In the 19th round of the 2023-2024 English Premier League season, Chelsea Football Club claimed a tense and thrilling victory.
Late on 28 December, Chelsea take on visiting Crystal Palace at their home stadium at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea showed their attacking prowess soon after the game began, with Mykhailo Mudryk breaking the deadlock and giving the home side the lead in the 13th minute with an assist from Gusto.
However, in first-half stoppage time, a goal from Crystal Palace's Olise equalised the visitors.
Both sides were unreservedly attacking in the second half, with Chelsea's Jackson missing a lone chance and a goal disallowed for offside to extend the lead.
Intense play continued until the 89th minute, when Chelsea were awarded a penalty and Madueke calmly converted it to a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.
Chelsea's performances in the game were remarkable, with their passing and playmaking showing the overall quality of the squad.
For example, in the fifth minute of the game, midfielder Colwill gave Palace a free-kick opportunity for a foul, but fortunately Palace could not take it.
However, after Mudryk's goal, the team looked a little lax defensively, which gave the opposition a chance to equalise.
Crystal Palace's Jordan Ayew picked up a masterful pass and Olise lived up to expectations to get the ball into the dressing room at half-time.
In the second half, Chelsea continued to attack, with the likes of Maatsen and Thiago Silva both creating good scoring chances with the ball, although they did not convert into goals.
In the 76th minute, Jackson's goal was cancelled out for offside, allowing the team to miss a major chance to take the lead.
However, Chelsea were not deterred by this as they continued to push forward and Madueke was brought down by Eze in the box to win a penalty.
He personally scored steadily and completed the lore against Crystal Palace.
Eventually, with this victory, Chelsea's position in the table improved and they moved up to 10th.
The team needs to maintain this competitiveness and try to climb the points in the subsequent matches to strive for a better season standings.
The game was challenging, but Chelsea showed their perseverance and skill in the game.
For Crystal Palace, despite their fighting spirit on the road and a draw at one point, they were unable to take the points away at Stamford Bridge.
This game will be an important momentum turning point for Chelsea and hopefully add confidence to the squad for the rest of the season.