Palmer’s reverse pass set up Raheem Sterling, who was stopped by Issa Diop inside the penalty area.

Palmer took the penalty kick, sending Fulham keeper Bernd Leno the wrong way, to score his ninth goal since joining the Blues in August.

Conor Gallagher almost added a late second when his wonderfully placed effort from the outside of his boot bounced off the far post.

Chelsea kept Fulham at arm’s length and won for the third time in a row, moving up to eighth place in the league.

The visitors remain in 13th place and have lost four of their last five matches.

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Cool Palmer fires Chelsea to victory.
It was not a classic, but Chelsea performed well enough to get three points.

Chelsea were wasteful in their 1-0 loss to Middlesbrough in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals on Tuesday, and they struggled in front of goal against Fulham in the first half.

Gallagher blasted over the bar after 16 minutes, and Armando Broja headed Enzo Fernandez’s cross wide of the near post shortly later.

To break the deadlock, Sterling and Palmer combined their coolness, forcing Diop into a tackle he didn’t need to make.