Jefferson Lerma's first goal for Crystal Palace piled more misery on Chelsea as the Eagles took a first-half lead at Selhurst Park.
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Lerma scores against ChelseaSpectacular effort from Palace playerChelsea's struggles continueWHAT HAPPENED?
Lerma brushed aside £115 milion ($145m) midfielder Moises Caicedo to win the ball deep inside Chelsea's half, before taking a touch out of his feet and unleashing an ambitious drive all of 25 yards from goal. The strike flew into the top corner beyond the reach of Djordje Petrovic and brought Selhurst Park to its feet. What a way for the Colombian to open his Palace account after a summer move to south London from Bournemouth.
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Despite a promising FA Cup replay win over Aston Villa last midweek, Chelsea came into the Palace game off the back of successive Premier League defeats to Wolves and Liverpool in which they conceded eight goals in total. More poor results will only put even more pressure on Mauricio Pochettino.
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?
Things aren't about to get any easier for Chelsea, with a trip to Manchester City on Saturday on the calendar following the Crystal Palace encounter. That also doesn't then make for ideal preparation for the Carabao Cup final the following Sunday (February 25) against Liverpool at Wembley.