Chelsea Player Ratings Vs Crystal Palace
Antonio Conte’s Chelsea fell to just their second defeat at Stamford Bridge this season, as they failed to maintain the lead over their rivals at the top of the table. Cesc Fabregas gave the Blues an early lead with a superb goal in the 5th minute but the man of the match, Wilfried Zaha came up with a superb performance, picking up a goal and an assist, to set Crystal Palace on their way to a 2-1 victory over the Blues. This was their second consecutive victory at Stamford Bridge as Sam Allardyce continues his revival at the Selhurst Park. Chelsea still remain 7 clear of Tottenham Hotspur, who are at 2ndplace. Though the Blues are still the favorites to lift the title, this loss will come as a huge blow to them. Conte will hope that they can bounce back in the next game. Here’s how we rate the Chelsea stars’ performance against Crystal Palace.
Ratings:
Thibaut Courtois (6)
Made just one save but an important one as he kept Chelsea in the game. But he couldn’t do much to stop Palace from scoring either of the goals.
Cesar Azpilicueta (5)
Put in a decent shift on the night but failed to keep Palace away from the goal, letting all three points slip on the night.
David Luiz (5)
Was not his usual self as he was at times bullied by Benteke. But he stuck to his task well to keep Chelsea in the game till the end.
Gary Cahill (5)
Was constantly targeted on the counters as Palace got behind him a couple of times. Not a performance that the defender will want to remember.
Pedro (5)
Starting in a wing-back role, Pedro failed to have the kind of impact Conte would have wanted from him. But he slowly grew into the game when Chelsea were piling up the pressure on Palace.
Nemanja Matic (5)
Was not a requirement for Chelsea in the game as he only had to keep the ball rolling. Had little to do in a defensive role.
N’Golo Kante (6)
Again, Chelsea did not need his industry in a game where Palace were happy to sit back and defend but Kante put in a good shift, making Chelsea’s passing quicker in the midfield.
Marcos Alonso (5)
Was hardly a threat to Palace as he failed to have any kind of impact in the final third. However, he stuck to his task well at the other end of the field.
Cesc Fabregas (6)
Opened the scoring for Chelsea and created a number of chances but it just did not happen for Chelsea today.
Eden Hazard (6)
Though he failed to create enough for Chelsea, picked up an assist for Fabregas’ goal and tested the Palace defence right till the end.
Diego Costa (5)
Failed to score from more than a couple of decent chances as he let Chelsea down, with Chelsea eventually failing to take even a point from this game.
Subs:
Michy Batshuayi (5)
Came in to add some spice to the attack but failed to score and win a point for his side.
Willian (6)
Added some urgency to the Chelsea attack but that was not enough to take them to a victory.
Ruben Loftus Cheek (N/A)
Was subbed on in the 90th minute with hardly any chance to rescue a point.