That’s all from me. Thanks for reading and for your emails and tweets. I’m off for a mince pie and a cuppa. Here’s the match report from Stamford Bridge once again. Cheers!
It’s also full-time at Goodison Park. City roar back from a goal down to win 3-1.
Also … Wolves remain level on points with Chelsea with a fantastic win in west London.
I was sent this email earlier, from Kevin Wilson.
“Slightly off-topic from the Chelsea game, but might their fellow West Londoners start to look over their shoulder? Brentford weathered Toney’s absence but Mbeumo’s injury has hit them massively. With the three promoted clubs hitting some better form, there might be a few jitters starting amongst the Brentford supporters, players and manager?”
In short, yes.
Match report: Chelsea 2-1 Crystal Palace
Roy Hodgson is the next to speak. I should say that he is rather prickly mood, and perturbed by the line of questioning by the Amazon Prime reporter.
I am very happy with the performance. Second half, we took the game to Chelsea. It’s unfair to say that they carved us apart. I thought that we were very unfortunate to lose by a penalty that was given by the second referee. You are trying to hurt me with a statistic but being near the bottom with 19 games to go. If we had drawn 1-1 at Chelsea, you would not be interviewing me in the same way. And a controversial penalty has decided the result.
I should add that Hodgson confronted referee Michael Salisbury after the game, presumably protesting against the VAR penalty decision.
Pochettino speaks to the cameras.
Of course we are going to talk about if we need [another player in the transfer market]. But I am not worried about that. We need to work with the players.
Palace are a good team. We started by showing a bit nervous. The players were thinking too much. Always slow passes. We gave Palace the positivity to press. We connected very well in transition and scored. But this is normal for a team that is suffering.
Nkunku is not fit and still very far off his best. We are missing this playmaker. Nkunku can do this, but he is more of a player that is already forward. The combination between Jackson and Mudryk was good, every time they connected, something happened.
We are Chelsea. The project is to win. We have young players, but they need to learn that we need to fight. And then after we can play. Show me that I can trust you.
I want to win all the games. We are a little bit far [from the top] but we need to keep believing. Maybe this type of game was not that great, but is important that we need to step up our mentality.
It is worth noting that Palace had more shots and more shots on target in this game.
Noni Madueke, Chelsea’s matchwinner, speaks to the TV cameras.
It was a difficult game. The crowd were great, they got us through it. It was a stonewall pen. I was trying to stay on the ground for as long as possible. I’m confident with pens, with my technique.
[Converting chances] has been a bit of an achilles heel for us. I’m working to help the team as much as I can. The manager is the boss, he picks the team. I just want to make an impact off the bench and hopefully that opens up more opportunities in the future.
That game could have gone either way. Chelsea probably did have the better of it, in truth. They earn just their sixth home league win of 2023, an astonishing fact, to move into the top half.
Palace are now just three points clear of 18th-placed Luton Town, who have a game in hand over the Londonders.
Here’s the live table. Remember that this is liable to change, with Everton v Manchester City still ongoing.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 19 | 23 | 42 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 18 | 20 | 40 |
| 3 | Aston Villa | 19 | 15 | 39 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 18 | 13 | 36 |
| 5 | Man City | 18 | 20 | 35 |
| 6 | Man Utd | 19 | -4 | 31 |
| 7 | West Ham | 18 | 1 | 30 |
| 8 | Newcastle | 19 | 12 | 29 |
| 9 | Brighton | 18 | 3 | 27 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 19 | 2 | 25 |
| 11 | Wolverhampton | 19 | -4 | 25 |
| 12 | AFC Bournemouth | 18 | -5 | 25 |
| 13 | Fulham | 19 | -8 | 21 |
| 14 | Brentford | 18 | -3 | 19 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 19 | -9 | 18 |
| 16 | Everton | 19 | 1 | 17 |
| 17 | Nottm Forest | 19 | -12 | 17 |
| 18 | Luton | 18 | -13 | 15 |
| 19 | Burnley | 19 | -20 | 11 |
| 20 | Sheff Utd | 19 | -32 | 9 |
Roy Hodgson looks furious as he stomps off the pitch, then instantly changes his demeanor as he runs into Ben Chilwell. Very much the opposite of this meme.
