Chelsea were held by Crystal Palace as Ebere Eze’s wondrous second-half strike was enough for the Eagles to earn a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League.
Enzo Maresca’s team ran hot in the first half with Nicolas Jackson prodding them ahead after a fine counter-attack involving Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke. It capped a good first-half showing from the Blues who created 1.79 worth of expected goals.
Chelsea had big chances, as the metrics suggested, before the opener.
Madueke was a whisker away from giving them the lead after 20 minutes when Palace defender Marc Guehi allowed a high ball to drop over his shoulder, allowing Madueke to steal in but he swept wide.
Madueke went close again minutes later when he evaded Tyrick Mitchell and got his foot to Enzo Fernandez’s fine raking ball only to be denied by a superb reaction save from Dean Henderson.
Chelsea’s dominance did not last.
Palace kicked into gear after the break, aided by the introduction of Cheick Doucouré, and Eze’s sumptuous curling effort from 20 yards drew them level on 53 minutes.
Eberechi Eze scores Crystal Palace’s leveller
Doucoure’s thunderous drive hit Wesley Fofana and the ball broke to the edge of the box for Eze, who with a nonchalant right foot scooped it wide of Robert Sanchez’s dive and into the corner for 1-1.
The game switched and Palace looked the likelier to score a second. Sanchez fumbled Daichi Kamada’s driven effort and Eze had another fine effort blocked away.
Chelsea rallied in the eight minutes of stoppage time as Jackson drilled into the side netting and was then denied one-on-one by another fine Henderson stop, who celebrated like he had scored the winner, when he had in fact earned Palace’s first point of the season.
Analysis: Doucoure – remember him?
Palace’s game-changer: Cheick Doucoure
Sky Sports’ Lewis Jones:
Crystal Palace lacked urgency, drive, tenacity and any forward momentum at Stamford Bridge for 50 minutes. Chelsea were 1-0 up and many observers would have been wondering how many more they’d get against what looked a very limited Palace outfit.
But then an old friend of the Palace fans sprung from the bench to replace Will Hughes.
Cheick Doucoure was Crystal Palace’s Player of the Year in 2022/23 and one the most outstanding central midfield players in the Premier League. Liverpool were even linked with a move.
However, a serious Achilles injury sustained in the 2-1 Premier League defeat vs Luton last November cost Palace one of their key men for the rest of the season. But he is back now – that is for sure judged on his 40-minute cameo where he completely changed the way Palace hustled and harried Chelsea in midfield.
He set the tone for the improvement as they eventually were good value for a point based on their second-half showing.
Maresca: If we play like that, we’ll win games
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca:
“We controlled the game, we didn’t concede chances in the first half. Second half, their goal was fantastic but overall we deserved to win. The performance was very good on the ball and off the ball.
“After we conceded, we lost some control. Then the game becomes ups and downs, a lot of transitions. We came back in the way we planned and had two or three more chances to win the game.
“The most important thing was the performance – and that was there. We created chances but missed them. We conceded just two shots on goal. The direction is the correct one. It’s a shame for the players as the effort was huge. If we play like we did today, we’ll win games.”
Maresca on whether Will Hughes should have been sent off for a second yellow card: “If they had been with 10 I think the game would have completely changed. The reaction from their bench, to take [Hughes] off immediately, I think was quite clear. The referee saw it in a different way, so I have nothing to say.
“It was clear for all of us it was a second yellow card. The only one that thinks in a different way is the referee.”
Glasner: Henderson was great
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner:
“An absolutely positive point with all the circumstances, coming here after two defeats in the Premier League. Just 14 players from our squad were available because of injuries or new players who couldn’t play today, and there were four from the U21s.
“Coming here, being one goal down at half-time was deserved, to be honest. But then coming back after one or two adaptions at half-time, with the spirit, with the belief, with the togetherness, I’m really delighted with the performance today.
“The first half, we didn’t find the opportunities where they are. We had it in the preparation and then we showed them again at half-time that we have to switch the game.
“We were in two or three situations a little bit lucky – we had a great goalkeeper [Dean Henderson] today, but you need this to get the point here.
“In the second half, we did it much better. We were in very good shape so they didn’t find space. We knew they won’t always want to play in our pocket, it was once or twice. Then we struggled a little bit, but overall we did a really great job.”
Story of the match in stats
Opta stats: A rare draw
- Crystal Palace have now failed to win any of their last 14 Premier League matches against Chelsea (D1 L13), their longest ongoing winless streak against a current Premier League outfit. Today’s draw saw them pick up their first point against the Blues in the competition since October 2017, however.
- This is only the third draw in this fixture in the Premier League in what was the 31st meeting between Chelsea and Crystal Palace (Chelsea W24, Crystal Palace W4), and the first draw since March 1995 – a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge.
- Eze has scored five Premier League goals from outside the box in 2024, the joint-most of any player along with Manchester City’s Phil Foden. All of Eze’s last three goals in the competition have been from outside the box.
- Chelsea have scored 47 goals at Stamford Bridge in 17 matches in 2024, the most home goals of any club across Europe’s big-five leagues (all competitions).
