Chelsea played host to relegation battlers Crystal Palace in what should have been an easy 3 points for league leaders. Things began pretty routinely for Chelsea as Hazard, who has been on fire this season, burst down the left, beat Ward and sent an excellent ball into the box leading to Fabregas tapping home for an easy goal in the 5th minute.
This seemingly looked like it would turn into another demolition from Chelsea. However, Palace responded quickly. Wilfred Zaha pulled the Eagles back level in the 9th minute with a superb strike. Shortly after Benteke gave Palace the lead in the 10th minute with a cheeky chip from the Belgium.
After taking the lead, Palace sat back for the rest of the game having just one more effort on goal. Chelsea pressed high in order to find a way back in. But, numerous saves from Hennessey and several missed opportunities from Chelsea saw Palace sneak away with the win. This was the first time Chelsea has lost at home in 13 league games.
Wilfred Zaha
The now Ivory Coast international was by far Palace’s best attacker today. Zaha, who recently snubbed England for Ivory Coast proved today why England probably should have tried harder to get him to choose England as his nationality. After going 1-0 down, Palace hit back swiftly on the counter. Zaha used his pace and skill to work his way into the Chelsea box.
At which point he fired home a superb strike. But he did not stop there. Only 90 seconds after scoring his first, Zaha set up Benteke for a cheeky finish that left Courtois looking embarrassed. For the rest of the game Crystal Palace mainly sat back limiting Zaha’s attacking threat. Despite this, he was still causing Chelsea’s defence problems when he could. Overall, Zaha’s performance was top class and it’s safe to say Palace would not have left Stamford Bridge with all 3 points without Zaha’s quality.
Chelsea’s penalty shout
This is probably the most important takeaway from today’s game, especially given the final score. In the 15th minute, Chelsea had a corner that fell to Pedro. The Spaniard took his shot and it very clearly hit of Andros Townsend’s arm. Unfortunately for Chelsea, the referee did not give the penalty.
This turned out to be a huge decision as a penalty could have given Chelsea the goal they needed to get back into the game. However, because it was not given Palace were able to sit back for the rest of the game and walk away with all 3 points.
The fact Chelsea did not get the penalty could be huge for their title charge this season. Especially after today’s results which saw Tottenham climb 3 points closer to Chelsea. While the Blues are still 7 points clear at the top, they could yet slip up and if they were to lose the title to Spurs, they could certainly look back at that penalty decision as a deciding factor.
Are Palace safe?
After a rocky start for Sam Allardyce as Palace manager, he finally seems to have his side playing how he wants them to. Crystal Palace have now won their last four games, conceding just one in the process. Furthermore, after today’s shock victory, Palace are now 5 points clear of 18th place Hull. Crystal Palace also have a game in hand on Hull so if they win that they could move 8 points clear of the drop.
While Palace are playing great football and are clear of the relegation zone, their next run of games suggests they still may not be safe. Big Sam’s men now face a run of games that includes Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs, Manchester City and Manchester United. While today’s performance is a positive sign for Palace they are certainly not out of trouble yet.
