Chelsea's “character” and “spirit” are what brought them over the line in their last-gasp 2-1 victory over Fulham on Sunday, said Match winner Pedro Neto.
The blues produced a dramatic late turning point in Craven Cottage, climb to the fifth in the Premier League table and kept their Champions League hops alive.
Alex Iwobi had given Fulham a first half lead before two goals in 10 minutes at the end of the match of replacement Tyrique George and Neto sealed the victory.
The winner of Neto, Timed at 92:31, was the newest winning goal from Chelsea in a Premier League London Derby (since 2006-07), although he quickly praised his teammates for their fight display.
“I think it could be a large part of the season for us. We showed character. I have no words to be honest,” Neto said.
“It is not easy to spend the entire season in the top four and we were out for this competition. The character that the team showed, we now have to think of Everton.
“When I got the ball, I just span around and shot as hard as I can. The ball went inside.
“The first, Leno made an incredible salvation and I was so frustrated that the second I had to put all the strength in the shot.”
𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐡𝐚𝐦 𝟐 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐚
A dramatic late turnaround sees Chelsea earning a big three points in the race for the Champions League.
The winner of Pedro Neto (92:31) was the newest winning goal of Chelsea in a Premier League London Derby (since 2006-07).#Fulche pic.twitter.com/jq6shak6bq
– Opta Analyst (@Optaanalyst) April 20, 2025
The result also saw the side of Enzo Maresca a point of eight consecutive Premier League matches without victory.
Neto said, however, that the display against their rivals in London was far from their best, but believed that his team was worth the three points.
“Sometimes this game is not about quality, it's about the Spirit and that is what we shown today – and I think we deserved to win,” he said.
On George, that Chelsea's fifth-youngest Premier League Goalscorer was 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 nice goal and we are going,” Neto added.
Regarding Marco Silva and Fulham, the winner of Neto was a cruel blow to their hope for playing European football for the first time since their famous run to the Europa League final in 2010 under Roy Hodgson.
Fulham is ninth in the table with five more games and are now nine points on a drift 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 couple of clubs fighting for something important,” Silva said.
“This is hard to take. It was a derby and all that stuff, but from next Tuesday we have to respond.”
This season Fulham has now dropped 25 points of winning positions in the Premier League, with only Ipswich Town who falls more in the competition (27) this period.