Crystal Palace vs. Chelsea: Winners and Losers from Premier League Game
Chelsea went back to five points clear at the top of the Premier League after a routine 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.
Despite red cards for both sides in the first half, Chelsea went in 1-0 up at the break through Oscar's terrific early free-kick, with Cesc Fabregas doubling the lead soon after the restart. Fraizer Campbell scored a late consolation to pull one back for the home team, but Chelsea were worthy winners and saw out the match comfortably.
Here are our winners and losers from the match at Selhurst Park.
Winners: Cesc Fabregas
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Another superb all-round display from Chelsea's new midfield maestro.
His goal was well-taken, but it was Cesc's approach play, his effective passing and his intelligent movement, both in the centre of the pitch and when roving further forward, that most impressed.
Palace sat back so much that there was no need for Cesc to sit alongside Nemanja Matic; instead, the Spaniard attacked at will, offered an additional No. 10 option at times and was unstoppable in linking up with Loic Remy and Oscar.
Palace had no answer, and it showed as much in the possession statistics as in the scoreline.
Loser: Damien Delaney
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Palace centre-back Damien Delaney picked up maybe the most brainless red card of the season on Saturday, receiving a second yellow just two minutes after his team had received the boost of seeing Chelsea reduced to 10 men.
The home side were 1-0 down when Cesar Azpilicueta received a straight red for a bad tackle, giving Palace a way to get back into the game. Delaney, though, lost the movement of Loic Remy and tugged his shirt back in the middle of the pitch barely moments later, picking up his second yellow as a result.
Delaney had already made a couple of poor challenges before he was eventually booked by the referee for his continual bad timing.
Winner: Loic Remy
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He might not have scored, but Loic Remy certainly had a big impact on the match and took his chance in the starting line-up well with the absence of Diego Costa.
The Chelsea striker was a real menace with his running in behind the Palace defence, used his pace to great effect and linked very well with Cesc and Oscar throughout.
Remy's running was responsible for a clutch of free-kicks that went his team's way, not least the one which saw Delaney sent-off, and he was involved in the quick, fluid passing movement for Cesc's winning goal.
Loser: Neil Warnock
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It's to be expected that Crystal Palace would sit in from the start of the game and look to frustrate Chelsea, a much better opponent than they, but there was once more very little emphasis or intent from the home side to attack the game at any point.
They didn't have a chance to face up their 11 men against Chelsea's 10 due to Delaney's transgressions, but even when a single goal down they failed to commit more than two forward at a time on counter-attacks, relying on the pace of Campbell and Yannick Bolasie to cause Chelsea problems.
At two down the game was gone, but Palace still opted not to shift tactics until the final 10 minutes or so. Campbell got a goal back, but it was far too late from Warnock, who didn't react or change the shape of his team at all.
Winner: Jose's Title Ambitions
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Palace linger just outside the relegation zone, but Chelsea remain firmly on top of the Premier League table after their seventh win in eight games.
Jose Mourinho's squad looks in great form and, with all key players aside from Diego Costa fit, are in a fine moment to head into a vital period of domestic football. Along with various cup commitments over the next couple of weeks, Mourinho will oversee successive league matches where Chelsea play Manchester United, have a local derby against Queens Park Rangers and then take on Liverpool.
Speaking to ChelseaFC.com about his side's title chances, Mourinho said:
"If we were in another league I would say immediately yes, but in the Premier League the only thing I can say is we can do it. In the Premier League it’s difficult to say we are going to do it. There is a long way to go and there are very difficult games in front of us, so I don’t want to say that.
What I can say is we are a better team than last season; there is a clear evolution in our team and not just based on the fact we bought fantastic players. But to win the title? There is a long way to go.
"
Right now you'd have to back the Blues to take positive results in any or all of the fixtures, keeping them as clear favourites for the league title this season.
