 yards and the striker, standing eight yards out, applied a backflick that wrongfooted Thibault Courtois.
Now it was up to Mourinho to make a decisive intervention. He replaced Willian with another striker, Didier Drogba. But QPR now had three points on their mind, too, and Sandro nearly edged them towards such a haul, driving a low shot wide in the 68th minute.
Green then tipped an Oscar free-kick wide before Hazard blasted a shot inches over the bar from the edge of the box.
In the end Chelsea needed help to secure the win – and, not for the first time this season, Redknapp’s men came to their opponent’s aid, Vargas giving away a penalty with a witless shunt on Hazard in the 75th minute.
This time Hazard was ruthless. Mourinho knows that stronger team are unlikely to show such vulnerability.
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