Chelsea disappoint in Premier League opener

On the evening of August 17, championship candidate Chelsea was held to a 0-0 draw by Crystal Palace in round 1 of the English Premier League.

Chelsea and Crystal Palace held each other to a 0-0 draw in the first round of the Premier League - Photo: REUTERS

This was a disappointing match for the reigning FIFA Club World Cup champions Chelsea. Although rated higher, Chelsea encountered many difficulties against the disciplined Crystal Palace.

Despite controlling the ball up to 71%, Chelsea did not have any really sharp attacks to penetrate the visitors' defense. New signing striker Joao Pedro was completely separated from Chelsea's midfielders and played quite poorly.

Chelsea could not attack through the middle because Crystal Palace had too many players in front of the goal.

The Blues played a lot of the ball out wide and relied on individual efforts from their players. However, Crystal Palace sealed the two flanks and covered each other quite well.

Chelsea's play became more unpredictable when Brazilian rookie Estevao was put on the field. The 2007-born player's dribbling on the right wing really made the Crystal Palace defenders sweat. However, in the final situations, Estevao still needed more precision to be able to create opportunities for Chelsea.

Despite being outclassed, Crystal Palace did not give up. They continuously had sharp counter-attacks that made Chelsea's goal unstable. Fortunately for Chelsea, Crystal Palace's strikers were not good enough to take advantage of the opportunities.

Sharing points with Crystal Palace was a disappointing result for Chelsea - a team predicted to be a candidate for the Premier League title after an extremely exciting summer transfer with many new contracts.

NOSTALGIA

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chelsea-gay-that-vong-o-tran-ra-quan-premier-league-20250817223949283.htm