Cole Palmer’s penalty proved decisive as Chelsea moved up to eighth in the Premier League table with a 1-0 win over west London rivals Fulham on Saturday.
Fulham frustrated their neighbours throughout an underwhelming first period but found themselves behind on the stroke of half-time, Palmer coolly converting from the spot after Issa Diop fouled Raheem Sterling.
Marco Silva’s visitors – who were looking to respond after losing the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final tie with Liverpool on Wednesday – improved after the break but it was Chelsea who went closest to a second goal, Conor Gallagher striking the post late on.
Chelsea ultimately didn’t need another goal as they bounced back from their own EFL Cup defeat to Middlesbrough, with a third successive league win putting them within nine points of the top four.
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Chances were at a premium in a low-key opening period, with Chelsea often overplaying against a well-organised Fulham defence, much to the frustration of the Stamford Bridge crowd.
The first clear-cut opportunity fell Fulham’s way after 27 minutes, when Antonee Robinson’s low cross found Harry Wilson unmarked at the far post, only for his finish to be smothered by Djordje Petrovic.
Chelsea were perhaps fortunate to keep 11 men on the pitch when Malo Gusto caught Willian with a reckless tackle 38 minutes in, but the VAR neglected to advise an on-pitch review by referee Anthony Taylor.
The Blues then opened the scoring three minutes into first-half stoppage time, with Palmer’s clever reverse pass finding Sterling, who was promptly tripped by Diop. Palmer made no mistake from 12 yards, sending Bernd Leno the wrong way as he found the bottom-right corner.
Spot on. #CFC | #CheFul pic.twitter.com/5i2NiVbgrZ
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 13, 2024
Fulham showed more attacking intent after the interval but struggled to carve out chances, with Levi Colwill blasting a 20-yard effort over the crossbar as Chelsea sought a second.
Petrovic had to be alert to preserve Chelsea’s lead in the 73rd minute, diving down to his right to palm Raul Jimenez’s shot away after Enzo Fernandez’s slip allowed the Mexican in.
Gallagher then rattled the post with a lovely outside-of-the-foot effort with seven minutes remaining, and Chelsea’s failure to extend their lead was almost punished deep into stoppage time, but Fernandez denied Bobby De Cordova-Reid with a heroic block as time ran out for Fulham.
