Crystal Palace 1-1 Chelsea: Blues’ winless run continues as Cole Palmer’s strike is cancelled out by Jean-Philippe Mateta’s late equaliser
It is two points from a possible 12 for Chelsea, and yet again, the inquest will centre on their chances not taken as Enzo Maresca’s men contrived to throw away another would-be win.
Nicolas Jackson was not the only culprit – far from it – yet the striker will do well to avoid the greatest slab of scrutiny. He in particular should have placed victory out of reach, but instead, we can add Crystal Palace to the growing list of opponents to have thwarted Chelsea.
Everton, Fulham, Ipswich and now Palace, they’ve all frustrated Maresca amid this four-game winless run. Chelsea had 15 shots in total but only one on target here. Cole Palmer scored, but then he lost the ball in order for them to concede their late equaliser to Jean-Philippe Mateta. It was a day of what-ifs.
Maresca lamented: ‘We did enough to win the game. But in football, you need to be clinical.’ On the race for the Premier League’s top four, he continued: ‘We knew Newcastle and Aston Villa would be there, and Manchester City for sure will be there.
‘The performance was very good, on the ball and off the ball. I knew it would happen, some moment where you are not able to win games. Today, if I have to decide the reason why we did not win, it’s because we were not clinical.’
It all started so well for Chelsea, their opener coming after a splendid move. Jadon Sancho grew up in south London, a cage footballer whose creativity could not be contained in his childhood, and perhaps it was that return to roots which brought out his best in that particular moment.
Jean-Philippe Mateta’s late goal ensured Crystal Palace took a point from their clash with Chelsea on Saturday
Cole Palmer had given the Blues the lead after good work from Jadon Sancho on 14 minutes
The Blues, however, have now gone four matches without a win in their bid to qualify for the Champions League
Back in a postcode beginning with SE, he was a kid again, toying with his opposition. The pass from Levi Colwill had enough oomph on it that he knew if he let it run behind him, it would send Chris Richards to the shops. So he acted as if he was going to collect it, and then he didn’t, and just like that, he was away from his marker, sprinting down the left-hand side.
Sancho snaked inside after catching up to the ball. With Richards, Daniel Munoz and Maxence Lacroix all swarming on him, the winger tapped it inside to Palmer, who used a favourable angle to score beyond Dean Henderson for 1-0.
Not for the first time this season, Chelsea then wasted a bundle of chances. Jackson sliced a simple volley after a set-piece. Pedro Neto timed a straightforward set-up for Palmer all wrong after he had performed the hard part in skinning Tyrick Mitchell. Josh Acheampong, the 18-year-old who was making his full Premier League debut, should have headed home a corner when unmarked.
With each opportunity, you wondered whether Palace would make them pay, and they nearly did when Mateta curled wide via a deflection from Colwill.
Chelsea went back to attacking, Palmer’s pass in behind for Jackson perfectly timed for him to charge on to the ball. He turned Lacroix, but then fired wide with the outside of his boot.
After the restart, a cutback from Munoz found Eberechi Eze. He missed, but this was a warning to Chelsea, as Selhurst Park woke up from its slumber.
When Moises Caicedo committed a foul, Palace prepared a set-piece cross. Thirty per cent of their Premier League goals this season had been scored by defenders, and Richards was denied the equaliser as Robert Sanchez tipped over his header.
Chelsea screamed for a penalty in the 63rd minute, claiming Neto was hacked down by Mitchell. The slightest of touches on the ball was enough for Palace to escape punishment via VAR.
Palmer now has 12 goals for the season with only Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland scoring more
Nicolas Jackson will face the most criticism for his missed chances throughout the afternoon
Eberechi Eze, though, was important throughout for Palace and set up Mateta’s strike
Mateta had stolen a march on full back Marc Cucurella to finish off Eze’s unselfish pass
After 69 minutes, Enzo Fernandez fired wide from 20 yards. After 70, Jackson likewise missed when he only had Henderson in front of him.
That was a glaring chance to settle the game, the type that any striker worth his salt should be finishing, and Maresca turned to his bench in response. There he saw Marc Guiu and, on his 19th birthday, he was introduced for his first Premier League minutes since the season’s opening day.
Within seconds of that substitution, however, it was 1-1 as Palmer lost possession in midfield. Palace countered with Ismaila Sarr finding the untracked run of Eze. He unselfishly squared the ball to Mateta, who stole a march on Marc Cucurella to tap in.
Chelsea had scored last-minute goals on their last three visits to Selhurst Park, but not this time.
