Chelsea Rally to Beat Palace in Thrilling Finish
The visitors were trailing at half-time after Jefferson Lerma’s stunning strike gave Palace the lead in the 30th minute. The Colombian midfielder picked up the ball on the edge of the area and unleashed a powerful shot that flew into the top corner, leaving Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy with no chance.
Chelsea had dominated the first half in terms of possession and chances, but they failed to find a way past Palace’s resolute defence and goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who was on loan from Manchester United.
However, the Blues turned the game around in the second half, thanks to two goals from Conor Gallagher, who was on loan at Palace last season. The 22-year-old midfielder equalised in the 47th minute, when he met Malo Gusto’s cross with a fierce volley that beat Henderson at his near post.
Chelsea added a third goal in the final seconds, when Enzo Fernandez, who had come on as a substitute, finished off a swift counter-attack with a cool finish.
The result moved Chelsea up to 10th place in the table, while Palace remained 15th, just three points above the relegation zone.
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino praised his team’s character and resilience, saying: “It was a very tough game, but we never gave up. We showed our quality and our mentality in the second half. I’m very proud of the players and the fans, who supported us until the end.”
Palace boss Roy Hodgson was disappointed with the outcome, but he felt his team deserved more from the game. He said: “We can count ourselves very unfortunate to have lost. We defended well and we took our chance in the first half. We were unlucky with the penalty decision, which I thought was harsh. We gave everything, but it wasn’t enough.”
The Man of the Match (MOTM)
The man of the match was Conor Gallagher, who scored twice for Chelsea and showed great composure to slot the penalty past Henderson. He also received an average rating of 8.5 from the fans, the highest among all the players. Gallagher, who was on loan at Palace last season, proved his quality and his mentality in the second half.
