Crystal Palace 0-1 Chelsea
N’Golo Kante scored the only goal of the game today in the Premier League London derby as Chelsea beat Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
This was a big win. Chelsea’s title challenge was dealt a serious blow in defeat to Leicester before Christmas and the Premier League 2018 betting markets reacted by pushing the Blues out to the status of long odds outsiders. But there have been some strange Premier League 2018 results in recent weeks, not least a flurry of defeats for defending champions Manchester City.
And these three points have consolidated Maurizio Sarris’ team’s hold on fourth place, bringing the Blues to within two points of Spurs who started the day in second place.
For Roy Hodgson’s Palace it was the end of a three match unbeaten run which had taken them away from the bottom three but there is still a lot of work to do.
Highlights of the game
Chelsea was pretty much in charge from start to finish and Jorginho showcased his range of passing in the early stages as the Blues got a grip on the game. And the Brazilian midfielder showed his pace and defensive nous too, stopping Andros Townsend as the Palace winger embarked on an attacking run.
Hodgson warned his team to be wary of Eden Hazard and the Belgian made his own pre-match point, saying he gets kicked by players because he is too good for them. No kidding? James McArthur, who is no bad midfielder himself, left his mark on Hazard early in the game. Willian curled in the resulting free-kick but Antonio Rudiger headed it straight into the arms of Vicente Guaita.
The Eagles came out on the attack and were thwarted by two good Chelsea blocks, one from Rudiger and the second from Jorginho. Then Chelsea did have the ball in the net when Olivier Giroud latched on to a Jorginho pass and finished smartly, but he was flagged offside. And the Blues came so close to opening the scoring when Hazard was tripped on the edge of the box. Willian stepped up to take the free-kick and it cannoned off the crossbar with Guaita clutching at air.
Two minutes later a Ross Barkley header hit the post again but the Eagles survived to see out the first half on level terms.
But it took just five minutes of the second half for the Blues to finally break through the Palace resistance, and the goal came from an unlikely source. David Luiz lobbed a superb ball over the top of the Eagles’ defence and Kante was there to collect it and slide it into the net, agonising for Guaita as the ball ran through the keeper’s fingertips.
Chelsea looked the more likely to add another goal and Guaita kept the hosts in the game, saving brilliantly from Willian after the Brazilian had collected a delightful back heel from Hazard. Ands then Willian sent Giroud through and the big French striker had the ball in the net only to be flagged offside again, though this one looked particularly tight. The Eagles belatedly came forward in search of an equaliser but when the chance came Wilfried Zaha blazed high and wide. And then substitute Connor Wickham fired over as Palace’s chances of a point faded.
Key Statistics
This result was at pre-match odds of 1.74 with SBOBET and Chelsea fully deserved their three points with 66 per cent possession, 12 shots to four and four on target while the Eagles didn’t manage a single one. In truth it could have been a lot more as Chelsea hit the woodwork twice and had two goals flagged offside.
There has still only been one draw in the 19 Premier League meetings between Palace and Chelsea and the Blues have never suffered consecutive away defeats to the Eagles.
It’s the first time in six games the Blues have been victorious in away fixtures in London and they have now completed the double over Palace, winning at the Bridge back in November.
What’s next?
Into 2019 the Eagles have a difficult trip to the Black Country to take on Wolves, victors over Spurs in a stunning fight back at Wembley yesterday. And then it’s the FA Cup, and League Two side Grimsby Town are the visitors to Selhurst Park.
Chelsea is at home to struggling Southampton on 2nd January, a great chance to stay in touch with the leaders, and then hosts Championship promotion hopefuls Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup.
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