Chelsea player ratings vs Crystal Palace: Marc Cucurella exposed as Nicolas Jackson loses clinical touch
Chelsea dropped more points as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Crystal Palace.
Cole Palmer had given them the lead and there were chances to extend that before half-time, but Josh Acheampong and Nicolas Jackson missed the best of them.
Jean-Philippe Mateta stepped up to punish the Blues for that wastefulness late in the second-half, when he finished from close-range after Eberechi Eze had rolled the ball into his path.
Here’s how Enzo Maresca’s side rated at Selhurst Park...
Robert Sanchez 6
Made a couple of big saves in the second-half, including from Richards header.
Malo Gusto 6
Curbed some of his usual adventure in order to provide cover for young Acheampong. Eze got in behind him to set up equaliser, though.
Josh Acheampong 6
Handed a surprise first Premier League start at centre-back. Composed and intelligent.
Levi Colwill 6
Took responsibility for the physical battle with Mateta. Big block on the forward late on. Booked.
Exposed repeatedly by the dynamic Munoz.
Moises Caicedo 5
Is starting to look a little jaded. Chelsea need Romeo Lavia back to share the workload.
Enzo Fernandez 6
Combined nicely with both Sancho and Palmer. Close to a clincher when sliding wide late on. Booked.
Pedro Neto 5
Blew a golden chance to make it 2-0 when overhitting the simplest of cut-backs for Palmer. Always bright, but numbers don’t stack up yet. Might have had a penalty.
Cole Palmer 7
Scored the opener with a smart finish and should have been set up for a second by Neto. Pass to get Jackson in behind was glorious.
Jadon Sancho 7
Sensational dummy on halfway created opening for the first goal but he still had plenty to do to find Palmer.
Nicolas Jackson 5
Clinical touch appears to have deserted the forward, who missed several good chances here and now has only one in six league games. All-round contribution remains key, though.
Substitutes
Marc Guiu (Jackson 81’) N/A
True to his word, Maresca turned to the Spaniard before Nkunku for his first league minutes since August.
Noni Madueke (Sancho 86’) N/A
Unused: Jorgensen, Disasi, Tosin, Veiga, James, Felix, Nkunku.
