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If there was a sense of the new world champions being dragged back down to earth on a sweltering afternoon at Stamford Bridge, it should not be forgotten that any side as short of match sharpness as Chelsea would not have relished trying to find a way past opponents who seem to like nothing more than to bloody the noses of the elite.
Perhaps this will be read as two dropped points for Enzo Maresca’s side as they look to build on a triumphant summer in the US by mounting a title challenge. Anyone paying attention, though, will know there is nothing easy about trying to find a way through a team coached by Oliver Glasner. Crystal Palace, after all, are riding high after building on winning the FA Cup by beating Liverpool in the Community Shield and the pleasing thing for Maresca will be that his players grew into the contest as it wore on, even if the overall impression was that all the riches earned from Fifa’s expanded Club World Cup has left Chelsea with a physical price to pay.
Chelsea were unable to lift their level in the final third and the reality is that they were lucky not to lose. Palace were left feeling aggrieved when Eberechi Eze, who impressed in what may have been his last game for the club, had an early free-kick ruled out.
Chelsea might have had a gold badge on the shirt but it was not a surprise that they had lead in their boots during the early stages. A compressed pre-season has made preparations awkward and while the home fans enjoyed the pre-match festivities, crowing as they drank in the unveiling of a shiny world champions sign overlooking the Shed End just before kick-off, it was fair to wonder if Maresca’s side were going to be ready given that it had been only 35 days since they were taking Paris Saint-Germain apart in New Jersey.
Those doubts were not exactly batted away during an opening in which Chelsea’s rustiness was evident in the way they struggled to execute their passes and play through Palace. It was bitty from the hosts for much of the opening period, the usual connections simply not there, and Maresca will have felt his case for the board to listen to his pleas for a new centre-back grow stronger. Levi Colwill, so crucial to the team’s buildup from the back, was a big miss after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in training earlier this month, and the issues were exacerbated with Tosin Adarabioyo also unavailable with a minor injury.
Palace sought to exploit those frailties. It has been a trying summer for the FA Cup winners, who have spent it railing against the established order, and they had a point to prove after being demoted to the Conference League by Uefa for failing to comply with multi-club ownership rules.
At least Glasner was able to start Marc Guéhi in central defence and Eze in attack, the latter’s place having come into doubt earlier in the weekend as his prospective move to Tottenham edges nearer. Palace, though, soon felt the impatience with authority rising. They thought they had an early lead when Eze smashed a free-kick past Robert Sánchez in the 13th minute, only for the goal to be disallowed after Darren England was called to the pitchside monitor and penalised Guéhi for being within a metre of the Chelsea wall.
The free-kick stemmed from an error from Josh Acheampong, who started as Colwill’s replacement, moving into a central centre-back role in possession. Maresca, far less demonstrative than Glasner, looked pensive on the touchline. Chelsea were slow to the loose balls and had no grip in midfield, where Adam Wharton and Will Hughes often had the measure of Caicedo and Enzo Fernández.
Wharton was a notable delight, the England Under-21 international following one gorgeous pirouette by piercing Chelsea’s defence with a gorgeous pass. Jean-Philippe Mateta shot too close to Sánchez.
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Chelsea’s chances before half-time were limited to Marc Cucurella seeing a header cleared off the line and Trevoh Chalobah firing over from close range. Cole Palmer was quiet. Jamie Gittens, handed a debut on the left wing, got no change out of Daniel Muñoz. João Pedro worked hard but was often crowded out.
Maresca reset during the interval. Chelsea were given an injection of energy when Gittens made way for Estêvão Willian. The Brazilian teenager was soon running at Tyrick Mitchell on the right but blazed over with his one chance.
Palace, who were fortunate that Mateta avoided a second yellow card for a late tackle on Caicedo, fell back after an hour. Maresca responded by utilising his attacking depth, Liam Delap coming on for João Pedro. But Palace retained a threat on the counterattack Sánchez turning over a powerful effort from Eze.
Added time brought one last glimmer from Chelsea, Andrey Santos sidefooting over not long after replacing Fernández. A draw was fair on the balance of play.
