Chelsea’s winless run stretched to four games as they deservedly suffered a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Cole Palmer’s early goal seemed to have ended Chelsea’s misfortune, but after the second half the familiar problems began to emerge as Palace stormed into the upper hand. Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a late goal to cut Chelsea’s lead over fourth place in the Premier League standings to just one point.
How the game developed
Jadon Sancho sent an ambitious volley over the crossbar in the early stages but opted for an assist after being denied a goal. An excellent solo run ended with a cutback to Palmer, who took his time and rolled 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 hit a free-kick past the back post.
Sensing the need to improve their game, Palace responded accordingly and began to pose a bit of a threat going forward, but they were almost punished when Pedro Neto got behind and sent a low cross towards Palmer, who took over just couldn’t reach far enough to hit the ball home.
Mateta moved wide as Palace searched for an answer, while at the other end a superb pass from Palmer put Jackson on goal and another shot that rounded Henderson’s post.
The second half started at a high pace and Ebere Eze missed his own chance to equalize just minutes after the restart as he was unable to control Daniel Munoz’s excellent cut-back past Robert Sanchez.
Chelsea had their moments going forward but were routinely pushed back by Palace as time went on, and the hosts’ increasing pressure finally showed when Mateta fired home from close range in the 82nd minute from Eze’s cross.
That was the least Palace deserved with a lively second-half performance that saw them finish the game with six shots on target compared to Chelsea’s one.
After being on the bench in the 2-0 defeat against Ipswich Town, Robert Sanchez returned to the starting line-up and once again put in a mixed performance.
Sánchez continues to demonstrate his relative reliability with his hands, but the Spaniard once again left something to be desired with his feet, making a few loose passes that resulted in unnecessary pressure. The second half began with a bizarre moment in which he appeared to panic as he reached the edge of his own penalty area and rolled the ball straight to a Palace striker.
Enzo Maresca has openly admitted that he wants Sanchez to try out those risky passes, but it feels like Chelsea are approaching a fork in the road. Does Maresca need to adjust his expectations or find a goalkeeper who can realize his vision?
Following the news of Wesley Fofana’s potentially season-ending injury, many Chelsea fans called on Maresca to abandon his faith in Axel Disasi and Tosin Adarabioyo and instead hand 18-year-old Josh Acheampong his first Premier League start.
Those wishes were Maresca’s orders as he nodded to the academy graduate, who immediately gave the impression that he had been playing at this level for years. An early pass to Pedro Neto left fans’ mouths watering, while several long balls towards Nicolas Jackson produced visible signs of the striker’s appreciation. In fact, he had the most ball contact of any other player on the pitch in the first half, and that was the responsibility he demanded.
Things won’t always be smooth sailing for Acheampong and mistakes will undoubtedly surface soon, but he made it clear that he is ready for a bigger role in this team and Maresca will definitely have noticed.
Ahead of the game, Palace coach Oliver Glasner insisted Chelsea could not surprise him tactically. Maresca seemed to take this personally and abandoned his usual approach of turning a full-back.
Malo Gusto played as a traditional right-back and Marc Cucurella had the same role on the left, leaving Cole Palmer more space in midfield. The result, whether intended or not, was an ocean of space in which Palmer could work his magic. It worked perfectly in the first half but, like the rest of Chelsea’s game plan, weakened as time went on.
We’ve seen occasional changes to the full-backs in the past, but whether Maresca will make this a full-time move remains to be seen.
The early stages were dominated by Chelsea’s wingers, who pushed Palace back and easily played through the Eagles’ defensive line before the half-time whistle.
However, as the clock continued to tick, the narrative began to change. Left-back Tyrick Mitchell enjoyed the battle with Pedro Neto and claimed to have won the duel in the second half, while at the other end Daniel Munoz turned into an absolute monster going forward.
The pair questioned Chelsea, with Munoz’s direct runs proving particularly challenging. The Colombia international will be frustrated at not getting at least one assist.
A common criticism of Maresca’s Chelsea is their habit of losing control of games as the game progresses. For current evidence, one need only look back at the 2-1 defeat to Fulham.
In this game, Chelsea were clearly in second place right at the start of the second half. Palace pushed and pushed and pushed and although Chelsea had their moments going forward, they were by no means the better team and their constant panic ultimately ensured Mateta leveled the game in the closing stages.
Maresca urgently needs to find out why. Fitness does not appear to be the issue, which could mean the Blues staff have the more difficult task of overcoming a mental deficit.