BlueLion.

Merry fucking Christmas.

John Terry and Diego Costa scored as Chelsea maintained their Premier League title charge with a sumptuous performance against high-flying West Ham. The Blues maintained their lead at the top of the table with a terrific showing that highlighted both their defensive resilience and trademark dynamism and attacking flair. Thibaut Courtois becomes the first goalkeeper to prevent the Hammers from scoring on the road this season, and between the Belgian and fellow shot-stopper Petr Cech, the Blues have now managed six clean sheets in their last season league fixtures. It was at the other end of the pitch, however, that one of the game's starring performers stole a fair portion of the limelight, with Hammers keeper Adrian mirroring his superb showing from the 0-0 draw in last season's corresponding fixture. The former Real Betis man made a string of excellent saves to deny the vast Blue tide that threatened to sweep across the West Ham rearguard, but he was helpless to prevent Terry from scoring his second goal of the week on the half-hour. And when Costa jinked inside and then outside again, the Spanish international sat three of Adrian's defenders on their backsides before threading the ball into the far corner with an exquisite finish, for what is the striker's thirteenth goal in fourteen Premier League appearances since his big money move from Atletico Madrid in the summer. If Monday's 2-0 win at Stoke showcased Chelsea's physicality and ability to dig deep and grind out a win, then this case proved the antithesis of that showing. The Blues were absolutely magnificent in the first half, and their slender one-goal lead heading into the interview belied their superiority. Through Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas, José Mourinho's side were able to govern the midfield, allowing for Willian, Eden Hazard, Oscar and Costa to tear the Hammers apart with some gorgeous interplay. The first interchange between the Blues' front four almost paid immediate dividends when Oscar, clean through on goal, wasted a glorious early opening with his miscued his volley horribly over the crossbar. That chance had come about when Willian's cross missed its intended target - Costa - and caught Oscar almost by surprise, but there was no accident in the combination that brought about Chelsea's next glaring opportunity, though the pair that produced it might have raised eyebrows. Following a Fabregas corner, Terry teased in a cross to the back past that Gary Cahill did well to attack, but the England international failed to keep his header on target. Another corner, this time slightly more well worked, then allowed Cahill his second chance of the game. From Fabregas' intelligent pass, the former Bolton man put his foot through the ball. Whilst his shot from eight yards had all the necessary power to beat Adrian, it lacked the precision required and the Spanish goalkeeper stood tall to parry. Oscar then floated a free-kick wide before Fabregas was more successful in at least testing the goalkeeper, but his tame effort rarely looked like posing Adrian too much trouble. The next Chelsea opportunity certainly did produce the best of the Spaniard, as Willian, dribbling some forty yards before shooting, saw his drilled effort take a slight nick off of James Collins. That deflection made things awkward for the goalkeeper, who still managed to parry. Chelsea did finally manage to stick the ball home beyond the goalkeeper when Terry intelligently got on the end of Costa's flick-on. All stemming from another Fabregas corner, the Chelsea skipper poked home for the second consecutive game as the Blues opened the scoring through another set-piece, almost with delicious irony. Five minutes later Adrian made a stunning low save to deny Matic, who, given space on the edge of the box, had the time to pick his spot. At full stretch, the goalkeeper turned the Serb's dipping strike around the post. Chelsea deserved to be more than 1-0 up, and they would have one more chance before the interval to increase their lead, and but only for a better pass from Branislav Ivanovic would they have been able to do so - instead the Serbian's poor pass meant Costa could only shin over a half-volley with the goal at his mercy. Before the break, though, Ivanovic took a tumble in the penalty area after negligible contact by Andy Carroll - the striker's biggest contribution to this game. Replays showed the Serbia captain certainly exaggerated any touch there may have been, and he was lucky to avoid a yellow card for simulation. That seemed to fire up West Ham, who came out with renewed vigour after the break. The introductions of Alex Song and Diafra Sakho gave the Hammers more steel in the middle of the park, and Sam Allardyce's team were able to maintain a spell of possession for the first time in the game. But their good rebuilding work was undone when Cheikhou Kouyate was stripped of the ball with consumate ease by Matic, who fed Hazard. The Belgian, who minutes before had produced another save out of the goalkeeper, dribbled forward, and teed Costa who showed great composure to slot home. The Chelsea number 19 turned one way then the other, sat three West Ham players on the deck before firing with laser precision into the back of the net - Adrian, this time, helpless to prevent it. At the other end, Courtois, a virtual spectator, was given his first test of the afternoon when Sakho burst clean through straight from the restart, but the Belgian made a fine save when one-on-one to preserve his clean sheet. Meanwhile, Hammers goalkeeper Adrian continued his one-man act of defiance to pull off a special fingertip save from another Oscar effort. The Brazilian shot from fully 30 yards after Hazard was upended, but the goalkeeper was able to just get enough on the ball to divert it over the woodwork. Adrian then blocked an effort at Matic's feet before Winston Reid's brave tackle smothered a shot from Oscar that seemed destined for the roof of the net. Fabregas then saw a curling effort miss the target by a matter of inches. This was the resumption of Chelsea's first half dominance. But that superiority was cut short by three substitutions by Mourinho, whilst Allardyce made one final throw of the dice by introducing Morgan Amalfitano. After heading a half-chance a foot or so wide of the post, the ex-Marseilles man then hit the base of the post after turning Ivanovic inside-out. There were a number of late half-chances for Chelsea to improve their goal difference, with substitute Didier Drogba's long-range dipper the best of those opportunities, but in the end Chelsea saw out the game in relative comfort to maintain their three-point advantage at the top of the Premier League table. Click here to view the article

