PALM D'OR

Cole has big-screen stardust his under-fire manager needs... but Poch's Blues movie still lacks a convincing plot

- RYAN TAYLOR

CHELSEA 1 Palmer pen 45+4

FULHAM 0

MAURICIO POCHETTINO screeched so loud it shook the Stamford Bridge press box.

Harry Wilson had pipped two Chelsea defenders to a second ball - and slowly but surely, Fulham had begun to assert first-half control.

Two furious punts of his technical area turf soon followed from the restless Argentine manager, who desperately consulted assistant Jesus Perez for answers as his side were suffocated in Marco Silva's stranglehold.

Yet just a few minutes later, Chelsea were ahead via Cole Palmer's penalty and that abrupt swing of the pendulum just about typified the unpredictable nature of Pochettino's chaotic project that at any given second looks either destined to explode into life or nosedive.

Chelsea have become a team that relies on moments and individuals, and even then, there is a distinct lack of quality outside of £42.5million bargain Palmer.

Despite victory, this was yet another frustrating performance that offered no real clarification that the Blues are a side on the comeback trail.