He did the Roy Hodgson meme 😂😂😂 https://t.co/04xBY5U0gv pic.twitter.com/Tmm4oItEGm
— Lloyd (@zeddyzed_) March 28, 2023
Full-time: Chelsea 2-1 Crystal Palace
That’s that.
90+8 min: Gallagher wins one tackle, then another, and drives down towards the corner flag, intent on winning a Chelsea set piece. He does just that, and gets an almighty roar from the home fans.
90+6 min: For reasons that I’ve missed, both Gallagher and Pochettino are booked. Not exactly helping themselves here.
Palace push forward but Thiago Silva beats Franca to the ball. One Brazilian on another, one 20 years his senior.
90+4 min: Here come Palace. Eze and Olise, the two matchwinners, combine nicely with the latter getting a shot off. It’s an easy save for Petrovic. But there are signs of life for the visitors.
90+2 min: Chelsea also make a change. Alfie Gilchrist, the club’s under-21 captain comes on to make his first-team debut! He replaces Badiashile.
90 min: Eight minutes added on. There’s still time for Palace, who make an attacking change. Remember what I said about Hodgson being a reactive manager? Hmmm. Anyway, França comes on for Lerma.
GOAL! Chelsea 2-1 Crystal Palace (Madueke 89 pen)
Odd that Madueke would take it, having not scored since a League Cup tie in August, but the English winger rolls the ball calmly to Henderson’s right, after a stuttering run up. Chelsea have a precious lead!
Updated
PENALTY TO CHELSEA!
Michael Salisbury has given the spot kick, after consulting the screen.
85 min: Penalty shout for Chelsea! Madueke goes down under the challenge of Eze. The referee waves play on, and suddenly Palace have four on one but an outstanding tackle from Gusto on Eze halts the Palace counter-attack. Gusto is playing out of his skin. The ball goes out of play, and VAR are going to check the initial challenge on Madueke. The referee is going to the monitor …
83 min: Things hotting up a bit now. Chelsea come roaring back and Broja nearly scores one of the goals of the season! Thiago Silva plays a long raking pass over the top. Broja takes it in his stride, controlling the ball beautifully over his shoulder, but can’t drag his left foot shot on target. That was almost Luis Suárez-esque!
81 min: Chance for Olise! Thiago Silva slips and Schlupp pounces, sprinting down the left wing. He cuts in, and feeds Olise inside the box. Olise feints right but Gusto reads him and gets a great block in to deny the Palace man. Olise collects the rebound but his second shot is well saved by Petrovic.
79 min: Frustration for Chelsea, who really haven’t looked like scoring in this second half. Palace make a change, with Ayew coming off for Schlupp.
GOAL! NO, DISALLOWED!
77 min: Thiago Silva hits a deflected cross into the box, the ball falls kindly to Jackson, who stabs home from 10 yards. It was a great improvised finish with a toe poke, and Jackson looks visibly relieved after his miss a couple of minutes earlier. But wait, VAR are checking and Jackson is ruled offside. The guy just can’t catch a break!
Updated
74 min: A massive chance for Jackson and Chelsea … missed! Caicedo finds Gallagher, who plays a wonderful ball to Jackson. He’s through on goal with time to finish … Henderson rushes out … and Jackson dinks his finish wide! Palace breathe a huge sigh of relief. Jackson, not the ball ends up in a heap in the net. Chelsea fans are bereft.
Updated
73 min: A funny moment as Richards drags back Madueke to earn a yellow card. Referee Michael Salisbury initially pulls out the red card (!) but puts it back in his pocket with a smile. He meant to pull out the yellow, and now does so.
72 min: A stoppage in play after Clyne leaves one on Mudryk in what was a strong but fair tackle. Chelsea fans are unhappy at Palace playing on, but with Mudryk off the field and it not being a head injury, they are entirely entitled to do so. Chelsea make two changes: Madueke and Broja on for Nkunku and the injured Mudryk.
70 min: Palace are growing into this game. Increasingly the dominant team in possession with Chelsea happy to break on the counter attack.
