Chelsea had emerged victorious against Crystal Palace in the Premier League with a margin of 2-1. The Blues needed the win badly to stay in the contention of finishing at the top four in the Premier League after the end of the season and with 10 games left they are still in the race after losing 4 matches in last 5 Premier League games. There is a huge amount of pressure on Antonio Conte as the team is not performing well against the big clubs. Antonio Conte had given Chelsea the Premier League title in the previous season; but in this season, the title holders are not performing at their level best. They are clearly missing something in the field, probably the eagerness to win the title again in this season.
Chelsea players were toyed against Manchester City in the previous match in Premier League. The Blues finished the match with less than 30 percent of ball possession. The Blues had only one shot on target against Manchester City in the whole match. Antonio Conte had preferred to play with a false nine in that match. Eden Hazard was ineffective in the role of false nine. So, Antonio Conte tried to rectify his mistake against Crystal Palace. It was the presence of Olivier Giroud in the field at the upfront for Chelsea, which made them looking destructive in the match against Crystal Palace. Davide Zappacosta was also brought in place of Victor Moses in the right wing back position for Chelsea. It was a match which saw Chelsea back in their good form.
Chelsea will the Catalan Giants Barcelona in the next match in the second leg of round of 16 clash in UEFA Champions League. They got the mental boost up before the big match with this emphatic win. Willian is now the man in form for the Blues and his form will be a crucial factor in the match against Barcelona in the Champions League to ensure Chelsea’s qualification in the next round. Willian opened the scoresheet for Chelsea in the first half. He cut inside with pace with the ball in his feet. His powerful shot at the first post had not given the Crystal Palace Goalkeeper Hennessy any chance to stop that from going into the Goal.
Few moments later Davide Zappacosta had provided a beautiful cross in the box. Crystal Palace Defender Kelly was unable to clear the ball from the goal line and put the ball in their own net. It was a massive 2 goal lead for the Blues. They were looking great in the midfield area of the field. Olivier Giroud came so close of the Goal but couldn’t find the target. Alvaro Morata also got opportunities to play in the last quarter of the game in place of Olivier Giroud. Bakayoko came in the field after coming back from an injury. He came as a late substitute in the second half for Chelsea. Chelsea deserved a clean sheet in the match; but Patrick Van Aanholt’s goal at the dying moments of the match made the scoreline 2-1 in favour of the Blues.
