Chelsea managed to beat Fulham 1-0 at home courtesy of a first-half penalty scored by Cole Palmer. The 21-year-old player scores his 9th Premier League goal this season for Chelsea and is the top goal scorer for the Blues; Nicolas Jackson is second with seven goals in the league.
Related News: Chelsea's wonder boy continues to carry them in the Premier League
The Chelsea keeper, Djordje Petrovic, kept them in the game in the second half when Fulham was chasing the game. Two saves against Fulham's Raul Jimenez led to Petrovic keeping a clean sheet. Chelsea would hit the woodwork twice in the second half. Raheem Sterling heads the ball to the far post and Chelsea were close to score a second. The post would appear again to stop Chelsea from scoring another as Conor Gallagher tries an outside-the-foot shot and rattles the far post.
Chelsea's next game will be in the Carabao Cup against Middlesbrough, as the Blues currently trail 1-0 on aggregate. The game on January 23rd will be played at Stamford Bridge and Chelsea will look to complete a comeback to make the EFL Cup final.
Mauricio Pochettino believes this win gives them momentum for the Middlesbrough semifinal game
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino spoke after the 1-0 victory against Fulham and is grateful for the players' effort. Chelsea's next game against Middlesbrough is ten days away, and the Argentine manager is happy his players will get some rest. Poch says, "It is important. We need to keep pushing. We have a break, but that will be good for our players. Too many players played too many games, so a break is good."
Pochettino also praises Palmer for his performance and hopes the player can emulate the performance today when they play Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup semifinal. Pochettino`s current focus is on the vital game against the Championship side, and he wants to make a cup final with Chelsea for an opportunity at a trophy this season.
Pochettino explains, "He's [Palmer] 20-years-old and in his first season of playing. He had three or four chances at Middlesbrough but we are so happy with how he is playing. The disappointment was that we didn't win [Middlesbrough game], the performance was good. We needed to compete against a really good side like Fulham. Big credit to our players because we played good."
