Crystal Palace 1-1 Chelsea: Blues’ winless run continues as Cole Palmer’s strike is cancelled out by Jean-Philippe Mateta’s late equaliser

It is two points away from a possible 12 for Chelsea, and once again the scrutiny will focus on their chances that were not taken as Enzo Maresca’s men managed to throw away another win.

Nicolas Jackson was not the only one to blame – far from it – but the striker will do well to avoid the biggest criticism. He in particular should have put victory out of reach, but instead we can add Crystal Palace to the growing list of opponents who have thwarted Chelsea.

Everton, Fulham, Ipswich and now Palace have all frustrated Maresca during this four-match winless run. Chelsea had fifteen shots in total, but only one on target here. Cole Palmer scored but then lost the ball, forcing them to concede the late equalizer to Jean-Philippe Mateta. It was a day of what-ifs.

Maresca lamented: ‘We did enough to win the match. But in football you have to be clinical.” Speaking about the race for the Premier League’s top four, he continued: ‘We knew Newcastle and Aston Villa would be there, and Manchester City will definitely be there.

‘The performance was very good, both on and off the ball. I knew it would happen, at a time when you can’t win games. If I have to decide today why we didn’t win, it’s because we weren’t clinical.’

It all started so well for Chelsea, their opener coming after a brilliant move. Jadon Sancho grew up in South London, a cage footballer whose creativity could not be contained in his youth, and perhaps it was that return to the roots that brought out the best in that particular moment.

Cole Palmer (right) had given the Blues the lead after good work from Jadon Sancho (left)

However, the Blues have now gone four games without a win in their bid to qualify for the Champions League

Back in a postcode that started with SE, he was a kid again, playing with his opposition. Levi Colwill’s stride had enough oomph that he knew Chris Richards would be sent to the shops if he let him run after him. So he pretended he was going to retrieve it, but he didn’t, and just like that he was away from his marker and sprinting down the left side.

Sancho crept in after catching the ball. With Richards, Daniel Munoz and Maxence Lacroix all rushing towards him, the winger tapped the ball in against Palmer, who used an advantageous angle to score past Dean Henderson for 1-0.

Not for the first time this season, Chelsea missed a lot of opportunities. Jackson cut off a simple volley after a set piece. Pedro Neto completely mistimed a simple set-up for Palmer after performing the difficult part by skinning Tyrick Mitchell. Josh Acheampong, the 18-year-old making his full Premier League debut, should have headed in a corner when he was unmarked.

Every chance you had you wondered if Palace would make them pay, and they almost did when Mateta curled wide of Colwill.

Chelsea started attacking again, Palmer’s pass behind Jackson in front of Jackson was perfectly timed for him to attack the ball. He turned Lacroix, but then shot wide with the outside of his boot.

After the restart, a cutback from Munoz found Eberechi Eze. He missed, but this was a warning for Chelsea as Selhurst Park woke from its slumber.

When Moises Caicedo committed a foul, Palace prepared a cross. Thirty percent of their goals in the Premier League this season have been scored by defenders, and Richards was denied an equalizer when Robert Sánchez tapped over his header.

Chelsea shouted for a penalty in the 63rd minute, claiming Neto had been brought down by Mitchell. The slightest touch of the ball was enough for Palace to escape a penalty via VAR.

Nicolas Jackson has received the most criticism all afternoon for his missed opportunities

However, Eberechi Eze was important for Palace throughout and set up Mateta’s attack

After 69 minutes, Enzo Fernandez shot wide from 20 meters. After 70, Jackson also missed when he had only Henderson in front of him. That was a brilliant opportunity to settle the match, the kind that any striker worth his salt should finish, and Maresca turned to his bench in response. There he saw Marc Guiu and on his 19th birthday he was introduced for his first Premier League minutes since the opening day of the season.

However, within seconds of that substitution it was 1-1 as Palmer lost possession in midfield. Palace countered and Ismaila Sarr found Eze’s untracked run. Unselfishly he directed the ball to Mateta, who stole a pass for Marc Cucurella to tap home.

Chelsea had scored last-minute goals on their last three visits to Selhurst Park, but not this time.