Chelsea moves 2 points clear of City at top of EPL

LONDON (AP) ― Chelsea overcame a difficult start to beat Newcastle 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, moving two points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League after Manuel Pellegrini’s side was held to a 1-1 draw at Everton.

Oscar led Jose Mourinho’s team to victory, putting Chelsea ahead in the 43rd minute against the run of play after a quickly worked corner by Willian and Branislav Ivanovic.

Oscar then set up Diego Costa’s second-half goal by controlling Eden Hazard’s chipped pass and flicking it into the path of the onrushing Costa, all in one movement, before the striker slotted in his 15th goal of the season to make the game safe.

Newcastle had started well and Chelsea had goalkeeper Petr Cech to thank for keeping out a fierce drive by Remy Cabella. Cech was standing in for regular stopper Thibaut Courtois, who dropped to the substitute’s bench with a finger injury.

“In the first half, they caused us some problems but (it was) a much improved performance in the second half and in the end we were good value for a 2-0 win,” Chelsea assistant manager Steve Holland said. “Jose was quite clear in what he wanted the team to do at halftime. We had to show more personality with and without the ball.”

At Goodison Park, City took the lead through Fernandinho’s strike in the 74th, but Steven Naismith headed an equalizer for Everton four minutes later to end its slide of four straight defeats.

City introduced Sergio Aguero in the 67th for his first appearance since sustaining a knee injury in December, but the Argentina striker was unable to find a winning goal for the Premier League champions.

“If you said at the beginning you are going to draw at Everton away, maybe it is not so bad,” City manager Pellegrini said. “Everton grew in the second half and it was a very close game in the last 35 minutes. We had a lot of chances but were maybe missing the last pass.”