After the chaos of the 6-2 thumping of Wolves last weekend, and an undue scare in midweek at Swiss side Servette, here for 45 minutes came some uncharacteristic Chelsea calm.
Enzo Maresca’s side dominated the first period of this London derby, easily value for the 1-0 lead at the interval handed to them by Nicolas Jackson, who made it two goals in as many league matches in the same week the club’s late-window search for a new centre-forward failed.
After the break, though, that control was lost, and in a more open contest Eberechi Eze’s delightful curler earned Crystal Palace a timely first point of the season heading into the international break, with Jackson guilty of missing two chances to win it in stoppage time.
Here’s what we learned…
Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke building fearsome frontline
One year to the day exactly since Cole Palmer signed for Chelsea, here was more evidence to burnish the developing theory that the Blues are no longer last season’s one-man attack.
Palmer, presented with his PFA Young Player of the Year award ahead of kick-off, was still excellent as ever, laying on the opening goal for Jackson and going close to a second with a curling free-kick.
But in Noni Madueke, he appears, on current form at least, to have a worthy accomplice, the winger’s fine start to the season continuing here, days after he was handed a first senior England call-up.
Madueke actually spurned the clearest chance of the game, side-footing wide when clean through on Dean Henderson’s goal midway through the first-half. It is a measure, though, of the 22-year-old’s sudden confidence that within moments he was going close again, this time a cushioned effort tipped spectacularly onto Henderson’s bar.
Then, minutes later, came the half’s most incisive act, Madueke spinning inside his own defensive third and powering away from Will Hughes, before releasing Palmer at the perfect moment make Jackson’s goal.
For much of last season, instability and an unprecedented volume of competition appeared to be hindering the development of Chelsea’s talented young players, with Madueke a case in point. It was not just, though, that individuals were being stifled, but that relationships, with such a rotating cast of players, never had time to cement.
At the start of this season, Palmer and Madueke’s has all the makings of one to endure, with the former’s tendency to drift right from No10 creating the overload that Wolves last week and Palace here failed to contain.
Cheick Doucoure return will be a big boost for Palace
At half-time here, Palace were on course to go international break on the back of three straight defeats and with the sense that their season would not start in earnest until Leicester visit Selhurst Park in a fortnight’s time.
The first three weeks of the campaign have been awkward for the Eagles, who had lost derbies to West Ham and Brentford before this, sold Joachim Andersen to another London rival in Fulham and seen the uncertainty over Marc Guehi’s future cast a cloud over the club.
That the England centre-back remains a Palace player will no doubt prove a boon in the long run, but here he was short of his best, at fault for Madueke’s glaring miss and then caught high up the pitch for the opener after an ill-advised dart. An off-day for this team’s figurehead felt in keeping with a collective yet to come close to last season’s form.
Credit, then, to Oliver Glasner for earning what by full-time felt like a bonus point, the key change coming when Cheick Doucoure replaced Hughes minutes after the restart.
Hughes had been enduring a torrid afternoon, rinsed by Madueke in the build-up to Chelsea’s goal and fortunate to escape a second yellow card moments before he was replaced.
Doucoure is still feeling his way back to full fitness after an Achilles rupture and the Malian’s mobility was sorely missed in a midfield to that point overrun, with Adam Wharton equally exposed in the week his swift rise was halted by a demotion back to England’s U21s.
Their partnership, once fully operational, will make the Eagles a better side, as will a trio of new signings in Trevoh Chalobah, Maxence Lacroix and Eddie Nketiah, none of whom were involved here.
