Chelsea started their 2025–26 Premier League season with a goalless draw against Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, despite creating many chances, especially in the second half.
Enzo Maresca’s side had most of the ball and more shots but couldn’t break down a strong Palace defence. Players like Marc Cucurella, Trevoh Chalobah, Estevão, and Liam Delap all missed good chances that could have given the Blues the win.
Crystal Palace also had their moment. Eberechi Eze scored from a free-kick, but VAR ruled it out. The officials said Marc Guehi had fouled a Chelsea player just before the ball hit the net.
The result means Chelsea drop early points in their first game of the new season, which may hurt them later in the title race.
Speaking after the game, Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sánchez told Sky Sports:
“Of course it’s not the result we wanted, but the team played well. We created chances, and that’s football. We’ll take the clean sheet and move on.”
Sánchez said the short pre-season, caused by the Club World Cup, made it harder for the team to be fully ready.
“We only had two weeks to prepare and some players are still injured,” he added. “We were tired but still showed quality. Palace made it hard for us in midfield and the pitch was very dry.”
On Eze’s disallowed goal, he said: “Moises [Caicedo] was pushed, I couldn’t see the ball, and it went over my head. So for me, that’s clearly a foul.”