A late penalty from substitute Noni Madueke earned Chelsea a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge.
Madueke drew a foul from Eberechi Eze before keeping his composure to send Dean Henderson the wrong way and secure Chelsea a third successive home win.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 |
Crystal Palace
CRY
|
38 | -1 | 49 |
| 11 |
Brighton
BHA
|
38 | -7 | 48 |
| 12 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
38 | -13 | 48 |
| 13 |
Fulham
FUL
|
38 | -6 | 47 |
| 14 |
Wolves
WOL
|
38 | -15 | 46 |
| 15 |
Everton
EVE
|
38 | -11 | 40 |
How the match unfolded
Palace made a confident start, but it was Chelsea, who named their youngest-ever Premier League starting XI, with an average age of 23 years and 21 days, who came closest to an opener as Tyrick Mitchell was forced to clear Ian Maatsen’s effort off the line.
The Blues took the lead on 13 minutes when a low cross from Malo Gusto found Mykhailo Mudryk, who had the simple task of tapping in his third Premier League goal of the season.
Mudryk almost added a second following a brilliant passing move, but his clipped attempt was well saved by Henderson.
Despite dominating possession, with 63 per cent, Chelsea’s inability to score again was punished when Palace equalised through Michael Olise in first-half stoppage time.
He expertly controlled a diagonal pass from Jordan Ayew on his chest, before firing a crisp volley beyond Djordje Petrovic.
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Palace continued where they left off after the break and Petrovic was forced to tip away a shot from Jean-Philippe Mateta, before the striker fired another chance over.
Mauricio Pochettino introduced Romeo Lavia for his first appearance since his summer arrival from Southampton, as Chelsea sought some much-needed energy.
The hosts thought that they had restored their lead with a goal by Nicolas Jackson on 76 minutes, but the strike was overturned after a VAR review found the forward had been offside.
However, with four minutes remaining, Chelsea were awarded a penalty after another VAR review found that Eze had fouled Madueke.
The substitute sent Henderson the wrong way to earn Chelsea victory and move them on to 25 points in 10th place.
Palace, who are now winless in eight Premier League matches, are 15th with 18 points.
Next five Premier League fixtures
Key facts
Chelsea’s penalty was only their third Premier League winner via a spot-kick as late as the 89th minute, along with two 90th-minute penalties scored by Mark Stein (February 1994 v Spurs) and Jorginho (December 2021 v Leeds).
Chelsea have conceded 59 Premier League goals in 2023, their most in a calendar year in the competition and the most league goals they've let in in a year since 1991 (68).
Mudryk's three Premier League goals have all been scored in London derbies (v Fulham and v Arsenal).
Pochettino has now won 10 consecutive Premier League matches against Crystal Palace, while his 12 wins overall against Palace are his most against an opponent. It was his sixth win against Roy Hodgson, only winning as many games against Eddie Howe (also six).
Chelsea’s youngest-ever Premier League starting XI (23 years, 21 days) were the youngest in the Premier League team since Man Utd v Crystal Palace in May 2017 (22y 284d) and eighth-youngest ever.