LONDON // In early May, Chelsea wrapped up the 2014/15 Premier League title with a narrow victory at home against Crystal Palace.
Almost four months on, the same opposition put Jose Mourinho’s men eight points behind leaders Manchester City and with a mountain to climb after just four matches of the new campaign.
A famous win at Stamford Bridge was exactly what Palace deserved. Alan Pardew’s visiting side were superb throughout, defending stoutly and breaking forward with pace and power aplenty.
Chelsea, conversely, were surprisingly flat and devoid of creativity, with the sturdiness of the midfield coming under further scrutiny after Palace continually found space in dangerous areas.
There was little rhythm to the hosts’ play in the early stages, Palace limiting Mourinho’s charges to hopeful efforts from outside the box.
Chelsea’s passing was poor, the ball circulated too slowly and a lack of incision allowing Palace to sit comfortably in their defensive shape.
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Pedro and Willian, the home team’s two bright sparks in the first half, caused a few problems with driving runs from deep, but Eden Hazard was kept quiet by the reliable Joel Ward and Diego Costa marshalled well by Palace’s centre-back pairing of Scott Dann and Damien Delaney.
Indeed, the best chance in the opening 30 minutes fell not to the champions but to Yohan Cabaye, who should have opened the scoring from just inside the penalty area after fine work from Wilfried Zaha down the left.
Pedro went close with a curled shot soon after and Palace keeper Alex McCarthy was forced into making a terrific double save just before the interval, but Chelsea otherwise conjured little of note.
An immediate response at the beginning of the second period would have been expected. Instead, Palace emerged for the second 45 with the vim and vigour that was lacking from those in a blue shirt. The introduction of Yannick Bolasie in the 55th minute provided Pardew’s side with another potent counter-attacking weapon, with the Congolese international troubling Branislav Ivanovic with his explosive speed and tricky footwork.
Bakary Sako’s blend of muscle and guile gave Chelsea plenty to think about on the opposite flank and, with Jason Puncheon pulling the strings in the middle and Yohan Cabaye and James McArthur covering huge amounts of ground behind him, Palace were the team who looked most likely to get the game’s first goal.
That is exactly what happened midway through the second half, Sako converting from close range following Bolasie’s cutback.
For a long while, Chelsea did not seem to have the answers. Pedro and Willian’s influence faded, with Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic ponderous and untidy in possession.
Radamel Falcao grabbed his first Chelsea goal to level the scores with 11 minutes to go, but it was no surprise when Palace rushed down the other end to restore their advantage through Joel Ward.
Much of the focus on Chelsea so far this term has rightly centred on their defensive solidity, but questions must be asked of the team in forward areas, too. Such a blunt display in Mourinho’s 100th Premier League game at Stamford Bridge stands in stark contrast to the swashbuckling manner in which Chelsea raced out of the blocks this time last year.
Even at this stage of the campaign, eight points is a sizeable deficit to make up. Incredibly, this was Palace’s eighth away victory in 10 outings in the top flight under Alan Pardew, but title challengers simply have to win this type of encounter.
Failing to do so means Chelsea’s hopes of landing a second successive championship hang on a knife edge at the end of August. As Mourinho acknowledged in his post-match news conference, there is little margin for error from here.
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