Moroccan Ziyech leads Chelsea to break the stubbornness of Crystal Palace

Chelsea snatched a 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace with a goal in the 89th minute by Moroccan winger Hakim Ziyech, in a triumphant return to the newly crowned Club World Cup team after an absence of nearly a month from the English Premier League.

Ziyech monitored a cross from substitute Marcos Alonso and calmly hit the ball into the net to give Chelsea a victory that seemed unattainable for most of the match.

Palace allowed the visitors a few chances, including defender Antonio Rudiger's shot in the 11th minute, and goalkeeper Bisente Guaita was brilliant in stopping it.

The hosts came close to scoring through Wilfried Zaha and Michael Oliseh on the counterattack.

Chelsea won the Club World Cup last week and face Lille in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday, before meeting Liverpool in the League Cup final next weekend.

With these important confrontations approaching, Chelsea will need to make more use of Romelu Lukaku, the most expensive player in the club's history, who was alone and unsupported in attack once again.

The Belgian striker touched the ball only seven times, the lowest number of touches for a player to have been on the field for at least 90 minutes in a Premier League match since this data began to be recorded in the 2003-04 season.

Lukaku thought he made a goal for Ziyech in the 75th minute, but the video assistant referee canceled the goal for offside.

But the Moroccan player finally managed to score 14 minutes later, his third goal in the last three league matches.

"It was a tough match with few chances," Ziyech told the BBC. "The best feeling is to score in the last minute."

With this victory, Chelsea are seven points away from second-placed Liverpool, who defeated Norwich City on Saturday, while they are 13 points behind leaders Manchester City.

Chelsea's hopes of winning the league are almost dashed, but they are still in the fourth place race.

Palace is ranked 13th.

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