Chelsea player ratings: Exciting Jadon Sancho a thorn in Palace’s side but Pedro Neto lets himself down in final third
CHELSEA squandered yet more points after Crystal Palace came from behind at Selhurt Park.
The Blues opened the scoring through main man Cole Palmer and looked set to bounce back from consecutive defeats.
But a mistake on the ball from Palmer allowed Palace in to equalise with Eberechi Eze setting up Jean-Philippe Mateta.
With Chelsea now without a win in three league matches, this is how Jack Rosser rated the players.
Robert Sanchez – 6
Back in the side after Filip Jorgensen started the defeat to Ipswich.
Sanchez is always under the microscope but did well when it came to controlling things in his area, making some saves and claiming the ball well from corners.
There is a lot of work still to be done on his distribution though. Twice attempted balls out found Crystal Palace shirts.
There was not much he could have done for Mateta’s goal.
Malo Gusto – 6
With Reece James back from injury and watching from the bench, Gusto would have wanted a perfect performance.
The Frenchman looked to be delivering that until, late on, he lost track of Eze in the box and the England man squared for the leveller.
Josh Acheampong – 7
The teenager settled quickly on his first Premier League start.
He was solid at the back alongside Colwill and, even more impressively, was quick and positive in possession, picking out a couple of smart passes from the back.
Levi Colwill – 5
Colwill looked steady for the most part but was dragged out of position when it counted, chasing Ismailia Sarr and leaving the back four all over the place in the build up to Mateta’s goal.
He was also booked for a rather reckless challenge on Cheick Doucoure and can perhaps count himself lucky the referee was not sent for a second look.
Marc Cucurella – 6
Struggled to cling on to Palace’s electric right-back Daniel Munoz at times.
Munoz was given a lot of time and space to cause problems down the right by Cucurella, who can count himself lucky he was not punished.
Going the other way Cucurella showed plenty of energy, often pinching the ball from those in red and blue.
Moises Caicedo – 6
A quiet game from the former Brighton man. If Chelsea are to get back to their best they need a midfield that can ensure they continue to dominate games when on top.
There were too many occasions today when Crystal Palace were given a sniff – Caicedo at his best stamps that out.
Enzo Fernandez – 7
With Romeo Lavia still injured, Fernandez has stepped up in recent weeks.
The Argentine was assured in midfield and cute and creative in possession, looking to move the ball forward whenever he got the chance.
Pedro Neto – 5
The Portuguese brings so much promise with his pace but often lets himself down in the final third.
Too often a good run ends in him losing the ball due to indecision or going down too easily.
Cole Palmer – 7
The former Manchester City man was in devastating form once again.
A fine opener was almost quickly followed by a second goal while he probably should have had a pair of assists before the break if it was not for a superb Chris Richards tackle and some wasteful finishing from Jackson.
Jadon Sancho – 8
Made the opening goal with a wonderful bit of skill, letting the ball run through his legs to leave Chris Richards stranded before charging down the flank to tee up Palmer.
Sancho remained a thorn in Palace’s side on his wing, delivering a few dangerous balls and leaving defenders rather embarrassed.
Nicolas Jackson – 5
Jackson’s wastefulness will go down as perhaps the single reason Chelsea did not leave with three points.
The Senegal striker should have doubled their lead not long after Palmer had put them ahead.
Free at the far post after a free-kick, Jackson could not even hit the target and sent a scrappy effort into the side netting.
There were further chances, one laid on by Palmer, but he could not make them count.
Substitutes
Marc Guiu (on for Jackson, 81’) – n/a
Noni Madueke (on for Sancho, 86’) – n/a