 |
| Bakary Sako celebrates scoring the opener for Palace |
Radamel Falcao's goal ten minutes from time seemed to have rescued Chelsea a point after Bakary Sako had given them the lead.
But Joel Ward's late strike ensured Mourinho's memorable occassion was not one to savour.
The game got off to a fairly quiet start but it was summer signing Pedro who came closest to opening the scoring but his curling effort went just wide of the far post.
Palace's first chance came to Sako as his thunderous shot was saved by the legs of Thibaut Courtois.
Moments later, the Eagles had another chance to take the lead after some brilliant work by Wilfried Zaha found Yohan Cabaye in space but his shot was saved by Courtois from close range.
Just before the break Diego Costa's effort was initially saved by Alex McCarthy and then Cesc Fabregas' follow-up was blocked by Scott Dann.
Chelsea had an appeal for a penalty shortly after the restart as Damien Delaney brought down Costa inside the box but replays suggested referee Craig Pawson made the correct decision.
Palace were beginning to build momentum and it finally paid off after 65 minutes.
Yannick Bolasie - who had just replaced Zaha - played a perfect cut-back to Sako to slot home from 12 yards.
Falcao gave the home side something to cheer about when he headed home the equaliser from close range following Pedro's delightful cross.
But Palace responded instantly - Bolasie again playing in a deep cross which saw Sako cut-back for Joel Ward to slot past Courtois.
Palace held on in the closing stages to leave Stamford Bridge with all three points.
Post a Comment Blogger Facebook Disqus