CHELSEA battled to a vital win against local rivals Fulham as Cole Palmer scored the only goal of the game.
Palmer, who is the Blues’ top scorer, made no mistake with a late first-half penalty to make it nine for the season and three Premier League wins in a row for the first time under Mauricio Pochettino.
It was far from easy for Chelsea, with Fulham battling to the bitter end and Djordje Petrovic making two excellent saves to keep them out.
Chelsea – who were criticised by fans for a bizarre promotion in the crowd while the game was being played – twice hit the post in search of a second goal.
Fulham pushed for a leveller late on but despite a long spell of pressure they were unable to create a clear-cut chance, allowing Chelsea to take three points and west London bragging rights.
Here’s how SunSport’s Tom Sheen rated the Chelsea players…
Another composed performance in between the sticks for the young keeper. – Chelsea may well have stumbled upon their long-term No 1.
Made excellent saves to deny Harry Wilson and Raul Jimenez and went about his business with an absolute minimum amount of fuss. Quite the opposite of previous No 1 keeper Robert Sanchez.
Got up and down the wing extremely well and did a reasonable job of keeping Willian in check.
However, he was extremely lucky not to see red for a seemingly high tackle on the former Chelsea star when the score was still 0-0.
Defended stoutly when needed but still struggles to look convincing in possession.
A couple of nervy moments in the first half but looked much better after half time.
Like Disasi had a couple of moments where his defence looked a bit ragged, but managed his back four impressively after the break.
A couple of late tackles and a clever tactical foul brought huge cheers from the home fans.
Better than he was against Middlesbrough but still plainly not a left-back and often appears to be struggling with his positioning and whether or not to engage his man.
Doesn’t offer much going forward and skied a great chance with his weaker foot from just outside the box.
A better performance from the midfielder but still not dominating games and opponents as a £100 million player should.
Having said that, he was often left exposed by his midfield mates who were caught up field.
The Chelsea No 8 was superb in possession and whipped in a couple of really threatening crosses – one that Armando Broja headed over and another that saw Raheem Sterling hit the post (although he was probably offside).
However, his score is held back by his inability to affect the game without the ball. Too often he left Caicedo alone in midfield and allowed runners to burst past him, giving Fulham plenty of opportunity.
Decent enough from the skipper who was neat in possession and offered a couple of driving runs forward.
Not quite as dynamic or energetic as he was earlier in the season, however, but nearly scored with a superb effort that saw him smash the post with a swerving, outside-of-the-boot effort.
Chelsea’s top performer on the day with everything good running through the winger.
Provided a lovely disguised ball for Raheem Sterling to win the penalty, then slotted it home coolly.
Some brilliant play in the second-half included a lovely flick over Antonee Robinson, who will be relieved he won’t have to meet Palmer again this season.
A bit of a return to form for Sterling who had endured a couple of rough performances.
Was positive every time he got the ball in going at Kenny Tete, won the penalty and looked somewhere close to his best. Should have scored when he headed against the the post – although it would likely have been ruled out if it had gone in.
Huffs and puffs and always works his hardest but still just lacks that quality in crucial moments.
Unlucky to see his first half header fly over, but was found wanting in a couple of moments where a quicker decision may have brought dividends for the Blues.
Exciting introduction from the winger who came on and immediately got the Stamford Bridge faithful out of their seats with a series of direct charges at the Fulham goal.
End product still needs work, but his direct style will always be a nightmare for defenders and he forced Bernd Leno into a smart save late on.
The defender’s first action since late September and his return to the pitch was met with massive noise from the home fans.
Was brought on to play in the front three – which is where he spent a lot of his time before his injury and received a lot of criticism. Will be interesting to see in coming weeks if Poch sticks with Chilwell as a forward or drops him back into his natural position.
Late sub and had no time to make much of an impression on the game.
The same as Gilchrist in terms of performance, but his return is a massive bonus for Pochettino and Chelsea, with the midfielder playing in his first game since August 20.
Subs not used: Marcus Bettinelli, Lucas Bergstrom, Benoit Badiashile, Alfie Gilchrist, Carney Chukwuemeka, Mykhailo Mudryk, Deivid Washington
