Published on 28.12.2023
The optimist in Mauricio Pochettino will look at the persistence that brought Chelsea victory over Crystal Palace and see proof that it is possible to build something coherent out of this talented but infuriating collection of young talents.
The pessimist, however, will find it hard to ignore the frailties that could easily have resulted in more frustration for his side.
Crystal Palace are currently in 15th place in the Premier League standings and have struggled so far this season. The away side played out a 1-1 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion last week.
Chelsea, on the other hand, are in 10th place in the league table at the moment and have failed to meet expectations this season. The Blues slumped to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers in their previous game, before challenging Crystal Palace to a 2-1 win.
It is no exaggeration to say it could have gone either way. Palace started brightly and had their moments after equalizing through Michael Olise just before half-time. Chelsea dominated after Mykhailo Mudryk’s early goal, lost their way, and defied expectations by regaining the initiative just when it seemed they had resigned themselves to a draw that would have kept them in the bottom half and deepened the gloom around Stamford Bridge.
