Chelsea’s winless run extended to four games as they deservedly drew 1-1 against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Cole Palmer’s early goal appeared to end Chelsea’s woes, but their familiar problems surfaced after the second half as Palace roared to victory. Jean-Philippe Mateta struck late on to break Chelsea’s control in the fourth Premier League stands at only one point.
How the match unfolded
Jadon Sancho he sent an ambitious volley over the bar in the opening stages, but after his goal was denied, he opted for an assist. A superb solo run ended with a cut to Palmer, who took his time and slotted the ball past Dean Henderson to open the scoring 14 minutes later.
Chelsea should perhaps have doubled their lead just minutes later when Nicolas Jackson smashed the back post from a free-kick.
Feeling the need to raise their game, Palace duly responded and began to offer some threat going forward, but they were almost punished when Pedro Neto got behind and sent a low cross towards Palmer, who just couldn’t stretch enough to tap the ball home.
Mateta was pulling as wide as Palace looking for an answer, while at the other end a great pass from Palmer put Jackson through on goal for another shot that went round Henderson’s post.
The second half started at a fast pace and Ebere Eze spurned his own chance to equalize just minutes after the restart, unable to direct the excellent Daniel Munoz past Roberto Sanchez.
Chelsea had their moments going forward, but Palace routinely clawed them back as the clock ticked down, and the hosts’ mounting pressure finally came to the fore when Mateta headed home from close range after Eze’s cross in the 82nd minute.
It was the least Palace deserved for a spirited second-half performance in which they finished with six shots on goal compared to Chelsea’s one.
After he fell on the bench for Defeated Ipswich Town 2-0Robert Sanchez returned 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 again left shortcomings with a handful of loose passes that caused 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 at the Palace striker.
Enzo Maresca has openly admitted that he wants Sanchez to try those risky passes, but it appears that he is Chelsea they are approaching the fork in the road. Should Maresca adjust his expectations or find a goalkeeper capable of realizing his vision?
After the news about Wesley Fofana’s potentially season-ending injurymany Chelsea fans began calling for Maresco to abandon his faith in Axel Disasi and Tosin Adarabioyo in favor of giving 18-year-old Josh Acheampong his first Premier League start.
Those wishes were Maresca’s commands as he beckoned to the academy graduate, who immediately looked like he had been playing at this level for years. An early pass to Pedro Neto had the fans on their feet, while a couple of long balls to Nicolas Jackson brought a visible display of appreciation to the striker. He even had the most touches of anyone on the field in the first half, he demanded such responsibility.
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 definitely take notice.
In the build-up to the match, Palace boss Oliver Glasner insisted that Chelsea cannot surprise him tactically. Maresca seemed to take this personally and ditched his usual approach of rotating one full-back.
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. This worked perfectly in the first half, but like the rest of Chelsea’s game plan, it weakened as things progressed.
We’ve seen occasional changes at full-back in the past, but whether Maresca will make this switch full-time remains to be seen.
The opening phase was dominated by Chelsea’s wingers, who pegged Palace back and made light work of the Eagles’ backline before the half-time whistle.
However, as the clock ticked down, the story began to change. Left back Tyrick Mitchell enjoyed the battle with Pedro Neto and could say that he won the duel in the second half, while on the other side Daniel Munoz turned into a real monster against the attackers.
The pair peppered Chelsea with questions, with Munoz’s direct kicks proving particularly challenging. The Colombian international will be frustrated that he didn’t register 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 by Fulham 2-1 for more recent evidence.
In this case, Chelsea were comfortably second best as soon as the second half began. Palace pushed and pushed and pushed, and although Chelsea had their moments going forward, they were by no means the better side and their perpetual state of panic eventually led to Mateta leveling things up late on.
Maresca urgently needs to find out the reason for this. Fitness does not appear to be an issue, which may mean the Blues staff have a tougher job of addressing a mental deficiency.
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