Cole Palmer was the decisive figure for Chelsea again as the Blues’ 1-0 home win over west London rivals Fulham gave them three straight Premier League victories for the first time in 15 months.
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The 21-year-old converted a penalty in first-half stoppage time, scoring his ninth goal of the season and taking Chelsea up to eighth in the table, above Manchester United on goal difference.
Fulham’s defeat extends their miserable record at Stamford Bridge, where they are winless in 19 league trips dating back to 1979, losing 12 of those visits.
How the match unfolded
Chelsea dominated possession in the opening 15 minutes but were unable to create a chance that troubled Bernd Leno.
Conor Gallagher fired over and Armando Broja headed wide, but it was Fulham who forced the first save as Antonee Robinson crossed beyond the far post to Harry Wilson, whose first-time shot was parried by Djordje Petrovic at his near post.
Chelsea continued to struggle to create clear openings until first-half stoppage time. A clever disguised pass by Palmer found Raheem Sterling, who was brought down in the box by Issa Diop, and Palmer buried his penalty into the bottom-right corner.
Palmer’s ninth goal of the season equalled the club record for the most strikes in a Premier League campaign by a player aged 21 or younger, after Christian Pulisic’s tally in 2019/20.
The second half followed a similar pattern, with Chelsea struggling to add to their lead and Fulham threatening sporadically at the other end.
In the 53rd minute Robinson picked out Raul Jimenez, who was unable to direct his header towards goal. Then in the 72nd minute Andreas Pereira drove into the box and cut back the ball to Jimenez, whose low shot towards the bottom-left corner was well saved by Petrovic.
Chelsea nearly got the breathing room they craved with eight minutes remaining as Gallagher’s excellent effort with the outside of his boot hit the left post. But instead they had to survive a nervy finish.
A late free-kick from former Chelsea player Willian caused a scramble and the ball fell to Bobby De Cordova-Reid, whose goalbound shot was inadvertently blocked by team-mate Diop. That was followed by a game of head-tennis in Chelsea’s box in the fifth minute of stoppage minute, with the Blues eventually lashing the ball away with the final kick of the match.
Fulham, who are now winless in their last 10 away league matches, sit 13th on 24 points, eight points above the relegation zone.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
38 | +23 | 60 |
| 8 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
38 | -1 | 60 |
| 9 |
West Ham
WHU
|
38 | -14 | 52 |
| 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 |
Next five Premier League fixtures
Key facts
Chelsea remain unbeaten at home against Fulham in the Premier League (P17 W11 D6). Only Arsenal have hosted a specific opponent more often at home in the competition without ever losing (P24 W16 D8 v Southampton).
Over half of Chelsea’s Premier League wins this season have come since the start of December (5/9), with only Liverpool (17) picking up more points in the competition in that time than the Blues, with 15.
Fulham have lost each of their last five Premier League games away from home, while this is the first time they’ve lost three games consecutively without scoring on the road in the competition since December 2018.
Fulham have now failed to score in each of their last six league visits to Chelsea, which is their longest such streak against an opponent in their top-flight history.
