Chelsea battled their way to a 2-1 win away to Fulham at Craven Cottage in a Premier League London derby on Sunday, boosting their chances of nicking a UEFA Champions League spot for next season.
The hosts got off to a good start when Andreas Pereira poked home from inside the six-yard box, only for the offside flag and a brief VAR check to rule that there were a couple of offsides in the build-up to the goal.
Fulham continued undeterred by the decision and they soon got a goal through Alex Iwobi. Ryan Sessegnon beat Reece James and found Iwobi on the edge of the area, and the Nigerian international drilled a left-footed effort from the edge of the area into the bottom corner.
Chelsea tried to respond after falling behind, but struggled to create any clear-cut opportunities as the hosts went into the interval with the advantage. Whatever Blues boss Enzo Maresca said to his lads during the break worked its magic as the Blues began to dominate upon the restart.
Malo Gusto, who was brought on for the second half, powered his cross onto the feet of Pedro Neto, but his drive from 12 yards was blocked by the legs of Fulham keeper Bernd Leno. Chelsea finally drew level through academy graduate Tyrique George, who pounced on a loose ball and arrowed an effort into the bottom corner.
By this time, the momentum was all Chelsea and they translated that dominance into a late winner. It came via winger Pedro Neto, who controlled and thundered his effort into the roof of the net to hand the derby bragging rights to the visitors.
The win lifts Chelsea into the top five while Fulham missed the chance to move into eighth position.