In a thrilling encounter at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace, thanks to a late penalty from substitute Noni Madueke. The win saw Chelsea climb back into the top half of the 20-team Premier League table.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side opened the scoring in the 13th minute through Mykhailo Mudryk. The Ukraine international had made an electric start to the game and would have made it two shortly afterwards, if not for a smothering block by Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
Despite dominating possession and creating several chances in the first half, Chelsea were pegged back on the stroke of half-time when Michael Olise cancelled out Mudryk’s early goal with a brilliant finish on the half-volley. The goal brought belief for the Eagles who had gone seven games without a win.
The second half started with Palace on the front foot, as Eberechi Eze whistled a free-kick past the post, registering the first chance of the half. However, Chelsea responded by introducing Thiago Silva and Romeo Lavia just before the hour mark to add more steel to their defence and midfield.
The Blues continued to press forward and created a flurry of chances, with Nicolas Jackson missing a superb opportunity to win the game, slotting the ball wide after being set up by Conor Gallagher. Axel Disasi also had a fine, prodded finish from a pass ruled out for offside by VAR.
With the game seeming to drift towards a draw, there was a final twist. Eze tripped Madueke as he sought to control the ball on the edge of the box, and the England under-21 international won the match from the spot with his first league goal of the season.
In the end, Chelsea’s industriousness with the ball, recording 323 passes during the first half and recording 63 per cent possession, paid off. The fluency about Chelsea that has rarely been seen in recent weeks was back, with Christopher Nkunku on his long-awaited first start at the heart of things, playing a wonderful ball in for Jackson and narrowly missing his first Stamford Bridge goal.
The win was a much-needed relief for Chelsea who had been struggling to find their form in recent weeks, and a disappointing result for Palace, who had come close to securing a well-deserved point.
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