The game at the London Bridge, ended with Chelsea 3-1 Crystal Palace, as Chelsea continued their unbeaten run under their new manager, Maurizio Sarri, which now stand at eleven games unbeaten.
The hosts who came under a serious pressure from Palace, got the lead earlier in the game from Alvaro Morata, who is gradually returning to his goal scoring form, as the Spaniard is beginning to regain confidence in front of goal.
Crystal Palace, just like in their game against Arsenal, came on strong after going one goal down, as the likes of Zaha and Townsend troubled the Chelsea defense. It was Townsend who later scored the equaliser for the visitor, finishing a through-pass, after beating David Luiz to slot home a fine finish past Kepa.
Sarri sensing the danger and how his players were struggling, brought in Eden Hazard and Kovacic, for both William and Barkley, and the response was immediate, as Chelsea scored their second and third goals from Morata and Pedro, to put the game beyond the reach of Palace, who are still struggling for more points on the League table.
The win now means Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool are still unbeaten after eleven games so far this season. But Sarri is the only manager that is yet to taste a defeat in all competition so far this season.
After the game, Sarri praised his boys for their performance, especially Morata. He said:
“I am really very happy for Alvaro Morata. He improved in the last month in confidence and personality. He improved also from a tactical and technical point of view. He plays with more continuity from the team. He has great potential physically and technically. He can improve more. Potentially he can be (a top striker at a top club). Sometimes he is a little bit fragile.
“We were a little bit in trouble so we needed some quality and personality. We were lucky because we had Eden [Hazard] on the bench. He was able to immediately change the match.
“From the first day, Manchester City and Liverpool are at the moment a step ahead of us. When I arrive the gap from last season as 30 points with City. It is difficult to think you can recover this gap in one season, in six months. We need to improve more because we are doing well.
“We need to improve from a tactical point of view. In the first 15 minutes of the second half, we were not compact. In the defensive phase, we need to improve. When we can’t cover the ball in the opponent’s half we are in trouble. So we need to improve.”
Today’s results:
Chelsea 3-1 Crystal Palace
Manchester City 6-1 Southampton
The result also means Sarri has now equaled the Premier League record for 11 games unbeaten at the start for a new manager.