Chelsea 1 - 2 C Palace

Chelsea 1 - 2 C Palace

Chelsea stunned by resurgent Crystal Palace and Christian Benteke

Home team scorers
Francesc Fabregas 5

Away team scorers
Wilfried Zaha 9
Christian Benteke 11

The Premier League’s title race has its unanticipated twist. Chelsea, untouchable for so long at the top of this division and a side who had won 13 games in a row at home, succumbed here to a team who have spent almost the entire campaign submerged in the grind of a relegation battle. For the second season in succession, this corner of south-west London has been conquered by Crystal Palace.

It was arguably a victory far more impressive than last season’s success against a Chelsea teams showing the early signs of crisis under José Mourinho last term, given that it was chiselled out against the top flight’s previously irrepressible force. Antonio Conte has spent the last few months preaching caution, insisting the title has not yet been secured, and this was evidence to prove him right. Their lead over Tottenham Hotspur has been trimmed to seven points, still a chasm of sorts, but Manchester City visit on Wednesday. The recovery from the stumble must be immediate.

This had boasted all the early signs of a procession, though it had quickly degenerated into a contest the type of which Chelsea have become unfamiliar this term. The ease with which Cesc Fàbregas had poked them ahead, the Spaniard benefiting from Eden Hazard’s tormenting of Joel Ward down the left before clipping in a third goal in successive home games off the near post from his team-mate’s cross, suggested a comfortable afternoon. Palace had not conceded since mid-February and, as Sam Allardyce had admitted in the build-up, the thought of playing catch-up in a duel with the runaway league leaders was the stuff of nightmares.

That recent run of results has at least pepped conviction, and the manner in which they recovered was breathtaking. Wilfried Zaha, inevitably, sparked their rally, squeezing space from a dithering César Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso just outside the home penalty area before fizzing a low shot back across a startled Thibaut Courtois and into the far corner. The speed and accuracy of the shot appeared to take the goalkeeper by surprise. Zaha had no right to gain such power from cramped position between opponents. It was as if Chelsea had not sensed the danger.

They were still dawdling a little over a minute later when Christian Benteke, a player so shorn of confidence over recent weeks but bolstered by a brace for his country in a friendly win in Russia last Monday, bustled forward from the halfway line. David Luiz attempted to stifle his progress only for the ball to deflect to Zaha, sprinting up in support. The Ivorian’s return pass found Benteke alone in front of Courtois, with the striker calmly waiting for his compatriot to go to ground before lifting a delightful finish into the gaping net. It was his first league goal since the end of January.

The sense of shock which gripped the majority in the arena was palpable, Palace’s support in the Shed end delighting in their firecrackers and smoke bombs while Chelsea players bickered in their inquests. They clicked into gear thereafter with some of their attacking play, particularly down the left where Hazard and Alonso were a constant menace, thrilling to behold. The visitors heaved to contain them, the outstanding Mamadou Sakho and James Tomkins constantly stretched until the latter was unable to continue after the break, but it was Wayne Hennessey who effectively kept the hosts at bay. He blocked from Diego Costa with his legs, touched Alonso’s low centre behind and did the same to Hazard’s shot crunched towards the near-post.

His one-handed save from Nemanja Matic was just as impressive but, amid the hacked clearances and desperate blocks, the sense was Chelsea would not be denied for long. Theirs was the urgency, with their visitors unsettled first by the departure of Tomkins and then his replacement, Scott Dann, after the substitute jarred a knee blocking from Costa. The centre-half departed on a stretcher, his participation over the rest of the campaign clearly in doubt, with Palace duly changing their formation in anticipation of the onslaught being maintained.

Yet, had Zaha managed to convert from Jason Puncheon’s pass then Chelsea might have been subdued, but Courtois conjured a save and the home side breathed again. Not that the sense of anxiety receded. Hennessey was tested again, from looped headers to centres flung across his box, and the sight of Costa nodding wide from the edge of the six-yard box when it seemed easier to score had Conte hopping around his technical area in anguished disbelief. That was one of the few occasions Sakho went by-passed, the France international’s sense of anticipation setting him apart in a desperate rearguard action. His cramping up during seven minutes of stoppage time reflected his gargantuan workload, but his side’s fourth successive victory was the stuff of dreams.

Guardian