Chelsea and Crystal Palace could not be separated after a 0-0 score draw at Stamford Bridge. The first London derby of this new Premier League season ended with no goals.
The draw extended the Blues’ unbeaten run against Palace to 17 matches in all competitions, dating back to 2017.
Silverware won in the summer had both teams brimming with confidence ahead of the showdown, but the early intensity soon faded to a dull, cagey game. Eberechi Eze seemed to have given Palace the lead with a thunderous free-kick, but VAR came to the rescue of the Chelsea wall after the referee had marked Palace captain Marc Guehi too close.
Trevoh Chalobah limited the hosts’ first-half offensive efforts with his heavy miss from close range at the end of the half.
After knockout wins over City in the FA Cup and Liverpool in the Community Shield, Palace showed great grit and determination throughout the game, which greatly contributed to Chelsea being unable to get into their attacking flow.
Estevao, the teenage debutant, who came on after the 60th minute, injecting vigor but was unable to break through the tidy Eagles defence, got the fans buzzing.
The late attempts at the goal from the bench players Liam Delap and Andrey Santos did not have an impact on the final outcome.
The FIFA Club World Cup winners had to settle for a draw. Meanwhile, the Eagles will now concentrate on the UEFA Conference League play-off game at Fredrikstad FK on Thursday.
