Chelsea endured a sluggish start to their Premier League campaign, settling for a goalless draw against Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, just weeks after their Club World Cup triumph.
Palace thought they had an early breakthrough when Eberechi Eze’s thunderous free-kick beat Robert Sánchez, but VAR intervened, ruling Marc Guehi had illegally forced Moisés Caicedo into the Chelsea wall to create space.
New signing Estevão offered the Blues’ best chance of a winner, but the 17-year-old Brazilian—who scored against Chelsea in the Club World Cup final during his Palmeiras farewell—failed to keep his composure in front of goal, slicing badly from a central position.
Despite transfer speculation linking Guehi with Liverpool and Eze with Tottenham, both started and impressed. Palace manager Oliver Glasner praised their commitment:
“As long as they are 100 percent committed, they will play. They didn’t just show they are great footballers, but great people too.”
Chelsea’s emphatic 4-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in last month’s Club World Cup final had raised hopes of a genuine title push, but head coach Enzo Maresca admitted his side remain undercooked.
“They played about eight pre-season games; we played just two,” said the Italian. “We expected a tough game. Apart from the free-kick, we didn’t concede any chances.”
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Forest Outclass Brentford in 3-1 Victory
Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest brushed aside concerns over limited summer business with a convincing 3-1 win against Brentford at the City Ground.
Chris Wood netted twice, either side of Dan Ndyoe’s debut strike, to hand Forest control before halftime. Brentford’s Igor Thiago converted a late penalty, but it was little consolation on a difficult debut for new Bees boss Keith Andrews.
“It was a very good first half,” said Forest manager Nuno Espírito Santo. “The combinations were excellent, the goals were beautiful. This is why we stress having a balanced squad with options and solutions.”
Brentford, who lost manager Thomas Frank to Tottenham, captain Christian Nørgaard to Arsenal, and top scorer Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United during the summer, struggled badly. With Yoane Wissa also left out ahead of an expected move to Newcastle, the visitors looked depleted.
“I do have genuine belief,” said Andrews, “but we have to take responsibility for a first half that wasn’t good enough.”
