Substitute Noni Madueke’s successful penalty kick in the 89th minute helped Chelsea defeat Crystal Palace 2-1 in round 19 of the Premier League. Without wing striker Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling due to suspension, Mauricio Pochettino replaced Ian Maatsen and Mykhailo Mudryk. Rookie Christopher Nkunku started for the first time, but played in the guard position behind Nicolas Jackson instead of playing in the slot.
These lineup disturbances affect Chelsea’s playing style. Fans at Stamford Bridge no longer witnessed the rush of the ball like previous matches. On the contrary, despite being one of the teams with the weakest attack in the Premier League, Palace dominated in the first minutes and caused waves with the finishing shots of Eberechi Eze and Joachim Andersen, although they were not very dangerous.
In the ninth minute, Mudryk put Maatsen through to face Dean Henderson. But even though the away team’s goalkeeper was defeated, Tyrick Mitchell was able to retreat and block the ball on the goal line. This situation happened not long before the opening goal. Nkunku showed his tactical vision by opening the wing to allow Malo Gusto to cross for Mudryk to finish from close range.Palace pressed forward to respond, but the team under Roy Hodgson was still slow in the first half as is their habit. Even if they take advantage of the opportunity to face the goalkeeper of Mudryk or Nkunku, Chelsea will soon widen the score gap.
The home team paid the price for these misses. In first half stoppage time, the Chelsea player acted unsafely and lost the ball in front of the penalty area. Michael Olise received a cross from Jordan Ayew in an unmarked position before volleying it into the near corner, causing goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic to fall in time.
Palace once again played better in the second half. This time, the opportunity comes to them more clearly. The first was Eze’s free kick off the post from about 25 meters away. Next, Jean-Philippe Mateta made Chelsea fans’ hearts skip a beat when he shot over the bar from a distance of only about 6 meters.The middle of the second half saw the two teams struggling. Jackson had a great chance to score after a pass from Conor Gallagher but missed. Madueke raised his hand to celebrate, but then punched his hand down in regret when he saw his teammate miss. This is not the first time Jackson has disappointed in his finishing ability. He has scored seven goals in 18 appearances, but is also top of the league in misses. Unfortunately for Jackson, when he put the ball into the net in the 76th minute, he was not recognized by the referee for offside.
The turning point happened in the 86th minute. Madueke was fouled in a corner situation. After checking VAR, the referee awarded Chelsea a penalty. Madueke himself took on the responsibility and succeeded with a shot to the left corner, fooling Henderson. Palace could not overturn the situation in eight minutes of extra time, sadly admitting defeat against their city rival. Hodgson was unhappy when his team received a penalty at the end of the match, so he left the field in frustration.
The 76-year-old coach has reason to be dissatisfied. Because despite only holding the ball 35%, Palace made 13 shots, nine more than Chelsea. This failure left Rodgson and his team in 15th place, only three points ahead of the group holding the red light. Similarly, Chelsea is still ranked 10th, but has 25 points. In the next round, Pochettino and his team continue to have the opportunity to accumulate points as guests at Luton.