Chelsea have made it three Premier League wins in a row for the first time since October 2022 as Cole Palmer’s penalty guided them to a 1-0 victory over Fulham at Stamford Bridge.
The winning goal came in stoppage time at the end of the first half in Saturday’s lunchtime kickoff (Sunday AEDT), the top scorer for Mauricio Pochettino’s side notching his ninth goal of the season after Raheem Sterling was tripped in the box.
However, the move had been started by a moment of Palmer genius, spotting a gap and threading a superb ball through the middle that drew defender Issa Diop into a clumsy foul.
Marco Silva’s visitors never truly looked beaten until the final whistle sounded but Chelsea defended doggedly in the final moments to breath genuine momentum into their season.
Chelsea’s goal in added time at the end of the half was not deserved on the balance of play, but the pass from Palmer to carve out the chance was sublime.
Making eyes for a lofted cross, he instead slipped a reverse ball through the middle for Sterling, who in cutting in onto his left was tripped by Diop. Palmer did the rest from the spot.
Chelsea were seeking a fourth win from five in the league, the kind of points return they had not enjoyed since former boss Graham Potter’s early days in charge more than a year ago.
Cole Palmer congratulated by his teammates after scoring the opening goal. (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
Sterling headed against the post from six yards out at the start of the second half after Fernandez’s cross had picked him out.
Fulham took time to get going in the second half half but finally found some bite after 70 minutes, Raul Jimenez shooting low first-time at goal and drawing a save from Petrovic dropping to his right.
Conor Gallagher struck the post with a superb curling effort off the outside of his right boot as Chelsea looked to kill the game off, then Willian just cleared the bar from a free-kick as Fulham refused to lie down.