(Video) Willian leads Chelsea response but Stoke City make mockery of 451-minute run without conceding

Ron Carne

After seeing their impressive run without conceding end, Chelsea took just 10 minutes to produce a response against Stoke City on Saturday.

Bruno Martins Indi had ended a run of 451 minutes without conceding for the Premier League pacesetters, as his goal drew the Potters level after Gary Cahill had given the hosts the lead.

While the manner and timing with which the goal was conceded would not have impressed Antonio Conte, the Italian tactician would have been pleased with the reaction he saw from his players.

Chelsea responded immediately after conceding with Lee Grant again called into action, but it was a wonderful team goal that breached the Stoke goal for a second time.

With Victor Moses and Eden Hazard combining in the build up, the latter set up Willian who produced an assured effort to evade the Stoke defenders in his way as he restored his side’s lead.

As they search for a 13th consecutive Premier League win to temporarily move nine points clear at the top of the table, Peter Crouch attempted to ruin their party once again as he found an equaliser.

Given how strong Chelsea had looked at the back in recent weeks it was a shock to see them make such a mess of things to see out 2016, with the former England international sweeping home a nice effort to leave Thibaut Courtois disappointed again.

However, the drama was far from over as Willian stepped up and scored again to restore Chelsea’s lead, with Cesc Fabregas reaching a personal milestone.

Despite limited playing time under Conte this season, the Spaniard has still managed to grab six assists in all competitions, and he made it his 100th Premier League assist with a stunning pass to set Willian through.

The Brazilian attacker made no mistake as he blasted his effort into the back of the net, sending the Stamford Bridge faithful and Conte delirious in what is turning out to be a thriller in west London.