Chelsea 2025 started with a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace in the last round Premier Leagueextending their winless run in the First Division to four matches.
Cole Palmer opened the scoring after just 14 minutes, exchanging well with Jadon Sancho He scored his 13th goal in the Premier League From the campaign.
The blue team had many opportunities to increase the lead in the first half. Recorded nine shots In all, they will regret their loss.
Just eight minutes before the end of normal time, the Stamford Bridge side conceded an equaliser, with Jean-Philippe Mateta scoring for Palace to level the scores. The match ended with the two teams sharing the spoils, however Enzo Maresca He would have been disappointed with his team, in particular Nicholas Jackson…
Nicholas Jackson's struggle against Crystal Palace
The striker played 81 minutes during the match, but… Failed to shoot on goalHe missed three of his efforts while only succeeding in one dodge.
The centre-forward missed a huge chance to extend the lead during the first half after racing on Palmer's through ball, but he wasted the chance that would come back to haunt him.
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Crystal Palace vs Chelsea – key statistics |
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Statistics |
Top rated |
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Accurate passes |
Levi Colwell (77) |
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Key passes |
Cole Palmer (5) |
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He treats |
Tyreek Mitchell (6) |
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He won ground duels |
Daniel Munoz (9) |
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Successful evasion attempts |
Jadon Sancho (3) |
Jackson struggled to participate, only taking 30 touches and completing nine passes, while winning only four of the 11 duels he played during his time on the pitch.
This was not the greatest performance from the Senegal international, who received an award Match rating 4/10 To be shown by the Express after the match.
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However, it can be argued that Jackson was not the worst of the group. This is for Mark Cucurella, who looked a shadow of his former self this afternoon.
Mark Cucurella's match in numbers against Crystal Palace
The left-back has impressed on many occasions under Maresca this season, buoyed by playing an important role in Spain's European Championship-winning squad over the summer.
Against Palace, he struggled badly, especially in attack. he Try to dodge onedid not make any key passes while also failing to create a big chance during the match.
Defensively, he wasn't much better. In fact, the Spaniard – who also failed to keep up with Mateta for the striker's equalizer – lost the ball ten times, losing five of his eight contested encounters while being dribbled out once in a display that was forgettable.
Express journalist Tom Parsons gave it a A Rating 5/10 For his performance, noting that Cucurella “did not get many opportunities to advance and allowed Palace to get too many crosses from the right flank” during the encounter.
The Blues face Morecambe in the FA Cup next weekend, and that could lead to Maresca rotating his squad in order to give some of the youngsters a chance in the starting XI.
Dropping the full-back to the bench – with Renato Vega waiting in the wings – could do Cucurella a world of good, especially as Chelsea play Bournemouth just three days after the cup tie.
