Hakim Ziyech's late goal earned Chelsea a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
In an entertaining first 45 minutes, Antonio Rudiger and N'Golo Kante came close for Chelsea while at the other end, Wilfried Zaha spurned a good opportunity when he fired wide just before the break.
Chelsea thought they had finally scored with 15 minutes remaining, but Ziyech had his effort overturned following a VAR review.
However, the winger was not to be denied on 89 minutes as he volleyed in at the back post after Tyrick Mitchell had failed to deal with a Marcos Alonso cross.
Palace are 13th on 26 points while Chelsea remain third with 50 points, seven behind Liverpool in second.
See: Crystal Palace report | Chelsea report
Next fixtures
Crystal Palace: 23 Feb v Watford (A)
Chelsea: 5 Mar v Burnley (A)
Match officials
Referee: David Coote. Assistants: Stuart Burt, Nick Hopton. Fourth official: Michael Salisbury. VAR: Michael Oliver. Assistant VAR: Neil Davies.
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