On Saturday, the Chelsea team achieved its third successive victory in the English Football League for the first time this season, against its guest Fulham 1-0 in the 21st round, after its embarrassing loss in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final against Middlesbrough.
Young international winger Cole Palmer (21 years old) scored the winning goal for the West London team from a penalty kick in stoppage time of the first half after he obstructed Raheem Sterling (45 + 4).
He converted the fifth penalty kick of the season, putting the team back on the path to victory after the disappointment of the 0-1 loss to second-tier Middlesbrough last Tuesday in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final.
Palmer raised his score to 9 goals in 17 matches with Chelsea, which he joined last summer for about 50 million euros from defending champion Manchester City.
GOAL!!!
Cole Palmer nets his FIFTH penalty for Chelsea. That’s 5 from 5 from him!
Cold.#beINPL #CFC pic.twitter.com/L5c7Od2FRd
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) January 13, 2024
The latest loss was an additional setback in the fluctuating season of Argentine coach Mauricio Pochettino’s squad.
Chelsea was not more dynamic against Fulham, which is in 13th place, but Pochettino came away grateful for the ninth point in a row, which placed the blue team in eighth place temporarily after a disastrous start in the Premier League.
While the two west London clubs were separated by 3 kilometers, Fulham failed again to achieve victory at Stamford Bridge in a series extending since 1979.
Chelsea’s offensive capabilities have diminished with the participation of Senegalese Nicholas Jackson with his country in the African Cup of Nations and the recent injury of Frenchman Christopher Nkunku.
After 10 days of winter break, Chelsea will be able to overturn its deficit in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final, when it meets Middlesbrough again on January 23.
