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Chelsea don’t make it easy for themselves do they? Some breathing space, at least temporarily, for Mauricio Pochettino here against Crystal Palace.
But they were forced to rely on a late penalty from substitute Noni Madueke to secure their victory from a game they created enough chances to win two matches.
Pochettino will take it and run, of course. His brittle team need all the help they can get right now.
But so did Palace – and on a different day we’d be regaling a different story.
Noni Madueke (right) stepped up to score a late penalty and earn Chelsea three points
The English winger was brought down in the box late on in their clash against Crystal Palace
Mykhailo Mudryk (middle) had given the hosts the lead with a neat finish in the first-half
Mudryk has now scored two goals in his last three appearances for the west London club
We’re not, though and for Roy Hodgson, his side’s alarming slump towards another relegation fight will be worrying the 76-year-old.
It’ll be concerning the Selhurst Park board, too. The Eagles host Brentford on Saturday, lose that and Palace may have a decision to make.
It’s now eight matches without a victory for the south Londoners. That’s the sort of run that focuses the mind, particularly when those below you have started picking up points.
That said, they deserve credit for the way they stuck to their guns against Chelsea on Wednesday night.
They are playing for Hodgson. That much looks clear – but whether that’s enough remains to be seen.
Palace started positively, sensing opportunity here at a subdued Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are fragile, the Christmas Eve loss at Wolves their eighth of a forgettable season.
The fact they were without suspended pair Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer – and injured club record signing Enzo Fernandez – compounded anxieties.
And Palace sought rapidly to add further misery. Michael Olise was bright down Palace’s left and Eze in his preferred No 10 role was the conductor at the heart of his team’s encouraging beginning.
But, as has been Palace’s problem all season, creating chances was proving problematic.
Eventually, Chelsea settled and were unlucky not to take a ninth minute lead; goalkeeper Dean Henderson’s vital touch being Tyrick Mitchell enough time to scamper back and clear Ian Maatsen’s goalbound effort.
Four minutes later, Chelsea were in front.
Mykhailo Mudryk stood haughtily with his arms aloft to receive his acclaim after stroking home from close range.
But it was Malo Gusto who deserved the adulation. His turn in midfield left Chris Richards for dead.
His exchange of passes with Christopher Nkunku after driving through Palace’s disorganised centre left the visitors horribly exposed. His pass into Mudryk… well it was harder for the Ukrainian to miss.
Michael Olise had pulled the visitors level just before half-time with a neat finish
The visitors thought they’d done enough to secure a point before Madueke’s late winner
We’ll be seeing more of Gusto over the next few months as captain and first choice right back Reece James rehabilitates from his latest hamstring injury.
If his contribution to Chelsea’s opener is sign of things to come, then Pochettino will like what he sees.
Chelsea should have added to their tally before half-time, Mudryk missed a glorious opportunity after being set-up spectacularly by Nicolas Jackson before Nkunku inexplicably missed his kick with just Henderson to beat.
But despite their lead the atmosphere was tense; the squandered opportunities merely adding to those apprehensions.
The natives are restless. They are used to winning. Chelsea haven’t won enough and supporters aren’t taking it well.
So, with that in mind, there was almost a sense of inevitability about what was to follow.
Richards’ 50/50 with 5ft 6ins Maatsen just outside Chelsea’s box was a mismatch.
The ball broke to Jordan Ayew, whose cross caught the home defence napping leaving Olise alone at the to cooly control on his chest before rifling past Djorde Petrovic.
Wednesday night’s result sees Chelsea rise up to 10th while the Eagles remain down in 15th
The irony of the goalscorer was inescapable. Olise was one of Chelsea’s priority summer transfer targets only for the deal to collapse amid a brewing row over the Blues’ conduct when pursuing the Palace attacker.
In first half injury time, we caught a captivating glimpse of why Olise has been so coveted in these parts.
‘We should have been 3-0 up,’ moaned one Chelsea supporter in the East Stand as he vacated his seat at half-time. He wasn’t wrong.
Pochettino needed no reminding about the perils of missed opportunities.
Olise picked up where he left off at the start of the second half, two dazzling runs through the heart of Chelsea’s midfield had Palace fans salivating before Eze fired close from a free kick.
Petrovic produced a good stop to deny Jean-Philippe Mateta’s angled drive in the 55th minute as Palace smelt blood.
Pochettino introduced Thiago Silva and £58million summer signing Romeo Lavia for his debut in hope of triggering a change in direction. Noni Madueke and Armando Broja soon followed.
Jackson restoring Chelsea’s lead should have come next, but he contrived to fire wide from Conor Gallagher’s killer pass in the 74th minute.
The pain in the Ecuador striker’s face was a picture. The expletives from the terraces were audible. Not much has gone right for Jackson since his summer arrival, this was his latest aberration.
His misery continued two minutes later when his goal from Silva’s deep cross was ruled out by VAR for a fractional offside.
But ultimately, Chelsea plundered their winner courtesy of a VAR check; Eze bringing down Madueke, who stepped up to send Henderson the wrong way in the 89th minute.
Some respite for Pochettino. Well, until the next defeat.
