The Blues picked up a crucial three points on their travel to South London with a 3-2 victory away at Crystal Palace. Chelsea FC’s win at Selhurst Park allowed Frank Lampard’s side to move into the third place in the Premier League standings.
The first goal was scored by the visitors early on in the game, however, was amid unexpected circumstances. Crystal Palace centre-back Gary Cahill, formerly the Blues captain, pulled his hamstring and went down on the ground in pain which allowed Willian to break free down the right.
The Brazilian set up an easy chance for Olivier Giroud to score which the Frenchman did with ease to give his side the lead. It was the 33-year old’s fifth goal in his previous eight Premier League appearances for Chelsea FC.
The Blues soon added a second goal to their name when Willian turned a provider once more, this time for in-form Christian Pulisic. Willian released the ball for the American who smashed it near post, giving Crystal Palace goalkeeper Guaita no chance to save the shot.
Chelsea FC looked certain to end the first half with a lead of two goals due to the Blues’ defence marshalling the Palace attackers. However, a moment of brilliance from Wilfried Zaha led to the hosts pulling one goal back against the Blues.
The Ivory Coast international scored an absolute screamer from 25 yards out to help his side remain in the game. Chelsea FC goalkeeper Kepa was in no position to stop Zaha’s strike, with the winger having struck the ball with sheer power.
The second half of the game began with the usual flurry of attacks coming from the Blues. Giroud was unable to convert a great cross from young Chelsea FC right-back, Reece James. Palace too threatened to equalize through a corner, however, Zouma was able to block the resulting shot.
Substituted Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham linked up perfectly for the Blues’ third goal. Loftus-Cheek scraped past the Eagles’ defence before playing out the ball for Abraham. The 22-year old calmly slotted the ball past Guaita to score his first goal for Chelsea FC since January.
The hosts, however, did manage to score only a minute after Abraham’s strike. A wonderful play by Palace left-back Patrick van Aanholt led to Belgian striker Christian Benteke scoring a simple tap in for his side’s second goal of the game.
The final ten minutes of the game saw Chelsea FC defend deep to prevent Palace from scoring the third to level the game. Kepa tipped Scott Dann’s header onto the post and with Benteke looking to get onto the rebound, Zouma made an incredible challenge on the striker to prevent him from scoring.
The win for Frank Lampard’s side means that the Blues’ are now one point clear of fourth-placed Leicester City who dropped points on their visit to Arsenal.
MATCH STATS
SCORE: 2-3
Possession: Crystal Palace FC – 42% Chelsea FC- 58%
Yellow Cards: Crystal Palace FC – 1 Chelsea FC – 0
Shots: Crystal Palace FC – 3 Chelsea FC – 6
Offsides: Crystal Palace FC –1 Chelsea FC – 0
