A third consecutive Premier League stalemate at Stamford Bridge appeared to be on the cards for Chelsea during the visit of Leeds, as Raphinha, Joe Gelhardt, Jorginho and Mason Mount all struck in a thrilling encounter in the English capital.
However, in the dying embers of the encounter, Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rudiger won his second penalty of the afternoon, which Jorginho converted to hand the Blues a dramatic 3-2 win before tensions boiled over after the final whistle.
With Liverpool and Manchester City also prevailing by one-goal margins at the weekend, the story at the top of the table is very much the same, with the third-placed Blues one point behind Jurgen Klopp’s men and two adrift of the reigning champions.
Conceding twice to the Whites meant that Chelsea – who have so often prided themselves on defensive solidity under Tuchel – have now failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last four Premier League games, which may be a slight area of concern for the Champions League-winning coach.
However, the Blues have notched up 15 goals in their last five Premier League home games – an average of three per match – and Tuchel’s men are the only side in the division to have hit 20 home goals for the season so far.
Six days on from the delirium of beating a lacklustre Arsenal side, Everton were faced with a much sterner test in the form of Crystal Palace, and the Toffees were no match for this London side as they slumped to a 3-1 loss at Selhurst Park.
Conor Gallagher stole the show with two goals while James Tomkins also got in on the act, and Salomon Rondon’s effort proved to be nothing more than a consolation for the Toffees as the pressure weighs heavier on Rafael Benitez’s shoulders.
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Everton have now lost seven of their last nine Premier League matches – including each of their last four away from home – and they continue to head in the wrong direction after slipping to 14th in the table – seven points above 18th-placed Burnley having played a game more.
The Toffees failed to prove that the win over Arsenal was not a fluke, and Benitez is no stranger to losing five league games away from home having overseen such a miserable streak during his time with Liverpool in 2006.
Everton have rather impressively managed to win each of their last three Premier League clashes with Chelsea at Goodison Park, but they have lost four of their last five at Stamford Bridge and are without a goal on the Blues’ turf in the league since January 2016
