Champions-elect Chelsea moved one step closer to securing another Premier League title by beating Bournemouth 3-1 at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.

Diego Costa gave Chelsea the lead when his shot came off defender Adam Smith, wrong footing Cherries keeper Artur Boruc, ending the striker’s drought in front of goal. Eden Hazard soon made it two goals in two minutes as he expertly controlled an aerial through ball, before rounding Boruc and finishing it with ease to double his side’s lead.

Bournemouth try to respond as Charlie Daniels’ cross found Benik Afobe rushing into the box but the ex-Arsenal forward’s stretching leg could only hit the post. Josh King did give the hosts a lifeline when his powerful shot deflected off Gary Cahill to give Thibaut Courtois no chance with the finish as Bournemouth tried to fight their way back into the game.

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Marcus Alonso sealed the game for the Blues with a wonderfully struck free-kick to secure another three points for Antonio Conte’s men. Earlier, Tottenham Hotspur had reduced the deficit to four points with the help of a brace from Son Heung-Min.

Dele Alli opened Spurs’ account on the evening with a wonderful curling finish. Eric Dier soon doubled the home side’s lead with a powerful finish which bounced off the turf. After that, it was the South Korean who took centre-stage as his first was a thing of beauty, a curling finish from outside the box.

His second was a placed finish from Kieran Trippier’s cross and he could have had a third had he not missed when one-on-one with Heurelho Gomes. Minutes later, he also hit the post on a dominating evening for the hosts at White Hart Lane.

Manchester City also bagged all three points at the Etihad as they defeated a resurgent Hull 3-1. Ahmed El-Mohamady gave the Citizens an unwitting lead as he turned into his own net from a Raheem Sterling cross. Sergio Aguero then tucked the ball away neatly after Sterling had dribbled his way to the touchline.

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Fabian Delph rounded off the scoring with an absolute screamer with the outside of his foot. Andrea Ranocchia reduced Hull’s deficit when he poked it in from close range following a corner. City kept pace with Liverpool for the Champions League places, who beat Stoke 2-1 at the Britannia Stadium.

Simon Mignolet pulled off a couple of extraordinary saves after Roberto Firmino had scored the winner with a volley lashed in from outside the box. Jonathan Walters had taken advantage of some poor defending to score the opener for Stoke before Phillipe Coutinho had levelled things up for the visiting team.

Brief Scores:

  • Tottenham Hotspur 4 (Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Son Heung-Min X 2) beat Watford 0
  • Manchester City 3 (Ahmed El-Mohamady own goal, Sergio Aguero, Fabian Delph) beat Hull City 1 (Andrea Ranocchia)
  • Stoke City 1 (Jonathan Walters) lost to Liverpool 2 (Phillipe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino)
  • Bournemouth 1 (Josh King) lost to Chelsea 3 (Adam Smith own goal, Eden Hazard, Marcos Alonso)