CHELSEA’S free-flowing attack tripped at the starting line of the Premier League title race, as Enzo Maresca’s side stuttered to a bore-draw at home to Crystal Palace.
Reportedly on the verge of a move away from the club, it was Eberechi Eze who thought he had opened the scoring, only for VAR to rule his free-kick out over an infringement in the wall by Marc Guehi.
AFPChelsea struggled to find a way past Crystal Palace in a 0-0 draw[/caption]
It was a VAR call that really wrote the story of this game, with both teams unable to create any moves with much meaning beyond it.
A tightly contested first half was met with an equally tight second 45 minutes.
The introduction of teenage wonderkid Estevao threatened to shake things up in the second half, as the Brazilian injected pace and enthusiasm into a lacklustre Chelsea attack.
But even his Brazilian brilliance wasn’t incisive enough to carve an opening for Maresca’s men.
And despite a number of substitutes following Estevao, including new number nine Liam Delap, Stamford Bridge’s shooters could only fire blanks before going to West Ham next week.
Here’s how SunSport Chelsea Reporter Lloyd Canfield rated the players…
Robert Sanchez – 6
It’s unclear if Robert Sanchez was blinded by the sun or by a player as an Eze free-kick was rifled past him, but VAR perhaps saved him in that sense, as it was ruled out.
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The Spaniard made a solid stop to deny Jean Phillipe-Mateta in the first half, and his distribution seemed improved from last season, but there are still question marks over him among the Blues’ fanbase.
With an ‘elite’ goalkeeper like Gianluigi Donnarumma up for grabs, he is under a lot of pressure to perform at this moment in time.
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Reece James – 7
Chelsea’s captain was tasked with marshalling Ebere Eze from right-back for the Blues, as well as leading from the back with the young Josh Acheampong next to him.
It wasn’t a vintage, flying fullback Reece James performance, but one that showed a maturity to his game with a good passing range and an air of calmness on the ball that he has always possessed.
Josh Acheampong – 9
The Cobham Academy graduate was thrown in the deep end once more in the absence of Levi Colwill and Tosin for Chelsea.
With all the talk of whether or not the Blues will sign a new central defender or not, the teenager did extremely well under huge pressure, putting in crunching tackles and showing elite composure on the ball, sending something of a soothing aura around Stamford Bridge with it at his feet.
Dealing with the physicality of Jean Phillipe Mateta is a tough task for any defender, and Acheampong will need to grow physically before he can dominate that kind of threat, but it didn’t bother him much today.
Enzo Maresca has got the answer to his injury dilemma from within the club, as they wanted, and Chelsea will hope the youngster can build on such an impressive display.
AFPJosh Acheampong had a brilliant game at the back[/caption]
Trevoh Chalobah – 7
Perhaps should have done better when he had a chance to open the scoring after 30 minutes, as the ball fell kindly to him eight yards out, only to be fired over the bar.
But Trevoh Chalobah put in a solid showing against his former club, with an array of good tackles and blocks, as well as guiding Josh Acheampong next to him into a brilliant showing.
Marc Cucurella – 5
Almost opened the scoring with a header before a clumsy challenge gave a free kick to Crystal Palace, from which they thought they had opened the scoring.
Marc Cucurella has often become a source of attacking threat and chance creation under Enzo Maresca, but wasn’t able to create many openings when he did progress further up the pitch, losing the ball too often.
GettyMarc Cucurella was clumsy going forward[/caption]
Moises Caicedo – 8
Consistency personified in blue, Moises Caicedo was his usual brilliant self today.
Vital interceptions, tackles full of heart and the stamina of a marathon runner, Caicedo distributed the ball through Chelsea’s midfield and put out fires from the very first whistle to the last.
A bit more creativity and ball progression from the deep-lying midfielder would have improved his rating to that truly elite level.
Enzo Fernandez – 4
A very quiet first half saw Moises Caicedo doing the work of two people on his own, with Enzo Fernandez seeming overrun by the enigmatic Ebere Eze.
Struggled to get his foot on the ball and create chances as he has done so well in recent games for the Blues, before being swapped for Andrey Santos in the final 15 minutes.
GettyEnzo Fernandez was hauled off after failing to impress[/caption]
Jamie Gittens – 4
After an electric pre-season that left fans excited to see him in Premier League action for the first time, he was somewhat disappointing in the first half.
He was given a run for his money by Daniel Munoz and failed to deliver any sort of end product on his PL bow.
Better things will be coming from Chelsea’s new number 11, who was substituted after 54 minutes for wonderkid Estevao Willian.
Cole Palmer – 3
A shadow of his usual self, Cole Palmer didn’t deliver the same kind of fireworks we have become so accustomed to seeing from him under Enzo Maresca.
Instead for much of the game he looked the same player we saw during his ‘rough patch’ last year.
He wasn’t allowed much, if any, space on the ball and wasn’t able to create something from nothing in this game, which everyone knows he can do at his mind-blowing best.
GettyCole Palmer struggled to impress for the Blues[/caption]
Pedro Neto – 5
Chelsea fans know what to expect from Pedro Neto by now, at his worst he will give you heaps of hard work and running, even on a baking hot day at Stamford Bridge like today.
He was more impressive than Gittens on the other wing, but also struggled to really create any meaningful chances, with a few deliveries sailing over any Chelsea attackers.
Neto was switched to the left side when Estevao was introduced, but it was much the same as the first half in truth.
Joao Pedro – 4
After five goals in his first five games for Chelsea, he had fully justified his place in Enzo Maresca’s starting XI for this game.
In this game, though, fans were keen to see the introduction of Liam Delap after the half-time whistle, which came to fruition with little under 20 minutes to go.
The Brazilian struggled to grasp the game by the scruff of the neck against Palace, and couldn’t provide the link-up with Cole Palmer that was so impactful in the Club World Cup.
AFPJoao Pedro could not continue his goal streak[/caption]
Substitutes
Estevao – 7
Instantly injected energy and enthusiasm into the game but also into the crowd, Estevao is a catalyst for making things happen in this team.
As soon as he came on he had Marc Guehi in a twist before delivering a cross that created a Chelsea chance, despite not being finished off – a move that will have Blues’ fans clamouring for him to start against West Ham next week.
Estevao perhaps should’ve opened the scoring, with a chance falling to him in the second half that he seemed to overthink before firing over.
Nonetheless, with the iconic Romario watching on at Stamford Bridge, he will be confident that Joga Bonito has a place here for years to come.
GettyEstevao looked sharp when he came off the bench[/caption]
Malo Gusto – 4
Took on Reece James’ role when he came on, and was mostly solid at the back but also unable to create any kind of forward spark.
Saw his name up in lights in the 88th minute, but those lights may have blinded him as his shot from range sailed into row Z.
Andrey Santos – 5
A solid showing from the Brazilian in midfield, but leaned back too much and fired over the bar in the dying embers of the game with a left-footed shot in front of the Matthew Harding end.
He came close moments later, this time with a header that was grasped by Henderson.
PAAndrey Santos missed a great moment in front of goal late on[/caption]
Liam Delap – 5
His determination and hard work allowed him a sight of goal as the game came to a close, but his effort on the half-volley was stopped relatively easily by Dean Henderson.
Delap will no doubt be a handful for defenders this season if he is coming from the bench, and likely won’t want to settle for playing second fiddle to Joao Pedro for too long.
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