Club World Cup champions Chelsea faltered in their opening game of the season on Sunday afternoon as they stuttered to a lacklustre 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge.
The game was marred by a controversial VAR call in the first half that saw Eberechi Eze’s thunderous free kick fly past Robert Sanchez in net, only to be denied.
After being called over to the monitor just moments after the ball hit the net, referee Darren England adjudged Marc Guehi to be illegally within one meter of Chelsea’s defensive wall.
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The decision ruled out a dream goal for Eze, who appeared to wave goodbye to the adorning Palace fans at the end of the game after he informed the club of his decision to leave and join London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. A deal is expected to be concluded within the next week.
Eberechi Eze saw his early free-kick disallowed by VAR
|GETTY
Both sides had their moments throughout the rest of the game, but with just seven shots on target between them, caused neither goalkeeper any significant troubles.
Coming off the back of Conference League and Club World Cup triumphs, the performance from the Blues left a lot to be desired but boss Enzo Maresca feels his side deserved to win.
“We always try to win the game,” the Italian boss said after the game. “Unfortunately, we didn’t win but overall we deserved [to].
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Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca believes his side desevred to win the match yesterday
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“We created enough chances in the first half and the second half. Apart from the free-kick, we didn’t concede any [clear-cut] chances.
“But at the same time, we know how tough they are, how well organised they are, and that is why in the last two finals they have beaten Liverpool and Manchester City.”
With the Stamford Bridge club’s exploits in the US over the summer - their final competitive game coming on July 13 marking an astonishing 11-month season - Maresca’s side had only two pre-season friendlies. The first of which came just last week.
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The 45-year-old denied the notion that this had affected his side’s performance, and issued a rally cry to supporters that they will improve:
“I don’t think [it affected us] because until the end, we competed and we tried to win the game. We had some chances at the end with Estevao and Andrey Santos, so that showed that we competed overall quite well," he added.
“For sure, they played seven or eight games and we played two games last weekend where we shared the minutes, so for sure this was the first real game today but for sure slowly, slowly we are going to be better.”
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Highly-rated Brazilian teenager Estevao made his debut for the Blues
|REUTERS
The game lacked many big chances, and any that were created fell to young stars such as Brazilian pair Andrey Santos and Estevao.
The latter made his competitive debut for the club as he entered the field in the 54th minute, and looked a bright spark - a diamond in the rough.
The Chelsea boss was equally impressed with his young debutant, saying: “Estevao was very good. He showed personality and he is already showing that in our training sessions and for no doubt – slowly, slowly – he will become a very important player for this club.”
The Blues were tipped for a title charge this summer, so dropping points at any time in the season will sting.
But to open the campaign on an underwhelming performance that left a lot to be desired, even with a handful of new signings taking to the pitch, leaves Maresca with food for thought ahead of their trip to West Ham next weekend.