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Roy Hodgson insisted he can steer Crystal Palace away from the Premier League’s relegation zone despite Chelsea’s late, late show piling the pressure on the 76-year-old manager.
Jefferson Lerma’s swerving screamer handed Palace the lead but Conor Gallagher equalised before Mauricio Pochettino’s men scored twice in stoppage time – first through Gallagher and then Enzo Fernandez as they silenced Selhurst Park.
On a night when Palace’s supporters showed their frustration towards the club’s hierarchy with banners branding them ‘weak’, Hodgson said he felt their pain after this defeat.
‘It’s a bad period,’ said Hodgson who faces Premier League matches against Everton and Burnley next. ‘There are 14 games. A lot of games. A lot of points. We’ve shown enough, even in some of the other defeats we’ve had. I don’t have any concerns in that respect.
‘But I do want to emphasise that there is no complacency. We realise we are at the wrong end of the table. We realise points are necessary to climb away from the relegation zone.
Under-pressure Roy Hodgson insists he can lead Crystal Palace up the Premier League table
‘If the question is, do I think this group of players are good enough to get us out of this? I do. They’ve shown a lot tonight which gives me even more faith and belief that they’ll get there.’
Hodgson added: ‘I feel extremely sorry for them because to go home and sleep on that defeat is going to be very tough for everybody. The fans were very good throughout. They must be gutted because, like me at 85 minutes, I was not thinking we are going to lose this game.’
Chelsea did consider selling Gallagher in January but much to his manager’s relief, he stayed.
‘Always he decided, what he told me, was to stay at Chelsea,’ Pochettino said, before being asked if he should be tied down to a new deal.
Jefferson Lerma broke the deadlock on the half-hour mark with a stunning strike
Conor Gallagher scored twice as Chelsea fought back to defeat Crystal Palace
‘It is about him and the club,’ the Blues boss added. ‘I am not suffering from this type of thing. He still has one year more on his contract (expires June 2025). That is a matter for him and the club.’
Chelsea have bounced back since being hammered at home by Wolves – a defeat which put Pochettino under pressure.
Since then, they have beaten Aston Villa in the FA Cup and Palace here.
‘I don’t care about the rumours, the tension, the pressure or the stresses,’ Pochettino said. ‘We know really well what is our reality and we are going to keep working.’