68 min: “Does anyone have the number on how many times Poch has subbed off a centre back this season?” asks Sean Orlowicz. “I’ve never seen it done by a team so often and feel like it says a lot about how deep the problems with this Chelsea side go.”
I agree that constantly replacing the spine of the team is not a classic recipe for success. Chelsea do have some versatile centre backs in Colwill and Disasi, plus they’ve had loads of injuries, so maybe we shouldn’t be too surprised.
66 min: A nervy start for Lavia, who succeeds in passing it backwards and sideways but misplaces his first forward pass. Lavia then upends Olise. That should surely be a yellow card. Reader, it is not.
64 min: Gusto has switched to left back, to replace Colwill. Disasi is now at right back, where Gusto was.
I should also mention that there’s been a goal at Goodison Park. Spoiler alert, the newly-crowned world champions are behind.
62 min: Perhaps it’s the subs, but the game has become bitty and scrappy. Neither side look like scoring at present.
60 min: Thiago Silva, 39, is now 13 years older than any other Chelsea player on the pitch (Nkunku is 26).
58 min: Two subs for Chelsea: Romeo Lavia comes on to make his Chelsea debut! The £58m signing and Thiago Silva are on for Levi Colwill and Ian Maatsen. That means Gallagher will move forward into an advanced midfield position.
55 min: Mateta runs up the line, holding off a retreating Badiashile, and stings the palms of Petrovic with a fierce strike to the near post. Palace earn their 79th (and subsequently their 80th) corner of the season but fail to score. They are the only team in the Premier League not to score from a corner this season.
53 min: The cameras pan to Palace’s bench, and a lovely view of Ray Lewington’s legs. The Palace assistant is a fan of shorts, in case you didn’t know, and also used to play for Chelsea, in the 70s.
51 min: Olise sets off on one of those slalom runs, where he looks like he’s jogging past players. It’s only when you see the other players scampering that you realise how fast Olise is travelling. Caicedo brings a halt to Olise’s run with a cynical foul. Yellow card for the Ecuadorian.
49 min: A very similar start to the first half. Palace have a bit of control but haven’t troubled Petrovic’s goal. Chelsea are growing back into the game.
47 min: No changes for either side, although both sides have players down in the opening moments of the second half. Gusto, the player of the first half, is down clutching his ankle while Andersen has hurt his back/bottom. The Dane fell on it awkwardly, but both Gusto and Andersen are OK to continue.
Peeeeeeep! We’re off again at Stamford Bridge.
Looking back at the replays, that was terrible defending from Caicedo for the Palace goal. He was marking Olise and completely let his marker go. Olise had time to take a touch from the cross, before finishing.
Half-time reading:
I should say that there was an absolutely crunching tackle by Richards in midfield to win the ball back for Palace. It led directly to the equaliser. Think Dier on Ramos. A tackle that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy. Whack.
Half-time: Chelsea 1-1 Crystal Palace
A score that sort of sums up Chelsea’s season.
45+2 min: What a player Olise is. Absolutely hypnotic to watch and makes the right decisions in key moments. His cross for Ayew’s goal against Brighton was also so classy.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-1 Crystal Palace (Olise 45+1)
Out of nothing, Palace are level! The visitors apply some late pressure in the half and Ayew has room to float a cross in. Colwill misses his header, Caidedo loses his marker and Olise is free at the back post! The Frenchman controls is beautifully on his chest for his first touch, and lashes a shot past Petrovic with his second. Clinical finish!
Updated
45 min: Two minutes added on here.
44 min: Chelsea fans are keen to get on Jackson’s back. The Senegalese has had a really good half but has been ponderous in the last few mins. He is lacking in confidence and the jeers definitely do not help.
42 min: Patient and incisive play from Chelsea as Nkunku and Gallagher cut through tight defensive Palace spaces. Mudryk tries a shot but it’s well blocked. Palace can’t get out at the moment.
40 min: Gallagher is increasingly the dominant force in midfield. Twice he wins the ball back to get Chelsea moving forward. His energy is sometimes irrepressible.
38 min: A great stat from the Amazon Prime commentary team: Roy Hodgson won his first title as a manager in 1976.
