Neto lauds Chelsea's spirit and character after injury-time winner
Chelsea's "character" and "spirit" are what got them over the line in their last-gasp 2-1 win at Fulham on Sunday, said match-winner Pedro Neto.
The Blues produced a dramatic late turnaround at Craven Cottage, climbing to fifth in the Premier League table and keeping their Champions League hopes alive.
Alex Iwobi had given Fulham a first-half lead before two goals in 10 minutes at the end of the game from substitute Tyrique George and Neto sealed the victory.
Neto's winner, timed at 92:31, was Chelsea's latest winning goal on record in a Premier League London derby (since 2006-07), though he 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."
𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐡𝐚𝐦 𝟏-𝟐 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐚
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) April 20, 2025
A dramatic late turnaround sees Chelsea earn a big three points in the race for the Champions League.
Pedro Neto’s winner (92:31) was Chelsea’s latest winning goal on record in a Premier League London derby (since 2006-07).#FULCHE pic.twitter.com/jq6ShAK6Bq
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 against their London rivals was far from their best, but believed that his team were 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 their hopes of playing European football for the first time since their famous run to the Europa League final in 2010 under Roy Hodgson.
Fulham are ninth in the table with five games to go and are 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 have now dropped 25 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, with only Ipswich Town dropping more in the competition this term (27).