Despite the sheer genius of Cole Palmer this season, The Chelsea They succumbed to Fulham (1-2) and were punished for speculation in the second half, in which Marco da Silva’s team came back from a goal down with Brazil’s Rodrigo Muniz’s winner in the 95th minute.
Chelsea played with fire in the first half, with a superb goal from Palmer. He took a step back in the last half-hour from clearly dominating the game and paid dearly for it, as Fulham did not give up to achieve a first win in history at Stamford Bridge and Liverpool’s composure beat Leicester and will finish tomorrow seven points a game adrift of the leaders.
However, there was already a warning for Chelsea last day: they lost against Everton (0-0) and ended a run of five consecutive victories in the Premier League and a total of eight victories in official competitions. For this reason, Enzo Maresca’s team wanted to show that this streak was not a coincidence and a realistic trend for Liverpool to challenge for the title.
But Fulham are not a cheap match. Immersed in the struggle to leave the relegation zone of the classification, they previously faced rivals such as Liverpool and Arsenal, against whom they achieved more valuable draws most recently.
Faced with the uncertainty of an unexpected team, with the most valuable pieces like Raul Jimenez, Andrea Pereira or Alex Iwobi, fast, vertical and brave men, Maresca decided not to experiment. There was only one change to his eleven, with Mark Gugurella returning to the left after a one-match suspension. Axel Disasi sacrificed and Levi Colwill moved to the defensive center.
Defeat for the Blues.#CFC | #leader pic.twitter.com/iCl94EZPP4
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 26, 2024
The remaining eleven played with Everton and maintained the same philosophy of their successful streak: electric football at a devilish pace, with Enzo Maresca, Jadon Sancho and Palmer key. As rebels and with suffocating pressure, however, they outplayed Fulham at times.
In fact, Raul Jimenez managed to scare Chelsea out of their general control of the situation with a sublime cross shot that scored for his side. The Mexico striker missed the targetSomething Palmer had done not too long ago, exactly sixteen minutes in.
Again, Chelsea Pearl made the difference. Undoubtedly, the England international is in the best form of his career. He spared no one, and on this occasion he portrayed Andreas Pereira and Sasa Lukic, who saw a fleeting shadow pass by that they could not stop. In the centre, on the edge of the area, Palmer broke away from both of them and with a left-footed shot, a pass high into the net, beat Leno to open the scoring.
That goal was no ordinary goal, as Palmer added his 26th goal in 2024, breaking the club record held by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink since 2001. The two are tied as Chelsea’s all-time top scorers in a calendar year in the Premier League with 25 goals. .
That feat allowed London to take the lead on the scoreboard. And he didn’t take his foot off the accelerator, deciding not to speculate. He was doing his thing and that back-and-forth football was dangerous at times but dominated until the break, which would have led to a 2-0 lead had Cucurella not missed a point-blank header that Leno saved with a great win. intervention.
And so Fulham came into the second act alive and kicking, looking to surprise at Stamford Bridge, although they had to survive a torrid start to the match. chelsea, Enzo Maresca’s shot from outside the area managed to score and Colville’s goal was disallowed for clear offside.