Palace are not out of this. They have had around 33% possession but if they can get to half-time just one down, things can change in the second half. Chelsea have looked good but they are a fragile entity.
36 min: Another email, this time from Justin Madson.
“Another interpretation of the penalty shout: Nkunku hits Richards’ knee on his wind up when Richards comes in late. Replays show clear contact, not enough for a penalty according to VAR, but please do not describe that as a dive. There was contact.”
I agree, it’s a grey area. But ultimately there isn’t enough to send him toppling. There’s enough contact to put him off his shot, but that on its own isn’t enough for a foul. There was a very similar incident in the Palace v Brighton game, where Brighton were denied a similar penalty shout.
34 min: Just to remind you that Everton v Manchester City is yet to kick off (8.15pm) but you can follow that here.
32 min: A few goals to update you on at nearby Brentford. They trail Wolves 3-1, with Hwang Hee-chan the latest to score. What a job Gary O’Neil is doing with the team in old gold.
30 min: Mudryk and Jackson combine, with the former racing forward like a greyhound to latch onto a through ball. Mitchell comes across to cover and wins a corner to be taken by Gallagher. He flicks a thumbs up at the nearby Palace fans, and they give him a ripple of applause back. That’s nice. A terrible corner, mind.
28 min: Gusto, Mudryk, Jackson have all been excellent for Chelsea.
26 min: Penalty shout for Chelsea! Jackson does wonderfully well to nick the ball from Andersen, before driving forward and shrugging off the Danish defender. Jackson slides in Nkunku, but just as the Frenchman is shooting, he feels Richards on his shoulder and goes down, completely mishitting his shot. Chelsea appeal but Michael Salisbury does not award the penalty, and VAR agrees! Nkunku definitely felt the defensive pressure of Richards, but there wasn’t enough for a foul.
Updated
24 min: Andersen is one of the best centre backs in the league with the ball at his feet. His passing is 9/10, he steps out wonderfully with it and draws defenders/midfielders. But he can be got at defensively and lacks the pace to deal with the quickest attackers like Mudryk.
22 min: Henderson saves to keep it at 1-0! Jackson plays a delightful backheel to release Mudryk, who is through on goal but takes a heavy touch. Henderson is out quickly to close the angle and gets something on Mudryk’s dink, with Guehi first to the rebound. A brilliant move, but credit to the Palace keeper.
Updated
21 min: As I write that, Richards makes a great tackle on Nkunku after Colwill had made a nice break down the left wing. What do I know?
19 min: “As a Palace fan, I’m increasingly worried about this season,” emails Max Williams. “The relegation battle is becoming far more competitive than it looked a month ago and our form has gone off a cliff. Roy is a legend but giving him one final season always seemed a bad idea - partly as we can’t now rehire him if our slump continues. Aside from the wingers and centre backs, the squad really isn’t very good - Doucoure is a huge loss. I think we’ll sneak enough points to avoid the drop but considering the football and FA Cup run of Vieira’s first session this has been really dispiriting .”
Doucoure’s injury is so crucial. Richards is no replacement, really.
17 min: Olise has the beating of Colwill all day. He lollipops and feints, gets a yard to cross and whips a brilliant ball to the ball post, where there is an equally brilliant clearance from Gusto, with Ayew lurking.
15 min: A promising start for Palace, but this has a familiar feeling for Eagles fans. Chelsea have settled, and now look the more dangerous side. Jackson wins a free kick out wide and Nkunku heads over. Should have done better.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Crystal Palace (Mudryk 13)
Gusto pirouettes nicely in midfield and continues his run upfield and finds Jackson. A slip from Clyne means the ball again comes to Gusto, this time on the left wing (!), and the full-back cuts it back to Mudryk, who sidefoots home from eight yards out. Great goal!
Updated
12 min: This is a good game. I do have more adjectives, just wait and see.
10 min: Mitchell clears off the line for Palace! Mudryk plays a neat one-two before an excellent through ball to Maatsen, who prods the ball goalwards. Henderson gets a small touch on the ball, which rolls towards the Palace goal, but Mitchell sprints to sweep away just in time. Good attack, good goalkeeping, good defending.
