Goals from Olivier Giroud, Christian Pulisic and Tammy Abraham lifted Chelsea into third place ahead of Saturday's match away to Sheffield United.

The Blues are now a point clear of fourth-placed Leicester as Brendan Rodgers' side missed the opportunity to reclaim third place after they drew to Arsenal.

After a narrow victory over Crystal Palace, here are five things that Chelsea fans learned following last night's win.

  • 1) Captain America continues to shine:

Since the restart of the Premier League, you could argue that Christian Pulisic has been Chelsea's best player. The young American yet again stood out and had another great game.

Throughout the season, Pulisic has suffered from injuries in his debut season, but the COVID-19 outburst has allowed him to get fit and improve on certain aspects of his game.

What stood out yesterday was his work rate. The American sensation scored a brilliant goal, with his weak foot, but imposed himself not just in Palace's half but also in Chelsea's half when the Blues were on the back foot. After another standout performance, the future looks bright for Pulisic. 

  • 2) Chelsea's number 10:

Although the Brazilian is yet to sign an official new deal, Willian has certainly been another standout since the return. After his winner against Manchester City, a goal against Watford, Willian impressed yet again last night.

He didn't score, but he was certainly a catalyst in Chelsea's attack. The 31-year-old managed to bag an assist for Chelsea's first goal. Willian's stamina and his mindset to run for 90 minutes are second to none, and Frank Lampard has been impressed with the winger in recent times. 

The way he drives with the ball and the way he plays with real confidence has caught the eye of many fans in recent times, and it's fair to say that he deserves a new deal ahead of the new season. 

  •  3) The impact from the substitutes: 

With Chelsea 2:1 up and having to cling on at times in the second half, Frank Lampard needed to make changes.

Around 65 minutes into the match, Lampard decided to bring on Tammy Abraham and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. The pair made an immediate impact, with Loftus-Cheek's delicate dink to Tammy, who found the bottom corner. 

However, Palace immediately responded. With the Blues 3:2 and once again struggling, Lampard brought on Jorginho for his first appearance since the restart. The Italian also made an impact by slowing the game down and control the midfield. It's fair to say that, once again, Lampard's changes late on proved to be vital.

  • 4) Kurt Zouma's match-winning tackle:

Throughout the game, Chelsea was struggling defensively. Christensen put in a poor performance, which meant that Zouma had to constantly cover for the Dane. It just goes to show that Chelsea is in serious need of a centre back.

With Chelsea's centre-back pairing inconsistent throughout the year, maybe Zouma has finally established himself as a first-team regular.

In the dying moments of the game, Christian Benteke was in for Crystal Palace and out of nowhere, Kurt Zouma produced a last-ditch tackle to deny Palace an equaliser. 

After that tackle, the Frenchman deserves all the plaudits from the Chelsea faithful.

  • 5) The performance of Billy Gilmour:

Early on in the game, the young Scot was very neat and tidy on the ball, in what was a big test for him. When Chelsea's midfield needed someone to step up and apply pressure, Gilmour was that player. 

However, when Chelsea was on the back foot, Gilmour was exposed a tad and therefore couldn't implement his playing style. Nevertheless, he had a decent, game it's fair to say. 

In his breakthrough season, the 19-year-old has impressed the masses, and after his display last night, Billy Gilmour is one to keep an eye out for in the very near future.