A feisty and fiery London derby as Chelsea kicked off their first league match under new boss Graham Potter with a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday evening.
Patrick Vieira’s Palace came into this match as fit as they could be despite not having played in the previous 28 days.
Nathaniel Clyne, Michael Olise, and Odsonne Edouard were all brought into the starting lineup as a result of his three XI alterations.
On the other end, Graham Potter made two changes to his team’s back three, replacing Azpilicueta and Cucurella with Wesley Fofana and Ben Chilwell.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made his first Premier League start for Chelsea since joining the Blues from Spanish giants – Barcelona on deadline day.
After just seven minutes of play, Palace took the lead when Edouard turned on midway, headed toward goal, and then found Ayew.
The Ghanaian entered the area from a wide right angle, dribbling past his defenders before finding Edouard, who shoots the ball past Kepa and into the right corner. Perhaps a weak defense, but the Palace attacker delivered a precise finish to give his team a 1-0 lead.
The Blues get the equalizer 31 minutes later. Silva received James’ cross-field pass in the box, headed it to Aubameyang, who turned and hit a shot into the bottom corner, giving Guaita no chance. This is the striker’s first goal for Chelsea after previously playing for Arsenal and Barcelona.
Off the mark! đ#CryChe pic.twitter.com/fjV4HdoOPX
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 1, 2022
The Blues left it all late to steal a late win a the Selhurt Park. Pulisic dribbled past Palace defenders, before passing the ball to Gallagher, who quickly picked out the top corner from the edge of the box with an incredibly powerful strike.
What a hit, you might say, and it proved to be the game winner. It’s even more heart wrenching for Palace, who found themselves down 2-1 with just a few seconds remaining in the game thanks to their former loanee.
The Graham Potters’ men held on to the slim win till the final whistle to secure the victory and all three points.
Although Thomas Tuchel was fired due to the Blues’ dismal performance, the team is still in a decent spot on the Premier League table and are only just a point behind the top four.
Be the first to comment on "Crystal Palace no match for Chelsea as Potters’ men secure late win at Selhurst Park"