Chelsea maintained their excellent top-flight form with a 3–1 win over Crystal Palace, stretching their unbeaten record in the head-to-head games against the Eagles to 18 matches while leaving the hosts’ dilemma untied yet again.
Palace looked good in the beginning, as Jean-Philippe Mateta, with a good combination with Ismaïla Sarr, almost scored a goal, but Robert Sánchez made a save. The Blues got the ball through Enzo Fernández and Moisés Caicedo, both nearly scoring in the first few minutes, as the game was quite balanced.
The goal that changed the course of the game came in the 34th minute when Estêvão took advantage of a bad pass from Jaydee Canvot, raced past Tyrick Mitchell, and shot the ball past Dean Henderson. Palace tried to retaliate just before the break, but in vain.
Chelsea extended their lead a few minutes after the break as Estêvão, who had just scored the first goal, assisted João Pedro to score with a nice finish after he got the ball behind the defenders, as the goalkeeper couldn’t stop the shot. When Fernández scored from the penalty spot after Canvot’s handball, Palace’s chances for a comeback dropped even lower, and it was Adam Wharton who got sent off after he got two yellow cards in quick succession.
Even though Chris Richards scored the consolation goal with a header in the 89th minute, Chelsea were still in command until the very last minute. The victory for the Blues means they are now fourth in the table, and it is also the second win in the league for new boss Liam Rosenior, while Palace continue their run of 11 games without a win in all competitions.
