LONDON, Sep 1: Manager Enzo Maresca insisted his Chelsea team are “going in the right direction” despite being held to a 1-1 draw on Sunday.
A second-half equaliser by Eberechi Eze gave Crystal Palace their first point of the English Premier League season, bouncing back from a poor start to grab a share of the spoils after a much-improved second half.
Maresca told Sky Sports: “We completely deserved to win the game. We had many, many chances. The most important thing was the performance and the performance was there. We conceded just two shots today.
“We didn’t take the three points but playing the way we did today, I think we will win games.”
The home side broke the deadlock in the 25th minute after Palace defender Marc Guehi made an ill-advised raid forward and lost the ball, and the visitors’ defensive frailties were once again quickly exposed.
Winger Noni Madueke surged down the right before picking out Cole Palmer, and his deft pass found Nicolas Jackson steaming through the centre to score with ease from close range and put Palace on the back foot.After slumping to successive defeats in their opening games of the season against West Ham United and Brentford and starting badly at Stamford Bridge, the Eagles finally achieved lift-off after the break.The influential Palmer almost scored from a direct free kick before Palace found their mojo and Eze equalised in the 53rd minute, picking up the rebound from Cheick Doucoure’s blocked shot and curling the ball beautifully into the net from outside the box.No player has scored more Premier League goals from outside the box in 2024 than Eze (five).Said Palace boss Oliver Glasner: “In this situation, it is very often a goal. He could have had three or four goals already after three games. We know when he gets the ball in this area, he can always score. It is just to get him there.”
Both sides continued to chase a winner, with Levi Colwill going close for Chelsea and Palace’s Daichi Kamada forcing a fine save as the clocked ticked up towards 90 minutes. (Reuters)
