Chelsea Stunned by Christian Benteke, Crystal Palace in 2-1 Loss

Chelsea tasted defeat for the first time in three months after falling 2-1 at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday, where two goals in two minutes from the visitors was enough to seal a comeback victory.

Cesc Fabregas fired the Blues into a fifth-minute lead before Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke netted within minutes of one another to hand the Eagles a 2-1 lead after just 11 minutes.

A robust display in defence secured the spoils for Palace in the end, although manager Sam Allardyce's squad was hit by what appeared to be a knee injury suffered by centre-back Scott Dann after he came off the bench at the break.

Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker noted that with Tottenham Hotspur's 2-0 victory at Burnley on Saturday, there's now a touch of competition again in the Premier League title race:

Stamford Bridge wasn't waiting long before it was given cause to rise to its feet as Fabregas sent Eden Hazard beaming down the left before angling through the centre to get on the end of a return cross.

Hazard dutifully responded with a ball to the near post that Fabregas could hardly miss, and ESPN FC's Liam Twomey highlighted the pedigree of that achievement given Palace's stingy record in defence of late:

The hosts were ahead for all of four minutes before Zaha scrambled a foot of space in the Chelsea box before wrapping an acutely struck effort inside Thibaut Courtois' far post, leaving Stamford Bridge stunned.

The first-half capitulation was compounded when Zaha cut a ball to Benteke in front of the Blues goal, and the Belgian's feint opened the space to chip over a sprawling Courtois, via Match of the Day:

Three goals in the opening 11 minutes was a ratio any spectator would be happy with, but the players were inevitably unable to maintain such an exhilarating pace and ultimately settled into a rhythm that saw Chelsea bearing down. 

While Chelsea might have been behind at the break, it was telling that Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey had made seven saves at the half-time whistle while Courtois had only been forced into one, per WhoScored.com.

Many would have backed Diego Costa to pull Chelsea level in the 56th minute after a Pedro cross from the right found his Spain team-mate in space, but the striker was too cumbersome in his work to make anything of it.

There was bad news for the visitors after that chance, though, as half-time substitute Dann went down with a knee injury, leaving Eagles chief Allardyce short on changes, per the Press Association's Matt McGeehan:

The Chelsea fans jeered as Palace did their utmost to take the speed out of Chelsea's chase, and it became even more clear the guests might have their backs against the wall for large portions of the remaining minutes.

But despite the Blues' pressing, Hennessey remained equal to the chances he faced in front of goal, leading Goal's Nizaar Kinsella to tease the notion the home side would never find their route back in:

Chelsea substitute Willian deserved credit for the begging balls he was fizzing across the Palace six-yard box, but without anyone present to get on the end of them, Conte's side struggled to make anything of their raft of second-half chances.

That was the tale for the remainder of the match as the Eagles threw themselves in front of everything that flashed in front of goal, bringing an end to Chelsea's 13-match home winning streak in the process, despite almost 10 minutes of injury time. 

Chelsea will be displeased with a display that portrayed them at less than their usual, clinical selves, and the visit of Manchester City on Wednesday means their Premier League title bid will soon come under fire again.

Palace, meanwhile, can feel proud at having stolen all three points from Stamford Bridge, giving new cause for hope at Selhurst Park prior to their trip to Southampton on Wednesday, now seeking their fifth successive victory.

Post-Match Reaction

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While Chelsea's Premier League title charge is still far from entering any state of peril, the Blues were reminded on Saturday that there is work to do before the crown will be theirs.

Coming from a gilded reign with Serie A powerhouse Juventus, however, this is hardly a tension with which Conte is unfamiliar, and it was no surprise to hear the Italian react calmly in the face of defeat, per BBC Sport:

"

This is football. We must accept this result.

We scored our goal after five minutes and then we conceded two in a few minutes. When you concede goals in that way you must understand the situation and improve on these mistakes.

In every game in England, anything can happen. The league is so strong. We faced a team today with strong players. I think they showed they were a good team.

"

Conte mourned the loss before adding "now it's important to focus on Manchester City," and Wednesday's top-of-the-table clash just became all the more essential following Saturday's points drop.

On the other hand, a beaming Allardyce hailed the performances of goalscorers Zaha and Benteke, not to mention those at the back who ensured the lead remained theirs until the end, per ESPN FC's Twomey:

Palace may look back on this result in months to come as the one that saved their campaign, and Allardyce continues to show he's a nuanced figure in the Premier League, just as Conte's perfect run came undone.