Chelsea commemorate former player-manager Vialli at Stamford Bridge

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Chelsea paid an emotional tribute on Sunday to their former player-manager Gianluca Vialli, who died on Jan. 6.

Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 1-0 in a home match at Stamford Bridge in London as German midfielder Kai Havertz scored the winning goal for the Blues in the 64th minute.

Before the Crystal Palace match, Chelsea honored Vialli. The Italian football legend passed away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 58.

It was Chelsea's first home game since his death.

During the warm-up, Chelsea players wore No. 9 shirts to commemorate Vialli.

Before the kickoff, Chelsea and Crystal Palace players, the crowd at Stamford Bridge and Vialli's former teammates including John Terry, Mark Hughes and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink held a minute's applause.

Separately, Chelsea supporters laid flowers outside the stadium.

Vialli was a Chelsea player-manager from 1996-1999 before his retirement from the game.

The former Italy forward led the London club to victory in both the UEFA Super Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup.

Before his three-year spell in London, Vialli played for Italy's Juventus, helping the Turin club win the 1993 UEFA Cup and the 1996 UEFA Champions League title.