Chelsea’s run without a win extended to four games as they were deservedly held to a 1-1 draw by Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Cole Palmer’s early goal looked to have ended Chelsea’s woes, but their familiar woes emerged after the second half as Palace roared on top. Jean-Philippe Mateta scored late on to ease Chelsea’s hold on his fourth Premier League score to just one point.
How the game developed
Jadon Sancho sent an ambitious volley flying over the bar in the opening stages but, after being denied a goal, opted for an assist. An excellent solo run ended with a cut back to Palmer, who took his time and slotted the ball past Dean Henderson to open the scoring after 14 minutes.
Chelsea perhaps should have doubled their lead just minutes later when Nicolas Jackson crashed wide of the back post after a free-kick.
Sensing the need to raise their game, Palace duly responded and began to threaten going forward, but were almost punished when Pedro Neto got in behind and sent a low cross towards Palmer, who just couldn’t stretch out enough to hit the ball home.
Mateta crawled wide as Palace looked for a response, while at the other end, a superb pass from Palmer set up Jackson on goal for another strike which curled around Henderson’s post.
The second half started at a fast pace and Ebere Eze spurned his own chance to level things minutes after the restart, unable to direct Daniel Munoz’s excellent cut-back past Robert Sanchez.
Chelsea had their moments going forward, but Palace usually hit the back as time ticked on and the home side’s pressure mounted as Mateta headed home from close range from Heze’s cross in the 82nd minute.
It was the least Palace deserved from a lively second-half show that saw them finish proceedings with six shots on target to Chelsea’s.
After falling to the bench for the Defeated 2-0 by Ipswich TownRobert Sanchez made his return to the starting line-up here, turning in another mixed performance.
Sanchez continues to prove his relative reliability with his hands, but with his feet, the Spaniard once again left plenty of room with a handful of loose passes that caused unnecessary pressure. The second half started with a strange moment in which he appeared to panic as he got to the edge of his box and sent the ball straight to a Palace striker.
Enzo Maresca has openly admitted that he wants Sanchez to try those risky passes, but it’s as if Chelsea they are approaching a fork in the road. Does Maresca need to adjust his expectations or find a goalkeeper capable of realizing his vision?
After his news Wesley Fofana’s potential season-ending injurymany Chelsea fans began calling for Maresca to ditch Axel Disasi and Tosin Adarabioyo to hand 18-year-old Josh Acheampong his first Premier League start.
Those wishes were Maresca’s command as he gave the nod to the academy graduate, who immediately looked like he’s been playing at this level for years. An early dismissal on Pedro Neto had the fans’ mouths watering, while several long balls to Nicholas Jackson brought visible displays of appreciation from the striker. He even had the most touches of anyone on the pitch in the first half, such was the responsibility he demanded.
Things won’t always be smooth sailing for Acheampong and mistakes will no doubt surface soon, but he has made it clear that he is ready for a bigger role in this team and Maresca will surely have noticed.
In the build-up to the match, Palace boss Oliver Glasner insisted Chelsea could not surprise him regularly. Maresca appeared to take it personally and abandoned his usual approach of bringing down a fullback.
Malo Gusto played as a traditional right-back and Marc Cucurella played the same role on the left, leaving more space in midfield for Cole Palmer. The result, whether intentional or not, was an ocean of space in which Palmer could work his magic. It worked brilliantly in the first half but, like the rest of Chelsea’s game plan, weakened as things went on.
We’ve seen tweaks at full-back from time to time in the past, but whether Maresca will make this switch full-time remains to be seen.
The opening stages were dominated by Chelsea’s wingers, who pegged Palace back and made light work of the Eagles’ back line before the half-time whistle.
As the clock ticked, however, the narrative began to change. Left-back Tyrick Mitchell enjoyed his battle with Pedro Neto and could claim to have won the duel in the second half, while on the other hand, Daniel Munoz turned into an absolute monster going forward.
The pair posed questions at Chelsea, with Munoz’s direct runs proving particularly challenging. The Colombia international will be disappointed not to have picked up at least one assist.
A common criticism of Maresca’s Chelsea was their habit of losing control of games as they progressed. You only have to look back at Defeated 2-1 to Fulham for recent evidence.
In this, Chelsea were comfortably second best as the second half began. Palace pushed and pushed and pushed, and while Chelsea had their moments going forward, they were by no means the better side and their constant state of panic eventually saw Mateta tie things up late on.
Maresca urgently needs to find the reason for this. Fitness doesn’t appear to be the issue, which may mean the Blues staff have the toughest job of dealing with a mental deficiency.
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2025-01-04 17:35:00
