90min

X reacts as Chelsea grab deserved but late win against Crystal Palace

  • Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 2-1 on Wednesday
  • Blues played well but required late penalty to seal win
  • How social media reacted to London derby

By Sean Walsh

Nkunku and Mudryk were in great form
Nkunku and Mudryk were in great form / Justin Setterfield/GettyImages
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Chelsea just about squeezed past Crystal Palace with a 2-1 victory on Wednesday evening.

The Blues have returned to winning ways but by the skin of their teeth, requiring an 89th-minute penalty to secure the three points. Their performance was much-improved than those in recent weeks at least and there are reasons for their fans to be optimistic moving forwards.

Mauricio Pochettino's starting lineup was Chelsea's youngest in the Premier League era. Quite strikingly, full-back Ian Maatsen was preferred in attack over Noni Madueke, while Christopher Nkunku made his first start.

Once play started, Palace loanee Conor Gallagher was booed by travelling fans because...he didn't push for another loan there, maybe?

Chelsea took the lead on 14 minutes when Malo Gusto teed up Mykhailo Mudryk, who had an easy finish from close range.

Chelsea were in control for much of the first half, but they were pegged back just before the break when Michael Olise capitalised on some lazy defending from Levi Colwill and Moises Caicedo.

Pochettino turned to Romeo Lavia after half-time, bringing the Belgian midfielder on for his debut.

Nicolas Jackson should have put Chelsea ahead again when he was played in by Gallagher, but the notoriously wasteful striker missed another huge chance.

Jackson thought he had scored seconds later, only for VAR to disallow his strike for offside.

Late in the day, Chelsea were awarded a penalty following a VAR check after Ebere Eze hauled down substitute Madueke - the man home fans had longed to see.

Madueke scored from the spot to restore Chelsea's lead and win the game. The perfect impact substitute.

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