March 28, 2024

Match reports and analysis as Chelsea claim their second win in 10 matches courtesy of Kai Havertz’s second-half header, Kepa Arrizabalaga made brilliant saves to preserve Chelsea’s win as they got their first win in 2023.

There were wild celebrations at Stamford Bridge as Kai Havertz popped up in the 64th minute to score the decisive goal, as Chelsea got their first win since December 2022.

Neither side entered the contest with any form to speak well of, Chelsea had only won two of their previous ten matches, and the visitors with only one victory in their last six.  Although both teams played brilliantly with a lot of chances, A tight-knit and highly-strung event was expected.

The first half of the game was filled with different nerve-wracking moments, Palace came close with Tyrick Mitchell’s half Volley which was smothered by Kepa. Chelsea also came close 4 minutes later when Silva headed twice and a fizzling half-volley from Ziyech was saved by Guaita. Havertz came close 10 minutes later when a cross was lifted in beautifully from Ziyech with Havertz heading wide.

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The visitors showed a bit of aggression and dominance on the ball in the second half but it was Chelsea who claimed all three points thanks to Havertz’s 64th minutes towering header, the blues are now 10th, six points clear of the 12th-placed Crystal Palace.

Conor Gallagher also showed a master-class performance against his former club, he created a lot of chances, one of which Lewis Hall failed to convert into a goal in the first half.

The Stamford Bridge atmosphere has been reasonably heated for a while now as Chelsea have been in terrible form. They only picked up 15 points out of a possible 30 in their last 10 games, but the home supporters were in full support of their team ahead of kick-off as they paid tribute to their former Italian player and manager, Gianluca Vialli who died earlier this month from cancer.

They also welcomed their new number 15, Mykhailo Mudryk whose transfer was announced during the first half, as he was presented to the fans during the half-time break, which fired the fans up further.

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Although the Eagles had the first chance of the game with Kepa blocking Mitchell’s close-range volley, before making a brilliant save of Micheal Olise’s dangerous strike from the edge of the 18-yard box. Chelsea then created chances for Kai Havertz and Lewis Hall, but both failed to find the breakthrough, Hakim Ziyech also saw his effort well saved as the first half ended goalless.

Havertz headed in a much-needed goal for Potter, his second in 10 games for Chelsea this season before the game dived into a series of fouls and bookings as a result of clashes between opposition players. Palace struggled to create the chances they needed to salvage a point, but Chelsea were able to keep a clean sheet on home soil as Kepa made some impressive saves.

CHELSEA VS CRYSTAL PALACE STATS.

Chelsea had more possession of the ball with 63% possession on the ball. They registered 15 shots, 5 of which were on target. Chelsea’s defence was able to hold Crystal Palace as they made great efforts to grab a point from the game.

Chelsea are up against last season’s runner-up, Liverpool on Saturday, Kick-off at 12:30 pm at the Anfield Stadium.

Crystal Palace’s next fixture is a home game against Manchester United on Wednesday, Kick-off at 8:00 pm.

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