Chelsea won their third game in succession in the Premier League after edging Fulham 1-0 on Saturday afternoon.
Premier League
Result: Chelsea 1-0 Fulham
Date: 13 January 2023
Venue: Stamford Bridge
The Blues made only one change from their narrow defeat against Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup, as Armando Broja was recalled to join Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling upfront.
The hosts were on the front foot in the opening exchanges and Conor Gallagher came close on 16 minutes with a strike in the box that looped just over the crossbar.
Fulham waited for their moments and Harry Wilson almost broke the deadlock shortly before the half-hour mark with a strike in the box that produced heroics from goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.
The Cottagers had the momentum after that, as they put Chelsea under pressure but they conceded a penalty on the stroke of half-time after a sliding tackle by Issa Diop in the box.
Cole Palmer stepped up and broke the deadlock for Mauricio Pochettino's charges with a low strike past shot-stopper Bernd Leno.
Chelsea regained their dominance in attack from the break but they were not creating chances and on 67 minutes, Pochettino made an attacking change, as Noni Madueke replaced Broja.
However, Marco Silva's men had a big chance from a counter-attack in the last 17 minutes as Raul Jimenez was setup unmarked in the box but his low diagonal shot was saved by Petrovic at full-stretch.
The Blues made a tactical and defensive change after that as Sterling was surprisingly replaced by Ben Chilwell.
However, with the match on the edge, Conor Gallagher came close to burying the game for Chelsea eight minutes before time with a strike on the far side of the box that brushed the post.
Willian had a chance to salvage a point for Fulham in the dying minutes with a free-kick from the edge of the box but his curling effort sailed slightly over the crossbar and the Blues held on to their third successive win.
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