Kai Huertz says the past few weeks have been “difficult” for Chelsea after his header secured a narrow victory over Crystal Palace to ease the pressure on manager Graham Potter.
Havertz met Hakim Ziyech’s cross just after the hour mark as the Blues ended a run of three consecutive defeats in all competitions.
“The last few weeks have been tough. For everyone at the club, it’s not easy in these circumstances,” said the 23-year-old.
“A lot of things have changed this year. We’ve had a lot of injuries. Today we had five young players in the starting XI, they’re doing really well at the moment.”
The Germany striker should have doubled Chelsea’s advantage but could only flash a header from close range from Mason Mount’s cross.
Palace came close to equalizing late on when Cheek Ducour’s long-range volley was superbly tipped in by Capa Arrizabalaga.
Chelsea remain 10th despite the win, only their second in 10 Premier League games, but are now level on points with ninth-placed Liverpool.
Palace are 12th in all competitions after their fifth defeat in six games.
Nervy Blues end losing run
It was far from a convincing performance from Chelsea but the relief was palpable at the final whistle as they escaped the infamy of losing four matches in a row in all competitions for the first time in 30 years.
The goal came when Palace lost focus from a corner which allowed Conor Gallagher to play the ball short to Zech, whose curling cross was buried by Havertz behind Vicente Guaita for his sixth goal of the season. .
Chelsea had struggled for many clear starts up to this stage, with Huertz pushing forward and Lewis Hall hitting a first-time shot across goal.
Havertz glanced wide from Mount’s dangerous cross and substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fired straight at Guetta as Chelsea threatened a second.
Thiago Silva then produced a number of crucial defensive headers in stoppage time as the Blues clung on through nine nervy minutes of stoppage time.
“Overall we played pretty well, they had their moments but today was about getting the win – making it three valuable points against a team that stood out,” Potter told JEE News. Do what was going on,” Potter told JEE News.
“We try to play well and I thought once we did, you have to understand the context of the situation we’re in so it’s not going to be sensational football all the time. The lads have worked really hard. “
The west London club have also been boosted by the arrival of Ukrainian forward Mykhailo Mudryk, who was paraded onto the pitch at half-time after confirming his transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk.
“He’s a young player with exciting quality in the final third,” Potter added. “He’s very quick and direct and I think the crowd will love him.”
Eagles on the slide
Palace have won just one of seven games in all competitions since resuming after the World Cup, with manager Patrick Vieira admitting there was a “challenging mood” around the club ahead of the game.
Vieira could not fault the commitment of his players at Stamford Bridge, but will bemoan a lack of concentration and a cutting edge up front for Havertz’s goal.
Tyreke Mitchell and Jeffrey Schlip forced Capa into two great stops during the first half but the visitors faded away as an attacking threat after the break.
Their only other chance of note was a long-range effort from Ducour that was saved late on by the Chelsea goalkeeper.
“It was a performance where I was really happy with the attitude and the discipline,” Vieira told JEE News. “We played a really good game of football and it’s not difficult for us to concede anything but that’s the era we’re at.
“We tried hard to score, the game could have ended 2-2 but we shouldn’t have lost the game, we shouldn’t have conceded a set piece.”
Blues pay tribute to Vialli
There were emotional scenes before kick-off as Chelsea paid tribute to their former player and manager Gianluca Vialli in their first home game since his death at the age of 58 earlier this month.
Chelsea players warmed up wearing training kits with ‘Wylie 9’ on the back and stepped onto the pitch wearing Chelsea kits bearing his name.
Two large banners paying tribute to the Italian were hoisted at either end of Stamford Bridge, before a number of his former teammates joined the current players in the center circle for a minute’s applause before kick-off.
