Eze rescues point for Palace against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
With the transfer window now closed, Enzo Maresca could set about getting a tune out of his expensively-assembled squad.
And there were positive signs here as the Blues established supremacy early in this clash, with Cole Palmer curling wide from the edge of the box inside the opening quarter-hour.
Noni Madueke then spurned two gilt-edged chances, first firing wide from six yards before being denied from point-blank range by Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
Chelsea’s dominance would be rewarded by the 25th minute though, breaking the deadlock with a flowing team move.
Madueke breezed away from Will Hughes down the right and slipped Palmer in behind the visitors’ defence, and the Blues’ talisman squared a pinpoint pass for Nicolas Jackson to arrive and tap into an unguarded net at the back post.
Oliver Glasner’s men offered very little attacking threat of their own before the break, meaning a rethink was required if they were to get back into the contest.
And while Palace were first indebted to Henderson for tipping Palmer’s free-kick over the bar, their improvement was clear to see after the restart.
Within nine minutes the Eagles had restored parity through another piece of magic from Eberechi Eze, who curled a delightful strike into the corner beyond a despairing Robert Sánchez when allowed too much time and space on the edge of the box.
Maresca’s men were now charged with responding, and there was certainly no lack of intent from the bench as the injured Malo Gusto was replaced by Mykhailo Mudryk.
The Ukrainian was ineffective however, as was the entire Chelsea forward line as they failed in their attempts to grab a winner, with Jackson missing two opportunities in stoppage time.
Palace came closer with Daichi Kamada’s sweeping effort beaten away by Sánchez as the spoils were shared in the capital, with the draw a welcome relief for Glasner’s men as they register their first point of the campaign after back-to-back defeats previously.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace)
