Chelsea threw away an early lead against Crystal Palace and were held to a draw at home despite dominating the game.
The Blues were on course for a narrow victory on Sunday but for a fantastic equaliser for Eberechi Eze. He cancelled out Nicholas Jackson’s opener and left Enzo Maresca frustrated once again.
The new Chelsea manager has endured a difficult start and will rue the missed chances before the break.
Chelsea wasted first-half opportunities
Cole Palmer could have opened the scoring for Chelsea with a curled effort from distance, but it went just wide.
Noni Madueke should have done better with a close-range effort but somehow also missed the far post.
Madueke had another opportunity on the volley after being picked out brilliantly by Enzo Fernandez, but his effort was saved.
Chelsea finally got the breakthrough for their dominance, scoring in the 25th minute through Nicholas Jackson. Madueke led the counter-attack and found Palmer in the area who squared the ball for Jackson who couldn’t miss.
Chelsea went into the break ahead but should have scored more than just one goal for all their efforts.
Chelsea punished for profligacy
Palmer was fouled by Will Hughes, who controversially wasn’t sent off, and forced a brilliant save from the free-kick. Palace would punish Chelsea for not putting the game to bed with Eze making it 1-1 minutes later.
He curled an effort into the far corner after Chelsea failed to clear their lines. Palace nearly took the lead on the break, with Daniel Munoz squaring the ball in the area for Daichi Kamada, but Robert Sanchez saved.
Jackson had an opportunity to win the game for Chelsea, but his effort was tipped around the post by Dean Henderson. The Blues were made to settle for a point and will certainly rue all the missed chances in the first half. Palace made them pay, so Maresca will surely tell his players to learn their lesson for next time.