Updated
8 min: Olise has the beating of the next Chelsea defender, Badiashile, to come near him, and should earn another dangerous free kick from Caiceido on the edge of Chelsea’s box. The referee, Michael Salisbury, is somehow unmoved.
7 min: Gallagher is being booed by the Palace fans, presumably because the midfielder didn’t sign for the club permanently after his excellent loan spell in south London a couple of seasons ago. The booing is petty and excellent, in my book.
5 min: Andersen plays a wonderful zippy pass to Olise, who beats Colwill with ease and canters down the right wing, before winning a free kick, from which Eze tries his luck. Petrovic scrambles to cover his near post, but Eze misses by a yard.
4 min: Chelsea haven’t had a kick yet. Certainly not a touch inside the Palace half. Ayew, something of a Palace cult hero, holds the ball up well and nearly combines with Eze to create an opening.
2 min: Palace start well! Clyne gets forward and twice has an opportunity to cross but fails to beat the first man on both occasions. Oh, to have a Trippier or a TAA in those positions.
Peeeeeeep! We’re off at Stamford Bridge. Storm Gerrit has passed in London and it’s a wonderful evening for football.
It’s baffling to me that more people have not clocked the importance of Nkunku’s injury. He was Bundesliga player of the season in 21/22, and joint top-scorer in 22/23. He’s an elite forward that has somehow gone under the radar for most punters and pundits in this country.
Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling are massive absences for Chelsea tonight. Both suspended after collecting five yellow cards this season. The caution for Sterling at Wolves was laughable. Sterling was clearly taken out in the Wolves box, and was accused of diving. He would clearly be playing left wing tonight (instead of Maatsan) had he not been booked. Palmer has been a brilliant signing. He has the quality but crucially, he has the confidence that so many Chelsea players lack. That probably a residual trait from his City days, and no bad thing.
Roy Hodgson is the next manager to face the Amazon Prime cameras:
“We’ve been hit by so many injuries. Things are getting better. We certainly think that we will get better too. We have to prove that. Eze and Olise were very important for us last season. It’s good to have them back but we can’t expect miracles. We go into every game thinking we have a chance. What’s happened in previous meetings doesn’t really go into our preparations.”
Gary Naylor has sent in an email.
“In a parallel universe...
Thibault Courtois
Ben Chilwell - Nathan Ake - Marc Guehi - Lewis Hall
Ross Barkley - Kevin De Bruyne - Billy Gilmour
Mo Salah - Tammy Abraham - Callum Hudson-Odoi”
There are a million of these. Here’s another (from me) that is definitely a better side than Pochettino has put out tonight.
Edouard Mendy
Lamptey, Tomori, Rudiger, Marcos Alonso
Declan Rice, Kovacic (or Kante/Loftus Cheek)
Havertz, Musiala, Mount (or Pulisic)
Giroud
Pochettino has been talking to the TV cameras:
We cannot put too much pressure but we need this type of quality. We have a young team. In time we will find the right balance. At the moment is a tough period. But we need to stay positive.”
I think Palace have a pretty good starting XI. I don’t love Richards in midfield, and Clyne/Mitchell are very limited going forwards (although they are excellent one-on-one defenders and maybe that’s what is required tonight), and Mateta can blow hot and cold up top. But overall this is decent Premier League side: Henderson, Andersen, Guehi, Lerma, Olise, Eze are all top half players at least, a few of those are top four players.
The major issue with this team is that (apart from raw youngsters) they don’t have the squad depth or the manager capable of making a big difference off the bench. So Palace must start right.
An extremely young Chelsea side, and also a relatively short one. I think only Petrovic, Disasi, Badiashile and Colwill are over 6ft tall. Pochettino has spoken about the need for height before and Chelsea have been poor from set pieces this season, Wolves scored from a corner on Sunday remember. This is surely something Palace will target.
1 - Chelsea have named their youngest ever Premier League starting XI (23 years, 21 days); it's the youngest XI named by a Premier League team since Man Utd vs Crystal Palace in May 2017 (22y 284d) and the eighth youngest ever by any side in Premier League history. Budding. pic.twitter.com/ljLqDB9Rza
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 27, 2023
This is worth a read, from John Brewin.
