Muniz shocks Chelsea with dramatic late winner for Fulham

IRISH EXAMINER

Rodrigo Muniz’s dramatic late winner saw Fulham come from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 as the Blues lose further ground in the Premier League title race.

Cole Palmer opened the scoring 15 minutes in the match with a stunning solo effort, but two late goals from Fulham in the second half, first from Harry Wilson then Muniz’s 95th minute winner, sees them beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge for the first time since 1979.

The opening period of this west London derby was a cagey affair, but that was all extinguished inside 15 minutes by the brilliance of talisman Palmer. The 22-year-old jinked his way in between three Fulham players before stroking the ball past Bernd Leno in the visiting goal.

“Palmer Again Ole Ole…” rang around Stamford Bridge for their star.

The chaotic nature of the first half continued moments late as Calvin Bassey cast his best Palmer impression to wriggle his way through the hosts’ defence, but his resulting powerful shot was smothered by Robert Sanchez.

Enzo Maresca’s men then began to flex their muscles heading towards the end of the first period. Leno denied Malo Gusto’s diving header from a Chelsea free kick in the 34th minute with a strong right hand, as the home side pushed on for another goal.

The hosts’ dominance did not let off and Leno was called into another fine save three minutes after the break to deny Enzo Fernandez from outside the penalty area. Levi Colwill then thought he had extended Chelsea’s lead from the resulting corner but the England defender was found to be offside.

Although ahead in the game, Maresca’s side were never fully in control, with Fulham catching the hosts out on the break various times but with limited success…

However, with nine minutes left on the clock, ecstasy for the visitors as Wilson headed them level. Pedro Neto’s attempt at shuffling out Alex Iwobi failed as he caught the shoulder of the Nigerian, who then played the ball onto Wilson. The Welshman’s cross to Timothy Castagne was diverted back to him by the Belgian and the 27-year-old nodded from close range to equalise.