Chelsea moved up to second in the table and piled the pressure on Arsenal following their impressive 2-0 win against Burnley.
Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez scored goals late in each half to secure the three points for a Blues side who managed to protect some players for their big week ahead.
Moises Caicedo and Estevao Willian were both unused substitutes, while Reece James was replaced at half-time by Benoit Badiashile.
Who was your player of the match vs Burnley?
It was also three clean sheets in a row for the Blues, who started Tosin Adarabioyo and Trevoh Chalobah at centre-back after Wesley Fofana was left out of the squad.
Peter Bankes shows a yellow card to Benoit Badiashile during Burnley v Chelsea - Premier League
Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images
There was some controversy in the first half involving Chalobah when he used his hand to control the ball in the penalty area ahead of taking a goal kick.
He had received the ball from Robert Sanchez, however referee Peter Bankes decided not to award a penalty for the home side.
Former referee Mark Clattenburg has exclusively told The Chelsea Chronicle that in the laws of the game, a penalty should have been given, although believes the official used his common sense in this scenario.
He said: “It’s an interesting situation which will again create debate. We saw a similar situation in a Champions League match in 2024 where Aston Villa’s goalkeeper passed to a defender from the goal kick who proceeded in handling the ball.
“The referee did not award a penalty kick but believed that that the goal kick had not been taken and was merely passing him the ball before the goal kick was about to be taken.
“We can make the same opinion when Chelsea’s goalkeeper Robert Sanchez passed the ball to Trevoh Chalobah inside the penalty area at the taking of a goal kick. Chalobah handled the ball to then move the ball to make the goal kick.
“There is no doubt that in law this should have been a penalty, but is it what football would expect? I doubt this and allows the referee Peter Bankes to use some common sense on how the law should be applied in these types of situations. I am sure if a penalty was awarded, this would create a bigger controversy.”
Mark Clattenberg referees during Baller League x Match Day 10
Photo by Jordan Peck/Getty Images
Previous examples of rare handball occurrence
This is not the first time this kind of moment has occurred in top games, and the inconsistency of the previous refereeing decisions has made it hard to judge.
As Clattenburg mentioned, Tyrone Mings was penalised against Club Brugge for a similar incident, with the resulting penalty being the only goal of the game.
However, Arsenal defender Gabriel got away with one against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, leaving the rule very much up to the referee’s interpretation on the day.
The Blues were clearly the better team against Burnley, and would likely have been completely fine even if they had gone behind. However, they will be happy to protect their strong recent defensive record ahead of games against Barcelona and Arsenal.