Chelsea and Crystal Palace shared points in a disappointing goalless draw at Stamford Bridge in the opening round of the 2025-2026 Premier League. Highly expected after just winning the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, Chelsea cannot repeat the brilliant form they have shown in the US.
Crystal Palace seemed to have opened the scoring early when Eberechi Eze took a dangerous free kick in the 10th minute. However, the referee refused to recognize it because he thought captain Marc Guehi was too close to the fence and affected the situation.
This draw brought Chelsea back to earth after an exciting summer. Although the opponent was not easy, the fact that The Blues only had 3 shots on target throughout the match raised big questions about their attacking power, especially in the goal of competing for the top 4.
The worrying thing for Chelsea was that Cole Palmer almost disappeared, not creating any chances until the 90th minute. New signing Joao Pedro disappointed by being quiet for 73 minutes, while Estevao also failed to leave his mark after 36 minutes on the bench.
There will be easier matches for Chelsea throughout the season, but this is considered a much better score for Palace than the home team.
"It was a difficult game, and we had expected that. Apart from the free kick in the first half, we did not give them any chances. They are a well-organized team, they have top players, so facing them is not easy.
We can counter-attack better, defend better but this is only the first match of the season. Palace have played about 8 matches, we only played 2 matches so the whole team tried our best" - said coach Enzo Maresca.
When Chelsea beat Paris St-Germain in the heat of New Jersey in July, Maresca's side were filled with excitement. Many people are even starting to think of them as a strong candidate in the 2025-2026 Premier League title race.
However, returning to Stamford Bridge in the opening match, the picture is completely different. Of course, no one expected Chelsea to recreate their inspiring style of play like against PSG, because Crystal Palace never played as generously as the European champions. But the obvious decline in the tempo and intensity of the Maresca army is something that cannot be ignored.
Chelsea looked sluggish after a busy summer. That raises a big question mark about the Blues' preparation for the new season. After a difficult journey at the FIFA Club World Cup, The Blues only returned to training on August 4 and had exactly 2 friendly matches before the season.
Maresca admitted immediately after the match that this was the first official match of this squad. Previously, the testing sessions with Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan simply allowed him to rotate and divide the playing time equally instead of giving responsibility to the pillars.
Many people will compare it with Manchester City - a team that also participated in the FIFA Club World Cup but still started the season with a 4-0 victory over Wolves. However, the surprise defeat to Al-Hilal gave Pep Guardiola the opportunity to bring his players back earlier, exactly from July 28. And that short break certainly brought an advantage.
In the end, Chelsea's problem may lie in the squad size. Maresca's determination to give everyone a chance, rather than shaping the framework early, has caused The Blues to be disciplined by a Crystal Palace organization.
Now Chelsea are forced to regain their spirit very quickly before the away match at West Ham. The Hammers are also thirsty for points after a difficult start, and will not hesitate to create a surprise against The Blues.
"I'm not sure anymore. Coming back today is definitely very important. We didn't lose anyways, kept a clean sheet and tried our best," Maresca said when asked if Chelsea were affected by the short season's preparation.