This picture needs re-posting.

They're signing him to play at left back I imagine.

This just won't ever in a trillion years happen. With the other topics, for most of them there is at least a minuscule chance we could sign the player. But Messi? It won't happen.

Wishing all of our members a very Merry Christmas, and all the best for 2015!

We need to clone him. Now.

I've never seen a goalkeeper so fired up to come and deal with crosses, most keepers I train are usually shit scared and won't leave their six yard box, and when they do it's never to try and catch a ball. That being said, he is 6'6" and I guess it's a lot easier when you've got such a high ape index with arms the size of his!

John Terry is like a fine bottle of vintage single malt whiskey. Better and better with every passing year.

Well Hughes was trying to put the pressure on us before the game. It didn't work. I haven't seen such a professional away performance by us since Slippy G hit the deck in April at Anfield.

It's a good one isn't it!

You've misread my post. I can't be arsed explaining. But that isn't what I said.

Cesc Fabregas played a starring role as Chelsea beat Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium. After Manchester City's recent run of good form continued against a hapless Crystal Palace on Saturday, Chelsea found their Premier League lead reduced merely to goal difference ahead of a potential banana skin away trip to the Midlands. But Fabregas' corner in just the second minute allowed John Terry to settle Chelsea nerves with his 60th goal for the club, before the Spanish magician himself struck twelve minutes from time. José Mourinho will fool very few people with his consistent selection policy, though one surprise saw Fabregas remain in a more advanced role behind Diego Costa - leaving John Mikel Obi to sit alongside Nemanja Matic at the heart of the midfield. Oscar made way for the Nigerian. And it was a decision that paid dividends for Mourinho, as the former Arsenal and Barcelona man orchestrated an efficient away performance that sees the Blues top the pile at Christmas. The previous three times Chelsea have been top of the Premier League on 25 December they have gone on to lift the trophy come May, and in this gutsy performance they demonstrated that their ability to dig deep when under the cosh has not diminished. But this was not the type of game where the Blues sat deep and looked to contain the long-ball threat of their opponents - instead they attacked from the off and in the first attack of the match, Branislav Ivanovic saw a shot deflect out for a corner. The resultant set-piece saw Fabregas tease in the perfect ball for Terry to rise highest and guide a header past the exposed Asmir Begovic. That was followed by some lovely movement deep inside the Stoke half between Eden Hazard and Costa, which ended with the latter firing tamely wide of the upright, but the gauntlet had well and truly been thrown down by Mourinho's charges with an effervescent start. Stoke rallied - but only after a horror-tackle by their full-back Phil Bardsley, who scythed down Hazard after the Belgian had skipped past him. The former Sunderland man was lucky to escape without any more punishment than just a yellow card, and that set the tone for a bad-tempered affair where Stoke showed that old habits die hard. They nearly equalised when Steven Nzonzi's low long-range strike went through Terry and forced a brilliant one-handed low save by Thibault Courtois down to his left on his return from injury. In having already taken a number of crosses confidently, the Belgian was certainly showing no ill effects. Costa then wasted a great chance to apply the proverbial sucker punch when he uncharacteristically