MADUEKE COMES OFF THE BENCH TO ENSURE CHELSEA WIN – Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Stamford Bridge
Substitute Noni Madueke struck an 89th-minute penalty to send Chelsea back into the top half of the Premier League table with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge.
The pressure was mounting on Mauricio Pochettino following a fourth straight-away Premier League defeat at Wolves on Christmas Eve, but VAR Chris Kavanagh spotted a foul by Eberechi Eze on Madueke inside the box, allowing the youngster to dispatch a late winner from the spot.
Mykhailo Mudryk’s early opener was cancelled out by one-time Chelsea target Michael Olise on the stroke of half-time, before Nicolas Jackson’s strike from Thiago Silva’s deflected cross was ruled out by VAR.
But Chelsea and Madueke would find a way, as Palace – without a Premier League win in eight games – slumped to a 13th straight defeat in all competitions against their London rivals.
