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Chelsea had the look of champions again as they maintained their comfortable seven-point advantage at the top of the Premier League with a 3-1 victory at Bournemouth on Saturday -- but Tottenham Hotspur will not give up the chase.
After Son Heung-min had scored twice in Spurs' 4-0 thrashing of Watford at White Hart Lane to cut Chelsea's lead temporarily to four points, Antonio Conte's men responded emphatically in the late game at Dean Court to move on to 75 points.
Chelsea were aided by Adam Smith's own goal before the outstanding Eden Hazard slid home a second and Marcos Alonso curled home a stunning freekick. Josh King scored his 13th league goal of the season in response.
In a potentially tricky visit to the sun-drenched south coast, Chelsea started in dominant fashion and led when Diego Costa's effort deflected in off the unlucky Smith.
There was no luck about their second goal, however, with Hazard, one of the Premier League's outstanding attacking players, collecting N'Golo Kante's pass with a superb touch before searing past Artur Boruc and finishing from an angle.
The in-from King pulled a goal back for the hosts but the visitors had too much quality and sealed the win when the often unheralded Alonso curled home a breathtaking free kick to cap an impressive personal performance.
"When you have this type of opponent [Tottenham] who is in good form and wants to catch you, it is important to have a good answer. This is a good answer," Conte told the BBC.
"There are seven games to go and in England it is not easy, there is a lot of pressure. It's normal to have a good pressure [after Spurs won]."
