Chelsea grabbed a slim 1-0 victory over Fulham in the Premier League after a first-half penalty by Cole Palmer on January 13, Saturday.

The win boosts Chelsea’s position to number eight in the Premier League points table with 31 points, giving Mauricio Pochettino and his men a much-needed relief after their dreadful Premier League run and recent FA Cup defeat to Middlesbrough.

However, Chelsea’s performance against Fulham highlighted the West London club’s poor record in front of goal. The goal-conversion rate has been The Blues’ biggest concern this season, with the team struggling to bag goals in their matches. Other than their newly-acquired attacking midfielder Cole Palmer, there has not been any steady performer for Chelsea in the 2023-24 season so far.

Goal-scoring woes continued for Chelsea

The trend continued during Chelsea’s game against Fulham as the only worthwhile moments in front of the goal came from Palmer and occasional dashes from Enzo Fernández and Conor Gallagher. In the full span of the game, Chelsea had 17 shots out of which only 3 were on target. When it came to defending at the other end, Fulham hardly put up a challenge to the Chelsea keeper Djordje Petrovic.

On a brighter note, Chelsea’s English fullback Ben Chilwell made his much-awaited comeback to the game after spending time on the sideline due to a hamstring injury. Alongside Chilwell, defender Beno®t Badiashile also made his comeback from injury in this game. This win makes it Chelsea’s third consecutive win in the Premier League since 2022, which might make fans hopeful of a much-longed stability.

Chelsea showed dominance in ball possession throughout the game but failed to pull out any definitive outcome. Overall, a weak display by Fulham turned out to be the driving force in giving Chelsea a boost of confidence before they head on to their second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Middlesbrough, where they are behind on aggregate by 1-0.