An 89th-minute penalty from Noni Madueke ensured Chelsea claimed victory over Crystal Palace on our final outing at Stamford Bridge in 2023.
The Blues had broken the deadlock early into the first half when Mykhailo Mudryk swept home a pass from Malo Gusto. However, it wasn’t a lead we held at the break as Michael Olise converted from close range.
Chelsea pushed hard in search of a winner in the second period. It arrived in the final minutes. Madueke was felled in the penalty area by Olise and, after a VAR review, the winger confidently converted to seal a much-needed three points.
Turning to youth
The starting XI named by Pochettino was our youngest in Premier League history (23 years, 21 days) – and it had five changes to the side that started the Christmas Eve defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Benoit Badiashile replaced Thiago Silva; Moises Caicedo stepped in for the injured Lesley Ugochukwu; Mudryk and Ian Maatsen replaced the suspended Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling; Christopher Nkunku made his full debut in place of Armando Broja.
Victory was imperative for Pochettino’s side and while it took ten minutes for the Blues to settle – during which Eberechi Eze and Joachim Andersen had efforts at goal for Palace – chances were soon created.
Maatsen had the first from an attack constructed by Nkunku and Mudryk. It ended with the Dutchman poking an effort past Dean Henderson in the Palace goal, but Tyrick Mitchell hacked the ball clear.
Better was to follow moments later. Gusto did well to spin away from pressure in midfield and play the ball inside to Nkunku. The Frenchman’s first pass was blocked yet he reacted to find Gusto on the overlap.
From the lefthand side of the penalty area, Gusto had time to pick a pass, and Mudryk was left with a simple finish from ten yards. The Blues led.
A second was needed. Chelsea went in search. Nkunku headed over from a Gallagher free-kick before Mudryk was denied by Henderson after a neat exchange with Jackson.
The Senegal international caused Andersen problems and he did excellently to fashion a chance for Nkunku that ended with the forward going down under pressure from Chris Richards. No penalty was awarded. VAR did not intervene.
Palace had only threatened sporadically in the opening period, yet they went in level at the interval. In stoppage time, Jordan Ayew was given time to flight a cross to the back post to Olise, who controlled and fired beyond Djordje Petrovic.
Work to do
The task for the Blues in the second period was to maintain the attacking quality shown in the first. It didn’t quite happen in the early exchanges of the half, and Palace came close to adding a second.
Jean-Philippe Mateta rolled Badiashile just inside the Chelsea half, burst forward, and forced Petrovic into a reaction save at his near post. It was an instinctive stop from the Blues goalkeeper.
Pochettino reacted. Thiago Silva replaced Levi Colwill and Romeo Lavia made his long-awaited debut as he was introduced for Maatsen.
Palace closed ranks in response. The Eagles sat deep, soaked up pressure, and attempted to hit Chelsea on the counter.
More changes were soon made by Pochettino. Madueke came on for Nkunku. Armando Broja replaced Mudryk. Chelsea had 20 minutes to find a winner.
Chances were created. Two fell to Jackson. The first saw Caicedo play a clever pass to Gallagher in space, and he slipped the ball through to the Chelsea striker. One-on-one with Henderson, Jackson clipped his shot wide of the post.
The second opportunity saw the Senegalese finish expertly after Thiago Silva’s cross was deflected to the back post. Unfortunately, on review by VAR, the goal was ruled out for offside.
Olise carried the Palace threat in the latter stages and he was again denied by a fine stop from Petrovic. Broja then rippled the net after a raking pass forward from Thiago Silva, but his shot was the wrong side of the post.
Chelsea continued to push. A corner was won. It was swung into the penalty area by Gallagher and cleared to the edge of the box to Madueke. The winger dropped his shoulder and appeared to be tripped by Olise.
No foul was given but, after Palace had broken forward, VAR reviewed the incident and awarded a penalty. Madueke opted to take the spot kick and coolly dispatched the ball past Henderson.
Chelsea had eight minutes of stoppage time to see out. Pochettino made a change to help us achieve that: Academy graduate Alfie Gilchrist was introduced for his debut with Badiashile replaced.
The Blues defended well throughout the additional minutes, although Olise was once again denied by Petrovic. It ensured a hard-fought victory – and a deserved one – was claimed.
What it means…
We remain in tenth place in the Premier League table but have closed the gap to Brighton and Hove Albion and Newcastle United as we head into our final match of 2023.
What’s next…
There is no break in the Blues’ fixture schedule. We are back in action on Saturday as we travel to Luton Town. Kick-off is at 12.30pm.
The teams
Chelsea: Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Badiashile, Colwill (Thiago Silva, 58), Caicedo, Gallagher (c), Mudryk (Madueke, 70), Nkunku (Broja 70), Maatsen (Lavia, 58), Jackson
Chelsea substitutes: Bettinelli, Bergstrom, Gilchrist, Matos, Castledine
Booked: Caicedo 52, Madueke 80, Pochettino 95
Crystal Palace: Henderson; Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Richards, Eze, Lerma (Matheus Franca, 90); Olise, Mateta, Ayew (Schlupp, 79)
Crystal Palace substitutes: Matthews, Tomkins, Riedewald,, Hughes, Ahamada, Adaramola, Ozoh
Booked: Richards 74, Mitchell 80
Attendance: 39.618
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
