Chelsea and Crystal Palace played out a goalless draw in the first London derby of the new Premier League season. The result means Chelsea have now gone 17 games unbeaten against Palace since 2017.
Both teams came into the match full of confidence after winning trophies over the summer, and there was a lively atmosphere at Stamford Bridge. Palace thought they had taken the lead early on when Eberechi Eze scored a stunning free-kick. However, after checking with VAR, the goal was ruled out because captain Marc Guéhi was standing too close to the Chelsea wall when the ball was struck.
As the first half went on, the pace of the game slowed down. Chelsea’s best chance came from Trevoh Chalobah, who fired wide from close range.
Palace, who recently beat Manchester City to win the FA Cup and Liverpool to lift the Community Shield, once again showed they could compete with top sides. Chelsea gave a debut to young Estêvão just before the hour mark, and he brought some energy to their attack, but the home side still struggled to create clear chances.
Substitutes Liam Delap and Andrey Santos had late efforts, but Palace’s defence stayed strong. In the end, Chelsea couldn’t find a breakthrough and had to settle for a point.
Palace, who have now avoided defeat in four of their last five Premier League openers, will turn their focus to their UEFA Conference League play-off against Fredrikstad FK on Thursday.
