Neto winner keeps Chelsea's UCL hopes alive
Pedro Neto's last-gasp winner helped Chelsea keep its hopes of UEFA Champions League qualification alive as it came from behind to beat Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage.
Fulham had taken the lead in the 20th minute through Alex Iwobi, with the midfielder's low drive picking out the bottom corner after Reece James had his pocket picked.
But two goals in 10 second-half minutes from substitute Tyrique George and Neto sealed a huge win for the Blues, which ended an eight-game winless run on the road.
Teenager George needed just five minutes after being introduced into the action to make an impact, rifling a first-time finish beyond the grasp of Bernd Leno.
The turnaround was completed in the third minute of second-half stoppage time when Neto swivelled superbly on Enzo Fernandez's cutback, planting the ball into the roof of the net.
Chelsea's victory moves it up into fifth place, ahead of Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, while Marco Silva’s side remains ninth in the standings.
Neto was quick to laud his team-mates for their battling display late on.
"I think it could be a big part of the season for us. We showed character. To be honest, I have no words," Neto said.
"It is not easy to spend all season in the top four and we were out before this game. The character the team showed, we now need to think about Everton.
"When I received the ball, I just span around and shot as hard as I can. The ball went in.
"The first one, Leno did an unbelievable save and I was so frustrated that the second one I had to put all the power into the shot."
The result also saw Enzo Maresca's side end a run of eight consecutive Premier League away games without a victory.
Neto, however, said that the display was far from Chelsea's best, but believed that his team was worthy of the three points.
"Sometimes in this game it is not about the quality, it's about the spirit and that's what we showed today - and I think we deserved to win," he said.
On George, who became Chelsea's fifth-youngest Premier League goalscorer at just 19 years and 75 days old, Neto was full of praise.
"What a finish it was. He has been working with us for a while. Today he showed what he can do, he scored a beautiful goal and we go from that," Neto added.
As for Marco Silva and Fulham, Neto's winner was a cruel blow to hopes of playing European football for the first time since Fuham's famous run to the UEFA Europa League final in 2010 under Roy Hodgson.
Fulham is ninth on the table with five games to go and is now nine points adrift of a European berth, but Silva believes that a top-six finish is not out of reach.
"We have five finals to play. We have to face it as it is. We are part of a bunch of clubs fighting for something important," Silva said.
"This is a difficult one to take. It was a derby and all that stuff, but from next Tuesday, we have to react."
Fulham has now dropped 25 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, with only Ipswich Town dropping more in the competition this term with 27.
