Wilfried Zaha, Crystal Palace Shock Chelsea After Cesar Azpilicueta's Own Goal

Crystal Palace upset the odds and clinched their first goals, points and victory of the 2017-18 Premier League campaign on Saturday, surprising champions Chelsea with a 2-1 win at Selhurst Park.

Cesar Azpilicueta's early own goal set the Blues back in their bid to move up to third, and their plans were further derailed when Wilfried Zaha reclaimed the lead for Palace following Tiemoue Bakayoko's swift equaliser.

Eagles manager Roy Hodgson will be pleased to finally get his Palace account up and running—against the titleholders, no less—although the win still leaves his side one point adrift at the base of the standings.

Michy Batshuayi led the line for Chelsea in what was his first away Premier League start for the club since joining last summer, with Saturday's clash deemed too early for Alvaro Morata to return from his hamstring injury.

Eden Hazard also made his second Premier League start of the season, while Zaha returned to the Palace lineup for his first appearance since the opening weekend and replaced injured Christian Benteke in the striker role.

The Eagles almost instantly looked more threatening with the Ivory Coast international leading their line instead of the bulkier Benteke, and it was Zaha's run forward that freed up space for Cabaye to apply pressure early on.

Andros Townsend slipped his way to the right byline before pulling back for the Frenchman, and his shot inside the box flicked in by virtue of a touch from Azpilicueta to send the hosts into a shock lead.

Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin thought it was just reward for the home team, via BBC 5 live Sport:

The international break looked to have adversely affected the visiting team, who were turgid at times moving the ball forward, and it wasn't until the 18th minute that Bakayoko levelled with their first shot of the match, per WhoScored.com.

It was fitting that after labouring to find space in open play, Chelsea's equaliser came from a Cesc Fabregas corner, with summer signing Bakayoko rising highest to guide the Blues level seven minutes after conceding the opener.

Bakayoko arrived at Stamford Bridge from AS Monaco over the summer and made his seventh Premier League appearance on Saturday—his fifth start—but Squawka reaffirmed how attacking is not among his priorities:

Former Palace star Victor Moses was given an ovation from the home crowd after he was forced off before the break with what appeared to be a hamstring injury, with summer buy Davide Zappacosta coming on in his place.

That disruption appeared to have an effect, too, after Mamadou Sakho's pressure inside the Chelsea half opened room for Zaha to shimmy between Chelsea defenders in the area and prod home from close range.

After an own goal earlier in the half, Azpilicueta was again partly to blame, as noted by Goal's Nizaar Kinsella:

Fabregas scored in April's 2-1 home defeat to Palace and came close to adding a second in as many meetings after the restart, but his effort from outside the box could only find its way on to the Eagles crossbar.

If the first half could be viewed as Palace's, the second period belonged to Chelsea, who ran almost unopposed in their at-times endless stream of attempts at Julian Speroni's goal.

Luka Milivojevic was an important character in the Eagles engine room when it came to stifling the Blues midfield, an essential contribution as Chelsea claimed more than 60 per cent of possession in the second half.

The hosts should have wrapped up the result when Chelsea stopper Thibaut Courtois could only palm a fierce Townsend strike into the path of Patrick van Aanholt, but the Dutchman hit a wild attempt wide.

As full-time approached, the Daily Mail's Adam Crafton summarised what this result would mean for both teams:

Hodgson implored his men to keep their heads from the touchline, and Palace did just that, seeing their slim lead through to the final whistle and giving their new boss his first win against one of the most unlikely opponents.

The absence of Morata ultimately took its toll, as Batshuayi—hauled off after 57 minutes—couldn't give the same threat in attack, while an off day for Azpilicueta saw the defence crumble at two clutch moments in the game.

Palace remain at the bottom but will take heart in Hodgson's leadership following their first win of the campaign, while Chelsea's most disappointing result of the season so far will leave questions to be asked of Conte.