wasted a glorious opportunity. Played in by Hazard having lived on the verge of offside, the Spaniard rolled his shot wide of the upright by a matter of inches. The first chance of the second half saw Fabregas tamely flick the ball into Begovic's hands after super ball manipulation by Hazard, before Willian saw an on-target free-kick denied the opportunity to test the Bosnian, as it took a flick off the wall and went behind for a corner. Chelsea were turning the screw and hoping to close the game off, but Stoke were able to draw confidence from the fact that despite their clear inferiority on the night, the Potters were only one goal down and never truly out of this contest - that was until Fabregas fittingly applied the coup de grâce. Charlie Adam, a Stoke substitute, saw a volley curl the wrong side of the post from his perspective before Chelsea punished him for his inaccuracy as Fabregas scuffed home a rather unsightly goal - but he, and the 2,871 travelling Chelsea supporters couldn't have cared less. Costa then saw just his second - and last - opportunity of the game well saved by Begovic before he was hauled off to a hero's reception from the Chelsea faithful. Costa's role away from home is not that of goalscorer; it is that of cheerleader supreme - he infuriates the supporters and riles the opposing centre-backs, and he did that with aplomb here. Andre Schurrle and Didier Drogba entered the fray as late substitues and both had half-chances; the Ivorian trying his luck and firing not too far over from fully 40 yards, whilst Schurrle saw an effort well fielded by Begovic as the game petered out. The only concern for the Blues was Hazard's forced withdrawal after suffering what appeared to be an Achilles injury, and he was replaced by Kurt Zouma, making his first appearance since suffering a nasty head injury in a collision with Petr Cech in last week's win at Derby.

Yes.

Go and develop a vocabulary that exceeds 30 words you peasant.

Stop being so recalcitrant.

Anyone who says we have a shit atmosphere can fuck right off, our atmosphere is incredible compared to the embarrassment that is the Emptyhad Stadium. City "fans" are a joke.

Possibly the only midfielder in world football in that position that would be an improvement on a Matic-Fabregas pivot would be if we signed Paul Pogba. I like Witsel but is he better than Matic? Frankly, there isn't a DM in world football better than he is.

FFS no-one is saying that. But when you're the GK for the best defence in world football life is considerably easier than it is playing for a defensively shit team such as Spurs.

Granted. But look at the teams they were playing for... Casillas playing for Madrid and Buffon playing for Parma, who in the late 1990s were easily one of the best teams in Italy. Courtois played at Genk, yes, but then playing for arguably the best defensive side in world football. So whilst Buffon and Casillas have incredible records, they played for excellent sides at the time. Neuer's record is very impressive, though, as Schalke have never been the tightest team defensively. Courtois' record is amazing, though, already 112 clean sheets (I think?) and still another five months before he's 23.

I don't know how adidas keep topping each kit they produce...

Did Stingray send you them? FFS. Mock-ups look sick.

Because Falcao is a half-fit enigma?

The only reason the likes of LvG and Wenger promote youth is because either the rest of their squad is injured, or the rest of their squad is shit. Would Wilson, McNair, Blackett and company play if all of their regular first-teamers were fit? Not a chance in hell. Wilson possibly, but that kid has a big future ahead of him.

He was magical last night. A cut above.