Despite not being held back in Europe this season, Chelsea's Northern Expedition has struggled to climb into the top half of the table, with the Blues dropping to 12th in the last two defeats to Manchester United's Bournemouth. In the 17th round of the Premier League, Chelsea returned to Stamford Bridge to face Sheffield United, facing this vice-captain, the Blues finally did not drop the chain, relying on goals from Palmer and Jacquesson, Chelsea ended the losing streak 2-0.
Sheffield United beat Brentford in the last round, but they are still bottom of the table before the game and are favourites for relegation. The Blues once again had a lot of injury problems in this game, Cucurella and James' two main full-backs were both absent, goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was also unable to play due to injury, and the second goal Petrovic replaced the starter, Colwill, Badiashile, Disassi, Thiago Silva formed a back line of four central defenders, Gallagher, Caicedo two midfielders, Mudryk, Palmer, Jaxson, Sterling partnered in the attacking line, it is worth mentioning that Nkunku, who joined in the summer window, finally recovered from injury and entered the squad.
As the game began, Chelsea began to play in the middle of the pitch again, with no one running without the ball up front and shooting off the ball, Caicedo's shot was blocked, Conor Gallagher's long-range shot was easily cleared, and in the 23rd minute, Mykhailo Mudryk was brilliant but then fired straight to the touchline, and the Blues' new no.10 seemed to have only a speed advantage, and other aspects were somewhat "biased".
In the 42nd minute, Jacquesson dribbled on the left side and cut in, and the shot was completely off the goal, I have to say that Jacquesson's shot conversion rate is too poor, and it is no wonder that the outside world complains more and more about him. Throughout the first half, Chelsea had 80 per cent possession, only one of their five shots on goal, and even played back and forth with Sheffield United on the pitch, with fans complaining: "It's like a Championship game".
In the second half, Palmer used his personal foot technique to shake off the angle and shoot was blocked by the defender on the right side; in the 54th minute, Palmer split the ball in front, Sterling suddenly broke through to the penalty area with the ball, Palmer outflanked and pushed the goal, and the Blues finally broke the deadlock, 1:0! Palmer has scored 6 goals and 4 assists in 16 games since joining the Blues, and has been the best result in this group of new signings.
In the 61st minute, Palmer continued to organize offensive crosses, Sterling grabbed the point, Fodelingham pounced on the ball, Palmer knocked in front of the bottom line, Jacquesson pushed in the face of the empty goal, 2:0! Chelsea scored two goals in seven minutes to expand the advantage, and Jacquesson also scored the eighth goal of the season.
With a two-goal lead, Mauricio Pochettino made early adjustments, with Mykhailo Mudryk and Raheem Sterling substituted for succession, and in the 83rd minute, Palmer sent the ball to goal unmarked on the right, Armando Broja kicked away in the face of most of the empty goal, and the rest of the Blues strikers did not seem to want to let the title leave Stamford Bridge as Sterling gradually moved away from his 'happy boy' attribute. In the 87th minute, Palmer's direct free-kick was saved by Foderingham in front of the goal line, and Jacquesson's follow-up shot from a tight angle was also blocked.
In the end, Chelsea kept the score 2-0 until full-time, ending a two-game losing streak and taking on Newcastle in the Carabao Cup in midweek, with Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal all out of the tournament, and once they can reach the final, Chelsea may be hoping to win the title.