Greg . 1 day ago

Crystal Palace stand firm in draw away at Chelsea as Eze sees free kick ruled out

There was nothing to separate Chelsea and Crystal Palace in the first London derby of the new Premier League (PL) season, with a goalless draw extending the Blues’ unbeaten H2H run to 17 games (W14, D3) dating back to 2017.

After a successful summer in which both sides lifted silverware, there was an air of positivity at Stamford Bridge, leading to an energetic start to the contest.

Heavily associated with a transfer away, Eberechi Eze thought he’d fired Palace into an early lead with a rocket of a free-kick, but an on-field VAR review determined that another potential departing star, captain Marc Guehi, was too nearing the Chelsea wall at the moment of the strike.

The game’s tempo gradually dipped as the first half wore on, with a wild Trevoh Chalobah snapshot from close range as close as either team came to breaking the first-half deadlock thereafter.

Palace have proven they can mix it with the best, having defeated Manchester City to win the FA Cup and edging past Liverpool in the Community Shield last weekend, and they were once again proving a tough nut to crack here.

Match statsOpta by Stats PerformA large cheer greeted debutant Estevao as he entered the fray looking to make a difference ahead of the hour mark, and he instantly injected some life into the Blues’ attack.

Nonetheless, the hosts struggled to carve out clear-cut chances, with the game remaining firmly in the balance heading into the final stages.

Substitutes Liam Delap and Andrey Santos threatened late on, but ultimately the FIFA Club World Cup champions were unable to breach a resolute Eagles rearguard, meaning they were forced to settle for a point to kick off their domestic campaign.

Avoiding defeat for what would have been a fourth time in five season-opening PL encounters will no doubt please Palace fans, who can turn their attention towards a UEFA Conference League play-off against Fredrikstad FK on Thursday.

Betopick Man of the Match: Reece James (Chelsea)MomentumOpta by Stats PerformCatch up on the match stats with Betopick.