Cole Palmer’s first-half penalty gave Chelsea a narrow win over West London rivals Fulham at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League.
Palmer’s reverse pass set up Raheem Sterling, who was caught by Issa Diop inside the penalty area.
Palmer dispatched the spot-kick, sending Fulham keeper Bernd Leno the wrong way to net his ninth goal since joining the Blues in August.
Conor Gallagher almost added a late second when his sweetly struck effort using the outside of his boot cannoned off the far post.
Chelsea kept Fulham at arm’s length and held on for their third consecutive victory to jump to eighth in the table.
The visitors stay in 13th and have lost four of their past five matches. It was not a classic but Chelsea did enough to come away with three points.
Victory meant Mauricio Pochettino’s side won a fourth home league match on the bounce for the first time since July 2020.
Credit: bbc.com
