Chelsea vs Crystal Palace Review
The first London derby of the new Premier League season between Chelsea and Crystal Palace ended in a goalless draw, extending Chelsea’s unbeaten streak against Palace to 17 matches (14 wins, 3 draws) since 2017. Both teams came into the game on the back of a successful summer, having won trophies, which created a positive atmosphere at Stamford Bridge and led to an energetic start. Eberechi Eze, who has been heavily linked with a transfer, appeared to give Palace an early lead with a powerful free-kick, but after a VAR review, it was ruled that captain Marc Guéhi was too close to the Chelsea wall during the shot.
As the first half progressed, the pace of the game slowed, with a wild close-range shot from Trevoh Chalobah being the closest either side came to scoring before halftime. A big cheer welcomed debutant Estêvão as he came on just before the hour mark, immediately energizing the Blues’ attack. However, the home team found it hard to create clear scoring opportunities, and the game remained evenly poised as it approached the final minutes.
Substitutes Liam Delap and Andrey Santos posed some late threats, but the FIFA Club World Cup champions couldn’t overcome a determined Eagles defense, resulting in a draw to start their domestic season. Avoiding defeat for what would have been their fourth time in five opening Premier League matches will surely satisfy Palace supporters, who can now focus on their UEFA Conference League play-off against Fredrikstad FK on Thursday.
