Chelsea Edge Crystal Palace 1-0 Courtesy Of Late Ziyech Strike

Hakim Ziyech was on target once again in the Premier League with a last-gasp volley to clinch a 1-0 victory for Chelsea over Crystal Palace.

By steering Marcos Alonso’s deep cross past substitute Jack Butland in the 89th minute, Ziyech scored for the third straight league game and secured an important three points.

The Blues looked to be heading back down to earth with a bump a week on from winning the Club World Cup for the first time in their history, with Antonio Rudiger and N’Golo Kante thwarted in the first half. 

Palace came out fighting in the second period but were eventually undone by a composed finish from Ziyech, with Chelsea establishing an eight-point advantage over top-four chasing West Ham and Arsenal. 

Michael Olise and Christian Pulisic passed up chances before Vicente Guaita kept out a searing 35-yard effort from Rudiger in the 11th minute.  

Guaita did well to stop Kante firing home 10 minutes later and Wilfried Zaha went close to making the Blues pay from an acute angle in first-half stoppage time.  

Ziyech thought he had scored the winner when he scored on the follow-up after Butland thwarted Romelu Lukaku, but the goal was disallowed by VAR for an offside against the Belgian.

Chelsea were not to be denied, though, with Ziyech guiding a cool first-time finish home to silence Selhurst Park. 

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