Let’s unpack those teams, then.
Chelsea line up in a familiar 4-2-3-1, but injuries and suspensions means they are still slightly unorthadox. Nkunku starts but looks like he’s playing in the No 10 role, behind Jackson. Penny for the thoughts of Madueke as Maatsan, normally a left back (although did play further forward for Burnley last season), gets the nod on the wing. Lavia is on the bench, so could make his debut, but Caicedo is back to partner Gallagher in holding midfield, with Enzo injured. Back four is pretty stable, although interesting to see Thiago Silva benched. Perhaps Pochettino is worried out the pace of Palace on the counter attack.
One change from the Palace starting XI that drew at home to Brighton: Eze in for Hughes, the former competing his comeback from injury to start for the first time in over a month. Franca and Ozoh on the bench, as expected.
The teams!
Chelsea: Petrovic, Gusto, Disasi, Badiashile, Colwill, Caicedo, Gallagher, Mudryk, Nkunku, Maatsen, Jackson.
Subs: Thiago Silva, Madueke, Bettinelli, Broja, Gilchrist, Lavia, Bergstrom, Matos, Castledine.
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell, Lerma, Richards, Olise, Eze, Ayew, Mateta.
Subs: Tomkins, Matheus Franca, Schlupp, Hughes, Ahamada, Matthews, Riedewald, Adaramola, Ozoh.
Updated
Preamble
We’re not quite into January, Blues, but there is still sense of foreboding at Stamford Bridge. It’s not exactly news that Chelsea have been a mess ever since the halcyon days (!) of Thomas Tuchel, and have some absurdly talented players in their squad, alongside some very average ones, in a tactical system which flickers from the sublime to the ridiculous. Their transfer strategy is bordering on a joke: the latest murmurings are that they want to sell one of their best players this season (and stand-in skipper) Conor Gallagher, while using any proceeds to buy a new striker. Chelsea definitely, definitely don’t need a striker. But ya, know. Why not?!
It’s this sort of decision making that has created a disjointed squad, out of sync with each other and out of sync with their fanbase. But remarkably, there is still hope. Christopher Nkunku has had a rotten run with injuries since his £58m move from RB Leipzig in the summer but the Frenchman, aged 26 and in his prime, is one of the best players in Europe. He is a complete forward, clinical off both feet, who can both drop deep and get in behind. A set-piece specialist, he also has the physical and technical qualities to be this side’s talisman, and is excellent in the air. He scored a headed goal at Wolves on Sunday, in just his second appearance for Chelsea. Armando Broja is talented, Nicolas Jackson is getting undeserved criticism for a 22-year-old who has just arrived in this country and scored seven goals from his first 14 league outings. But Nkunku is the one – of all the buys Chelsea have made, I think he is the best. Keep him fit and Chelsea should zoom up the table. This would be an excellent time to put Nkunku is your fantasy team, just sayin’.
Things are not all bad for Chelsea. There is a League Cup semi-final against Middlesbrough to look forward to. Romeo Lavia, who has not kicked a ball for the first team since his own £58m summer move, is on the verge of making his debut. Moises Caicedo is expected to be fit tonight after overcoming an illness.
Even with the suspensions of Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling, Chelsea will fancy their chances against Palace. Chelsea have won their last 12 matches against tonight’s visitors in league and cup. Hodgson will be hoping for a performance akin to the one at Manchester City, a 2-2 draw, rather than the drab displays that have seen them lose six of the last 10. Having led Brighton just before Christmas, Palace were extremely fortunate to escape with a point.
Roy Hodgson is a reactive manager who rarely takes the initiative tactically. It’s a shame as even with the departure of Wilfried Zaha, Palace do have the personnel to worry teams, particularly with Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze. Young players like David Ozoh and Matheus França (a Brazilian teenager signed for £26m) have not been given the minutes their promise deserves. Hodgson doesn’t let the handbrake off easily. I would expect a cautious and experienced line up tonight. Maybe Roy will prove me wrong.
Kick-off: 7.30pm GMT.
Updated
