Chelsea demolish Palace with Pulisic double

LONDON (Reuters) -Chelsea roared back into fourth spot in the Premier League as Christian Pulisic scored twice in an impressive 4-1 victory at London rivals Crystal Palace on Saturday.

After boss Thomas Tuchel’s long unbeaten run since taking charge ended abruptly against West Bromwich Albion last week, Chelsea responded in emphatic fashion.

Kai Havertz punished some sloppy defending to give Chelsea an eighth-minute lead and Pulisic doubled their advantage two minutes later with a powerful finish.

Chelsea totally dominated the first half and went 3-0 up on the half hour with a Kurt Zouma header.

Palace did improve after the break and Christian Benteke’s header gave them a lifeline but Pulisic made the points safe with a close-range finish after 78 minutes.

Chelsea had started the game in sixth place after Liverpool’s last-gasp win against Aston Villa.

But Chelsea’s biggest margin of victory since Tuchel took charge in January moved them back above Liverpool and West Ham United into fourth place with 54 points from 31 games, two ahead of West Ham, who host third-placed Leicester City on Sunday.

Reuters