Chelsea thrash Crystal Palace, ease pressure on Lampard

CHELSEA scored four second-half goals to brush aside Crystal Palace in their Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Ben Chilwell, Kurt Zouma and Jorginho got the goals for Frank Lampard’s side against their fellow London club.

Palace had defended solidly in the first half, restricting the hosts to only one shot on target before the break. But Chelsea, with goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and defender Chilwell making their league debuts, put up a dominant second-half display to claim their second league win of the season.

Chilwell got the Blues on their way in the 50th minute with a fierce shot from inside the Palace box after Mamadou Sakho had failed to clear the ball properly.

Zouma nodded in the second from a Chilwell cross six minutes after the hour, giving Chelsea breathing space and forcing Palace to open up.
Jorginho then scored twice from the penalty spot in quick succession, first in the 78th minute and four minutes after.

The big win took Chelsea to fourth in the table with seven points while Palace dropped to eighth with six points.Chelsea manager Frank Lampard will be a relieved man after his side had failed to win any of their two matches before Saturday’s victory — a Premier League draw at West Brom and a Carabao Cup penalty shootout defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.