NONI Madueke was the coolest customer in the house at Stamford Bridge after winning and scoring the late penalty which saw off Crystal Palace last night.
The game was evenly poised at 1-1 after Mykhailo Mudryk’s early opener for the Blues was cancelled out on the stroke of half-time by Michael Olise.
Madueke had only been introduced from the bench on 71 minutes for Christopher Nkunku when he was fouled just inside the box 14 minutes later by Eberechi Eze.
Play initially continued until VAR requested referee Michael Salisbury head to the pitchside screen to take a second look.
The inevitable change of mind happened and it wasn’t until the 89th minute Madueke was able to step up and send Dean Henderson the wrong way from the spot to secure a third straight home Premier League victory.
Despite all the drama and wait for the foul to be confirmed, the Chelsea attacker knew the decision was going to go his side’s way and he was always ready to do the honours from 12 yards.
Madueke said: “I’m trying to just relax.
“Of course everyone around you is chaos but I knew it was a pen so I’m trying to just relax.
“And then when obviously he gave it, then I just go through my routine, that’s it.
“Thank God I stuck it away.
“To be fair I don’t think the referee saw it. I think his back might have been to play and that’s why it took so long.
“I knew it was going to be a pen.”
It was Madueke’s first Premier League goal of the campaign following an earlier effort in the Carabao Cup against Wimbledon.
With no designated penalty taker this season, the 21-year-old was only too happy to take on the responsibility.
He said: “We don’t have one to be fair, but of course I’m confident with pens so I thought ‘Yeah, I’ll do it’.
“I patted myself down, took the pen and scored. Perfect.
“It was definitely a deserved win. I feel like we were the better side for pretty much all of the game.
“I’m really happy that we got the three points and got over the line.”
Chelsea may not have enjoyed a great time at Stamford Bridge in 2023 but they are undefeated on their own patch since late October, an improvement Madueke wants to continue heading into the new year.
“It is great for our momentum,” he explained.
“I don’t think we’ve lost here for a while, so it is good.
“We want to try and make it a fortress going into 2024.”
The home record might be getting better, but Chelsea have lost their last four on the road, with a tricky looking trip to a Luton Town side battling relegation next up on Saturday lunchtime.
Like virtually everyone at Chelsea, Madueke has never played at Kenilworth Road before.
“I never have actually,” he said.
“They fight a lot. They fight really hard and it will be a difficult game for sure.
“It is one that we should definitely be looking to win but it won’t be easy.
“We will come prepared and try to do the business.”
And will his late cameo from the bench against Palace and match winning penalty be enough to convince Mauricio Pochettino to give him a place in the starting XI this weekend?
“Who knows?” replied the youngster.
“The manager decides.
“I just play football, so it is up to him on whether I play or not.”
