Chelsea have maintained their unbeaten start to the Premier League season with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park this afternoon.
Oscar handed the Blues a fifth-minute lead when he whipped a vicious free kick into the top corner from 25 yards which Julian Speroni could not keep out.
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However, it was Palace who had more chances in the first half and, in the absence of Diego Costa, Fraizer Campbell looked the most potent attacking threat for either side.
Even before Oscar's strike, he had been denied by Thibaut Courtois, and Campbell pounced on a poor Gary Cahill header shortly after the goal, but the forward lifted his effort onto the roof of the net.
Moments later, he beat Cahill for pace, but lacked the composure necessary in a one-on-one situation and blazed his effort wildly over the bar.
John Terry - who scored an own goal to gift Palace a 1-0 win in the corresponding fixture last year - saw a header cleared off the line at the right end of the pitch as the hosts almost went two goals down.
However, Courtois had to be alert at the other end to prevent Yannick Bolasie's miscued cross from dropping under the bar in the 26th minute.
Chelsea looked a shadow of the side that have stormed to the top of the league and Jason Puncheon was the next player denied by Courtois.
Shortly before the break, the game descended into chaos as, first, Cesar Azpilicueta was shown a straight red card for a reckless lunge on Mile Jedinak which provoked a melee involving players from both sides.
It took the referee a while to calm both sets of players down, but he soon had his red card out once more after Damien Delaney picked up his second booking of the game for tugging back Loic Remy.
The disruption before the break could have unsettled Chelsea, but, just seven minutes after the restart, they extended their lead in sumptuous fashion.
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Fabregas exchanged passes with Eden Hazard and Oscar before setting himself to net his first league goal for Chelsea since his summer move from Barcelona.
Chelsea were at ease once their two-goal lead had been established and Palace rarely tested Courtois in the second half.
The Eagles, though, did get a late consolation when Campbell got the goal he deserved in second-half stoppage time, but Chelsea held on to re-establish their five-point lead at the top of the table.
Kristian Johnson
