Premier League: Chelsea earn narrow win over Fulham

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 Chelsea 1 - 0 Fulham

Chelsea secured a narrow victory over West London rivals Fulham at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League, with Cole Palmer's first-half penalty proving to be vital.

Chelsea v Fulham

The win was Chelsea's third consecutive victory, moving them to eighth in the table. Palmer's penalty, following a foul on Raheem Sterling by Issa Diop, marked his ninth goal since joining Chelsea in August.

Conor Gallagher came close to adding a late second for Chelsea, hitting the far post with a well-struck effort. Despite Chelsea's wastefulness in front of goal earlier in the week, they did enough to secure the three points. 

Chelsea won their fourth consecutive home league match for the first time since July 2020.

The victory marked a positive start to Chelsea's 2024 league campaign after a challenging 2023, where they won only 12 of their 43 league games.  They are set to face Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup semi-final second leg on 23 January.

They are definitely starting to pick up results now even if the performances aren't quite up there yet. Click here for more Chelsea news and stories.

What's happening with Fulham and their away form?

Fulham continued their poor away form, losing their past five league games on the road. The Cottagers had a chance early in the game when Harry Wilson's effort was saved by Chelsea keeper Djordje Petrovic. 

Despite Petrovic's crucial saves, Fulham couldn't find the back of the net. Referee Anthony Taylor's decision not to send off Chelsea's Malo Gusto, following a challenge on Willian, added elements of controversy to Fulham's afternoon. Overall, they are not in the mix for European qualification and eight points ahead of the relegation zone so the drop shouldn't be a worry.

Fulham will now face Liverpool in their EFL Cup semi-final second leg on 24 January.

What are people saying?

Lewis was positive about Chelsea's performance and pleased they recovered after their midweek defeat in the EFL Cup. He said: "The performance was a lot better than midweek. Fair play to the players for seeing the game out."

These were the views of the Chelsea vice-captain. 

Lauren, another Chelsea fan, added: "Not the best of performances , but it was great to see us pick up another win. It would be great to see us qualify for one of the European competitions."

Frankie, another Fulham fan, messaged us on Facebook with her thoughts on the match. She said: "We need to improve our away form, but that was a decent display from us. The big game for us is that EFL Cup second-leg against Liverpool now. It would be great to see us at Wembley, potentially even against Chelsea."

Check out this interesting stat!

Fulham have now failed to score in each of their last six league visits to Chelsea. This is their longest streak against any individual opponent in their top-flight history. What's annoying from their perspective is that they could have potentially won this match with a bit of quality in the final third. 

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