Chelsea let a dominant first half slip against Crystal Palace as Enzo Maresca’s side had to settle for a draw at Stamford Bridge.
Noni Madueke built on his hat-trick last week and was central to a fast breakaway that led to Nicolas Jackson putting Chelsea in front. But the control of the first half was lost in the second, with Eberechi Eze equalising and the match becoming much more to and fro. Jackson then missed a great chance in stoppage time to win it for Chelsea.
As well as losing control, another concern for Maresca will be seeing Malo Gusto go off with an injury. What does that mean for his right-back options?
Elsewhere, the counter-attack that led to Chelsea’s goal came down the right, as much of their best attacks do. Deadline-day signing Jadon Sancho was presented to the supporters before kick-off after his loan move from Manchester United. Will he, or fellow summer signing Pedro Neto, be able to add the creativity on the left that Chelsea are producing on the right?
Liam Twomey analyses the action.
How did Chelsea lose control when so comfortable?
After 45 minutes, Chelsea had generated an expected goals (xG) value of 1.77 and conceded an expected goals against of just 0.07 to the visitors. Their finishing might have been more ruthless against Wolves at Molineux but in terms of overall balance, it was the most convincing half of football yet under Maresca.
Chelsea controlled possession against Palace in that first half and managed to avoid giving up any big chances despite not pressing particularly hard without the ball. Instead their more passive mid-block drew the visitors further forward, leading directly to the lightning transition attack initiated by a Levi Colwill interception and pass that yielded Jackson’s goal.
But that passivity without the ball was punished throughout pre-season and by Manchester City on the opening weekend, and manifested against Palace when Eze was granted far too much space just outside the penalty area to guide a curling shot through a crowd of stationary Chelsea defenders and just inside Robert Sanchez’s far post.
From that point on this became precisely the kind of open, chaotic game that Maresca wants to avoid, with Palace rarely struggling to generate presentable shooting chances on their attacks.
The loss of Malo Gusto and Maresca’s introductions of Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku in his increasingly urgent search for a winning goal only unbalanced things further, even if Palace were camped in their own defensive third for much of the lengthy added time period.
Chelsea were also undermined in their final surges by their talented attacking individuals performing like… well, individuals. That may improve as individual and collective chemistry improves but in the meantime, these were two more Premier League points dropped.
(Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Who will give Chelsea a left flank to rival their right?
Midway through the first half, the TV cameras found deadline-day loan signing Jadon Sancho sitting in a Stamford Bridge executive box, talking animatedly with Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali about the events unfolding on the pitch below.
There was certainly plenty of tactical food for thought relating to the wide areas, Sancho’s particular area of expertise. Chelsea’s right flank, the engine of their best attacks under Mauricio Pochettino, remains so under Maresca even if the structure looks a little different.
Madueke’s direct running injects some much-needed decisiveness to Chelsea’s slower passages of possession. Often supplying him from the right half-space, Cole Palmer remains the creative hub of the team in the final third. Gusto generally inverts into midfield from right-back, but his occasional overlapping or underlapping runs must also be accounted for.
Welcome to the Bridge, Jadon. 🏡#CFC | #CHECRY pic.twitter.com/Lz9640uVDe
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 1, 2024
It was no surprise Chelsea’s breakthrough in the 25th minute came from a slick combination between Madueke and Palmer in transition, and Palace consistently had to load their defensive resources towards that side of the pitch — which made Pedro Neto’s inability to get into the game from the left side all the more surprising.
Neto should have had space to attack Daniel Munoz in 1v1 situations but rarely tried to do so and when he did, was unable to conjure more than a couple of middling crosses.
The £51.4million signing from Wolves is still building fitness after a truncated pre-season, but he also looks more comfortable cutting infield onto his stronger left foot from the right side.
Mykhailo Mudryk’s ongoing struggles mean there is a clear opportunity for Sancho to provide more balance to Chelsea’s attack in his preferred position after the September international break. Maresca will hope he does not have too long to wait to be able to call upon him.
How big a loss would Gusto be?
A deflated hush fell over Stamford Bridge the moment that Gusto pulled up and then sank to the floor with what appeared to be a hamstring problem in the second half.
The collective dismay is not just about losing Gusto, who has been one of the biggest Clearlake and Boehly recruitment success stories since officially arriving from Lyon in a deal worth €30million (£26.3m) in the summer of 2023. It is about the worrying void his injury absence creates in this Chelsea team, given the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Reece James.
James is not yet training with Chelsea’s first team after suffering a hamstring setback last month, and Maresca sounded less than entirely convinced of his recovery timeframe when he said his club captain and Romeo Lavia should “hopefully” be available for selection again after the international break.
Two weeks without a game buys Chelsea a little time to gain clarity and certainty about their right-back situation, but Maresca’s decisions against Palace underlined the problem he will have if neither Gusto nor James are available when the Premier League resumes.
Unwilling to turn to Axel Disasi at right-back the Italian instead dropped Enzo Fernandez into his back line and shifted Wesley Fofana across to the right of a back four — an experiment almost immediately undermined by a horribly mishit deep cross from the Frenchman.
Right-back should be the strongest position in Chelsea’s squad, but Gusto’s injury highlights just what a precarious situation James’ fitness problems have created for Maresca there.
What did Enzo Maresca say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Chelsea?
Saturday, September 14: Bournemouth (A), Premier League, 8pm BST, 3pm ET
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(Top photo: HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)
