Chelsea managed to beat Crystal Palace in a difficult game at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, booking vital three points as they seek a way to get their season back on the right track. Mykhaylo Mudryk scored first for the home side in the 13th minute, and Michael Olise set the score back level in the last seconds of the first half. Having won a penalty for his team, Noni Madueke took responsibility and converted from the spot to settle the contest.
The game
Chelsea’s struggles to impose themselves on a game are hardly a surprise anymore, and Palace didn’t find it too hard to control the proceedings while the score stood at 0-0. However, Chelsea threatened occasionally through counterattacks, and after Dean Henderson in the Palace goal, with the help of Tyrick Mitchell, thwarted one such chance created by Mudryk for Ian Maatsen, a quick move by the Blues ended with Mudryk himself breaking the deadlock.
Malo Gusto, who’s been a regular starter for Pochettino’s side since Reece James has been injured, played a big part in the move, carrying the ball forward before being played through by Christopher Nkunku again on the left, and he ended up providing the assist for Mudryk.
Chelsea looked far more lively from that point on, and in the 22nd minute, Mudryk could’ve double his tally and his team’s lead, but Henderson made another fine save. Four minutes later, Nicolas Jackson set Nkunku up nicely, but a timely reaction from Chris Richards prevented Chelsea’s second goal on that occasion. It should, however, be said that the Palace midfielder was lucky in that situation not to concede a penalty.
But in the first of the two minutes of stoppage time, Palace attacked again and Jordan Ayew sent an excellent diagonal cross from left to right, finding Olise completely unmarked at six yards. The winger deftly tamed the ball before slamming it in, setting the score back level. While Levi Colwill completely misjudged the flight of the ball, Moises Caicedo was caught standing and watching as it reached Olise. A poor moment for the Chelsea defence which threatened to ruin everything good the Blues had done up to that point.
In the 55th minute, Palace threatened again as Jean-Philippe Mateta left Benoit Badiashile for dead and fired from a tight angle, and Chelsea’s backup goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, starting these days instead of the injured Robert Sanchez, made a good save.
It was a fairly balanced fight for the most part of the second half, and in the 76th minute, Jackson skillfully put the ball in the back of the net having been found at the far post by Thiago Silva, but the Chelsea striker was slightly offside when the veteran defender sent the cross and the goal was ruled out after a VAR review.
Armando Broja, who had come on to replace Mudryk for the final 20 minutes, was frequently involved in the game for the remaining time, but his finishing remains slightly off, likely due to a lack of game-time. He had a particularly promising chance in the 83rd minute after another fantastic pass from Thiago Silva, but all he managed to do was hit the outside of the net.
But three minutes later, Madueke went down just inside the Palace box under contact from Eberechi Eze, and though referee Michael Salisbury allowed the play to continue, but after Eze managed to ruin the visitors’ counterattack at the other end, he received a call from the VAR room and was sent to review the incident on the pitch-side screen. The decision was reversed, and in the absence of the suspended Cole Palmer, Madueke himself got a chance to restore his team’s lead. The young Chelsea winger sent Henderson the wrong way and scored, to the delight of the home supporters.
Palace did very little during the eight minutes of second-half stoppage time, and the Blues had no difficulty in holding on to the result until the final whistle.
Caicedo and Gallagher
Chelsea broke the English transfer record when they signed Caicedo from Brighton during the summer, beating Liverpool in the race for the Ecuador international. However, the 22-year-old still hasn’t been able to come anywhere near justifying the £115m investment in his talent, and it showed again in this match. While Palace dominated the game early on, he was barely to be seen in the middle of the park, and then only to make a mistake. He grew into the match later, but his performance still left a lot to be desired.
On the other hand, Conor Gallagher was everywhere, from the first whistle to the last, fighting for every ball, holding onto it under pressure, and always picking the right option for a pass. Having spent the 2021/22 season on loan at Selhurst Park, this game might have had a sentimental meaning for the 23-year-old, but his impeccably professional and motivated performance certainly showed no signs of it.
The reaction
Speaking to the press after the game, Pochettino expressed satisfaction with the three points in the bag, but he also called for more consistency from his players.
“We need to understand that in the Premier League, you need to fight,” he said.
“We need to realize we are Chelsea,” he said.
“A great history, the pressure is to win but we are such nice players, young.
“We need to understand that in the Premier League, you need to fight. And then you play.”
Meanwhile, Palace boss Roy Hodgson was left bemoaning the penalty decision which settled the game, and denied any fear over the prospect of relegation.
“It happens,” the 76-year-old said.
“People will discuss was it or wasn’t it? People are taking away the decisions – trashing if you like – the decisions made by the guy on the field and handing it over to someone in front of a TV screen.
“It wasn’t my obvious idea of what a penalty looks like, but that’s the same for so many penalties that I’ve seen given, because I’m conditioned to some extent after seeing penalties given and not given for many years. Then the next question is whether I’m frightened to death now because we’re only a few points above the relegation zone. I’ll answer that one for you as well: No, I’m not.”
Table rankings
As things stand, Palace are now in 15th place with 18 points, just three over Luton Town who top the relegation zone and have a game in hand. Nottingham Forest and Everton, with 17 and 16 points, respectively, are squeezed in between.
There is still time for the Eagles to lift their performances and put some distance between themselves and immediate danger, but that’s obviously going to take a lot of work from the oldest manager in the top five European leagues. Their next challenge will be facing Brentford at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
Chelsea will also be unhappy with where they are in the table, sitting 10th with 25 points. Qualifying for the Champions League seems like a pipe dream for Pochettino and his men, and if they make it into one of the lesser UEFA competitions, that’s probably all they can do. But taking it one step at a time, they face Luton at Kenilworth Road next, also on Saturday.
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