Chelsea turn it up to 11, Ibra lifts Man Utd

Diego Costa earned Chelsea a 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace on Saturday as the Premier League leaders claimed a club record-equalling 11th consecutive league victory. Costa headed home Cesar Azpilicueta's cross in the 43rd minute at a foggy Selhurst Park to send Antonio Conte's men nine points clear. "The run is fantastic," said Chelsea manager Conte. "Congratulations to my players, not me. I am pleased for them because they deserve this." Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice as Manchester United won 2-0 at West Bromwich Albion, while champions Leicester City weathered the dismissal of Jamie Vardy to come from 2-0 down and draw 2-2 at Stoke City. Chelsea have matched their record of 11 consecutive wins from April to September 2009, achieving the feat within the same season for the first time. The only blemishes were yellow cards for Costa and N'Golo Kante that mean both players will be suspended for next weekend's home game against Bournemouth. Chelsea are nine points clear of second-place Liverpool, who visit Everton on Monday, and Arsenal, who travel to fourth-place Manchester City on Sunday. Jose Mourinho's United drew level on points with fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur, who host Burnley on Sunday, after winning at West Brom to record three successive league wins for the first time since August. Ibrahimovic opened the scoring in the fifth minute with a header from Jesse Lingard's fine right-wing cross. Manchester United's Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates scoring their first goal against West Brom Reuters After Ben Foster had pushed a shot from Wayne Rooney onto the bar, Ibrahimovic added a second in the 56th minute. The former Paris Saint-Germain striker squeezed between two defenders before scoring via a deflection off Craig Dawson, leaving him with nine goals from his last 10 appearances and 16 for the season. Leicester avoided a ninth defeat of the campaign thanks to an impressive fightback at Stoke, which left Claudio Ranieri's men three points above the relegation zone in 15th place. Vardy was shown a straight red card in the 28th minute for a two-footed challenge on Mame Biram Diouf, ruling the England striker out of Leicester's entire festive programme. Leicester City's Jamie Vardy is shown a red card by referee Craig Pawson Reuters Bojan Krkic put Stoke ahead with a 39th-minute penalty after Danny Simpson was adjudged to have handled his cross, with Joe Allen tapping in a second in first-half stoppage time. But Leonardo Ulloa halved the deficit, smuggling a header over the line from fellow substitute Demarai Gray's cross, before Christian Fuchs teed up Daniel Amartey to head in an 88th-minute leveller. Discussing whether Vardy deserved to be sent off, Leicester manager Ranieri said: "One manager says yes, one says no. If you listen to me, I say 'no'. If you listen to Mark Hughes, he says 'yes'. Middlesbrough moved above Leicester to 14th place after beating Swansea City 3-0 courtesy of a first-half Alvaro Negredo brace and a Marten de Roon volley. Swansea dropped to second-bottom, with Sunderland climbing off the foot of the table after Patrick van Aanholt's 49th-minute goal secured a 1-0 home win over Watford. Hull City are now bottom following a 1-0 defeat at West Ham United, who prevailed through Mark Noble's 76th-minute penalty after the visitors had hit the post three times.RESULTS:West Bromwich Albion 0   Manchester United 2 Ibrahimovic 5,56Middlesbrough 3 Negredo 18,29 (pen), Marten de Roon 58  Swansea City 0Stoke City 2 Bojan 39 (pen), Joe Allen 45+3  Leicester City 2 Ulloa 74, Amartey 88Sunderland 1 van Aanholt 49   Watford 0West Ham United 1 Noble 76 (pen)   Hull City 0Crystal Palace 0   Chelsea 1 Costa 43Standings P W D L F A Pts1 Chelsea 17 14 1 2 35 11 432 Liverpool 16 10 4 2 40 20 343 Arsenal 16 10 4 2 37 17 344 Manchester City 16 10 3 3 34 19 335 Tottenham Hotspur 16 8 6 2 27 11 306 Manchester United 17 8 6 3 24 17 307 West Bromwich Albion 17 6 5 6 23 21 238 Everton 16 6 5 5 21 20 239 Southampton 16 5 6 5 14 15 2110 Bournemouth 16 6 3 7 22 25 21