Crystal Palace vs. Chelsea: Winners and Losers from Premier League
Chelsea started 2016 with quite the statement, defeating Crystal Palace 3-0 at Selhurst Park thanks to a blistering all-round display.
Oscar tapped the visitors ahead after half an hour following brilliant work from Diego Costa, Willian doubled the advantage with a 20-yard thunderbolt in the second half and Costa made it three after Wayne Hennessey spilled a low shot back into the six-yard box.
Here, B/R picks its winners and losers from the game.
Winners: The John Obi Mikel-Cesc Fabregas Combination
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Ahead of the game Guus Hiddink admitted Cesc Fabregas was “no longer indispensable,” per ESPN FC. He suggested the Spaniard may just be dropped for the forthcoming trip to Selhurst Park.
But it was actually Nemanja Matic who was benched, allowing Fabregas to resume his role in midfield alongside the more defensive-minded John Obi Mikel, and the partnership was absolutely excellent.
Mikel broke up play and distributed calmly, while Fabregas’ passes unlocked an extra dimension in Chelsea’s attack. The performance looked like one of those we saw in late 2014—when the Blues were on top of the league and racing to the title.
Losers: Scott Dann-Damien Delaney Combination
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Scott Dann and Damien Delaney have been phenomenal this season; together they’ve formed one of the best five centre-back duos in the Premier League so far.
But 2016 started badly for the vaunted pair, who struggled immensely with the pace and movement of Chelsea’s attack—and in particular Diego Costa.
They took an aggressive stance and it worked for 10 minutes, but as soon as Delaney went through the back of Costa, earning an early yellow card, the approach was no longer feasible.
Delaney went on to miss the interception of Cesc Fabregas’ pass for the first goal, and Dann fared no better, eventually hacking Costa to the floor in frustration with around 10 minutes to go, earning his own booking.
The conditions were tough, but Chelsea had to deal with them too. Dann and Delaney, surely, will have better days on the pitch to look forward to.
Winner: Kurt Zouma, Chelsea
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Guus Hiddink's deployment of Kurt Zouma was a clever one—particularly after it transpired Crystal Palace were to try to release Wilfried Zaha over the top—and he put in a sublime performance that will likely keep Gary Cahill on the bench.
Aerially he was dominant, heading everything clear and stymieing Palace's threat from corners, and his recovery sprints and tackles were absolutely sublime.
Jack Rathborn of uMAXit Football praised his pace and power, but also the timing of his challenges—which has improved considerably in the time he's been with the Blues.
Losers: Fraizer Campbell (and Other Fringe Players), Crystal Palace
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Fraizer Campbell is very much on the periphery at Crystal Palace. He was only given a go because of injuries to key forwards on Sunday, and he failed to seize his chance.
Operating (initially) out of a 4-4-2 with Wilfried Zaha running in behind and Palace swinging multiple balls into the box, he was in a position to succeed, but he failed to do anything of note. He hashed one difficult finish wide but otherwise struggled to make any sort of impact.
Palace have now gone three games without scoring, or as the Mirror's Ed Malyon pointed out, have not scored since Yannick Bolasie and Connor Wickham picked up injuries.
Alan Pardew must reassess his options in January and, very likely, dip into the market for a forward. He has Dwight Gayle, Marouane Chamakh and Campbell on the books, but can any of them really be trusted to spearhead a European assault?
Winner: Diego Costa, Chelsea
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Diego Costa drifted in and out of the first half a little, but he procured one moment of true quality on the half-hour mark to give Chelsea the lead. His run in behind and no-look cutback for Oscar to tap home was absolutely sublime.
He continued to wreak havoc in the second half, pushing forward with power and determination, running the channels and opening attacking lanes. His goal, to make it 3-0, was a just reward for his efforts.
Is he back, or is this the umpteenth false dawn of the season?
