Disjointed Chelsea labour to goalless draw with Crystal Palace

Chelsea made an underwhelming start to the Premier League season as Crystal Palace ground out a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge.

After a truncated pre-season following victory in the Club World Cup, everything pointed to a Chelsea side lacking both preparation and rest as Oliver Glasner’s team coped relative easily with a new-look yet disjointed attack.

Eberechi Eze started for Palace despite speculation he is about to leave and, if there were doubts about how supporters felt about the player whose goal won them the FA Cup in May, they were dispelled when he was substituted to a standing ovation late on.

The England international provided the game with its only major talking point, lashing in a brilliant free-kick in the first half that was ruled out after Marc Guehi obstructed Chelsea’s wall, drawing a furious response from Palace fans.

As expected, Nicolas Jackson was not in Enzo Maresca’s squad after being made surplus to requirements, with Newcastle considering a bid, while Joao Pedro was preferred at number nine to fellow new signing Liam Delap.

Chelsea were playing 35 days after their win over Paris St Germain in the Club World Cup final in the United States and showed signs of mental fatigue in a first-half display low on creativity.

Marc Cucurella had the first of their only two chances, his near-post header looping towards the far corner where it was nodded off the line by the leaping Ismaila Sarr.

Eze looked to have obliged the headline writers after 15 minutes with an unstoppable free-kick that flew through the middle of the Chelsea wall and in, only for a VAR check to reveal Guehi had unfairly forced Moises Caicedo out of the ball’s path.

Moments later Jean-Philippe Mateta broke into the box but shot too close to Robert Sanchez, who bounced the effort to safety.

There was little worthy of home fans’ enthusiasm in attack in the first half, but they showed raucous appreciation for a wonderfully-timed, full-blooded tackle on Daniel Munoz by 19-year-old Josh Acheampong, making a third Premier League start in central defence, with Levi Colwill a long-term absentee and Wesley Fofana not risked.

With Maresca having been told to seek internal solutions to his lack of defensive options, the academy graduate staked a convincing claim for regular game time with a display of maturity and fulsome grit that was warmly received by an otherwise subdued crowd.

The best Chelsea chance of the half fell to Trevoh Chalobah, who fired high from eight yards after good work from debutant Jamie Gittens.

Estevao Willian was sent on in the 53rd minute for a debut and, with his first action, annihilated Guehi in a foot race down the right before crossing brilliantly for Enzo Fernandez, who failed to make good contact.

The Brazil international, still only 18 despite the hype surrounding his arrival from Palmeiras, betrayed his inexperience minutes later when striking wildly over the bar when off balance before being booked for lunging at Munoz.

Eze was again almost the story when he drilled at goal and brought a two-handed save from Sanchez, then at the other end substitute Delap shot straight at Dean Henderson.