Crystal Palace broke their run of defeats against Chelsea in a 1-1 draw on Saturday.
Jean-Philippe Mateta netted to cancel out Cole Palmer’s early goal.
Here is Alex Pewter’s lowdown on the Premier League match.
THE LINE-UPS
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Richards, Lacroix, Guehi, Munoz, Doucoure (Kamada 69), Lerma, Mitchell, Sarr, Eze (Nketiah 87), Mateta. Subs not used: Turner, Clyne, Riad, Kporha, Devenny, Schlupp, Agbinone.
Chelsea: Sanchez, Gusto, Acheampong, Colwill, Cucurella, Fernandez, Caicedo, Neto, Palmer, Sancho (Madueke 86), Jackson (Guiu 81). Subs not used: Jorgensen, Disasi, James, Veiga, Adarabioyo, Nkunku, Felix.
Crystal Palace v Chelsea – Premier League,, Selhurst Park,, 04 January 2025Picture : Keith Gillard
SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME
Chelsea have not been a favourable match-up for Crystal Palace, especially at Selhurst Park. The Eagles have lost the last six matches at home and nine of the 11 since promotion back to the Premier League.
After 14 minutes it appeared that record would be extended. After an opening stalemate that only saw two shots, Jadon Sancho executed an excellent dummy to escape his marker, slotting the ball inside to Cole Palmer, who had no issues beating Dean Henderson from seven yards out to establish a 1-0 lead.
Crystal Palace v Chelsea – Premier League,, Selhurst Park,, 04 January 2025Picture : Keith Gillard
From then on, the momentum was very much in Chelsea’s favour. Before the match, Palace boss Oliver Glasner commented on their ability to counter-press, especially in midfield, making it increasingly difficult for his team to gain a foothold or progress the ball from defence to attack.
For the next 20 minutes, the game was there for Palace to endure rather than compete in. Chelsea, essentially lined four players on the final man in defence, had ample pace to threaten the home team, which is by no means a slow group of players.
With 10 minutes remaining, Glasner’s side sprung to life a little – a cross-pitch switch found Munoz wide right – the resulting Mateta shot was deflected wide by Caicedo. The team and home crowd sprang to life into the closing stages of the first half with a surge of attacking intent.
The second half was balanced in Palace’s favour for the opening 20 minutes, with Chelsea producing no shots. Able to exploit the range of Munoz and Sarr down the right, the hosts got into several good positions while struggling to find players with crosses. Eze had the best opportunity, a flash across goal in the area that sailed wide.
It was an open battle thereafter, with both sides taking shots without truly challenging the keeper until the 82nd minute. Palace, won the ball in the Chelsea half and Eze was released into the area on the counter. The England international, now through on goal, intelligently squared the ball for Mateta’s fifth goal of the season.
Crystal Palace v Chelsea – Premier League,, Selhurst Park,, 04 January 2025Picture : Keith Gillard
TACTICAL APPROACH
With Chelsea missing Wesley Fofana at the back through injury, they fielded the pairing of Levi Colwill and 18-year-old prospect Josh Acheampong in central defence. It’s debatable whether any centre-half in the Premier League has been comfortable dealing with the physicality of Jean-Philippe Mateta, which made this battle a key one for Palace to exploit.
Yet, the Eagles took two-thirds of the match to do so. The main threat came down the right flank. Mateta was limited to two shots before grabbing the vital equaliser. Having worked tirelessly for little personal gain through this run of matches, the reward of a near-open goal was deserved.
Crystal Palace v Chelsea – Premier League,, Selhurst Park,, 04 January 2025Picture : Keith Gillard
STAR MAN
Daniel Munoz. Again, tireless down the right, as we have come to expect – and very effective in the second half with the partnership with Sarr. Palace may feel one-dimensional at times, and it was clear that the team lost a large part of their attacking threat when Munoz was out of the line-up with suspension.
Crystal Palace v Chelsea – Premier League,, Selhurst Park,, 04 January 2025Picture : Keith Gillard
When the team can switch play from the left, the Colombian inevitably finds a way to get open and move forward. Instrumental in the equaliser, his tackle on Jadon Sancho in the Chelsea half turned the ball over in a dangerous position – a dual attacking threat even without the ball.
BEST MOMENT
The equaliser, and of course, corner flag celebration from Jean-Phillipe Mateta. A calm finish from a selfless striker. His 29th top-flight goal takes him past Ian Wright, Eberechi Eze and Luka Milivojevic, making him the fourth highest scorer at this level in club history.
Crystal Palace v Chelsea – Premier League,, Selhurst Park,, 04 January 2025Picture : Keith Gillard
MOAN OF THE MATCH
With 13 goals to his name heading into the game (14 now) and six assists, containing Cole Palmer is a difficult task for any team in the Premier League. Yet Palace will be disappointed with how they defended Chelsea’s key man.
In possession, he was wide open in the space between the defensive midfielders and the backline without a designated marker, Chelsea were able to get him in pockets of space with ease. Palace had a central defender stepping up to press when he got the ball but given his talent, that was a step late in the process.
The England international created four chances in the first half but fortunately there was only one in the second. Palace made life far more complicated than it needed to be at times.
A TALKING POINT DOWN THE PUB
Cheick Doucoure impressed on his return to the starting line-up. The approach from the South Londoners was for the pair of holding midfielders to defend space rather than man-to-man, but he was successful in that assigned task.
Before the match Glasner had praised Doucoure’s ability to pass under pressure and read the game out of possession. He left the pitch in the 69th minute for Kamada, having registered nine defensive actions, including a pair of successful tackles.
With a succession of games coming up, Palace will need to lean on their Malian midfielder – and he’s ticked the necessary boxes.
WHAT THE BOSSES HAD TO SAY
Post-match quotes to follow.
MAIN PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD