Chelsea's bid for a fourth consecutive Premier League win fell dramatically short as they lost 3-2 imn a thrilling game against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.
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Substitute Oussama Assaidi claimed the winning goal in the last minute after Stoke had recovered from a goal down to lead 2-1, only for Andre Schurrle to draw Jose Mourinho's men level with his second goal of the game.
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Assaidi, who had been on the pitch for only five minutes, turned Branislav Ivanovic on the edge of the area before despatching an unstoppable shot beyond visiting goalkeeper Petr Cech.
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The shock defeat for Chelsea offers league leaders Arsenal the chance to extend their lead at the top to seven points by beating Everton on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium. Stoke had never beaten Chelsea atthe Britannia Stadium in 10 previous Premier League meetings, and their hopes of changing that statistic were dented as early as the ninth minute.
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John Mikel Obi, starting the game in place of Frank Lampard following the 4-3 mid-week victory at Sunderland, threaded a pass through for Schurrle and the German international did the rest.
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Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross and fellow defender Marc Wilson were left in his wake, before Schurrle shot powerfully across Asmir Begovic and inside the goalkeeper's left-hand post.
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The aftermath of the goal saw Stoke midfielder Charlie Adam hobble off the pitch and although he continued until the 20th minute, the Scot –who had been playing just behind lone striker Peter Crouch – eventually had to come off, with Stephen Ireland replacing him.
This substitutes just know how to come off the bench and kill games. Kudos to the coaches on this one