Chelsea were held by Crystal Palace as Ebere Eze's wondrous second half strike was enough for the Eagles to earn a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Enzo Maresca's team ran hot in the first half with Nicolas Jackson prodding them ahead after a fine counter-attack involving Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke. It capped a good first-half showing from the Blues who created 1.79 worth of expected goals.

Chelsea had big chances, as the metrics suggested, before the opener.

Madueke was a whisker away from giving them the lead after 20 minutes when Palace defender Marc Guehi allowed a high ball to drop over his shoulder, allowing Madueke to steal in but he swept wide.

Player ratings

Chelsea: Sanchez (6), Cucurella (6), Fofana (6), Colwill (7), Gusto (6), Caicedo (6), Enzo (6), Palmer (8), Madueke (7), Jackson (7), Neto (6)

Subs used: Felix (6), Nkunku (6), Mudryk (6)

Crystal Palace: Henderson (8), Clyne (7), Guehi (6), Richards (6), Mitchell (6), Munoz (7), Wharton (6), Hughes (5), Kamada (6), Eze (8), Mateta (6)

Subs used: Doucoure (8), Sarr (7), Schlupp (6)

Player of the match: Dean Henderson

Madueke went close again minutes later when he evaded Tyrick Mitchell and got his foot to Enzo Fernandez's fine raking ball only to be denied by a superb reaction save from Dean Henderson.

Chelsea's dominance did not last.

Palace kicked into gear after the break, aided by the introduction of Cheick Doucouré, and Eze's sumptuous curling effort from 20 yards drew them level on 53 minutes.

Doucoure's thunderous drive hit Fofana and the ball broke to the edge of the box for Eze, who with a nonchalant right foot scooped it wide of Robert Sanchez's dive and into the corner for 1-1.

The game switched and Palace looked the likelier to score a second. Sanchez fumbled Daichi Kamada's driven effort and Eze had another fine effort blocked away.

Chelsea rallied in the eight minutes of stoppage time as Jackson drilled into the side netting and was then denied one-on-one by another fine Henderson stop, who celebrated like he had scored the winner, when he had in fact earned Palace's first point of the season.

Opta stats: A rare draw

Crystal Palace have now failed to win any of their last 14 Premier League matches against Chelsea (D1 L13), their longest ongoing winless streak against a current Premier League outfit. Today's draw saw them pick up their first point against the Blues in the competition since October 2017, however.

This is only the third draw in this fixture in the Premier League in what was the 31st meeting between Chelsea and Crystal Palace (Chelsea W24, Crystal Palace W4), and the first draw since March 1995 - a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Eze has scored five Premier League goals from outside the box in 2024, the joint-most of any player along with Manchester City's Phil Foden. All of Eze's last three goals in the competition have been from outside the box.

Chelsea have scored 47 goals at Stamford Bridge in 17 matches in 2024, the most home goals of any club across Europe's big-five leagues (all competitions).

Teams

Chelsea Sanchez; Gusto (Mudryk 74), Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Enzo (c), Madueke (Nkunku 86), Palmer, Neto (Felix 58), Jackson
Subs Not Used Jorgensen, Disasi, Tosin, Veiga, Casadei, Dewsbury-Hall
Booked Neto, Fofana, Jackson, Palmer
Goals Jackson 25

Crystal Palace Henderson; Munoz, Richards, Clyne, Guehi, Mitchell; Wharton, Hughes (Doucoure 50); Kamada Schlupp 88), Eze, Mateta (Sarr 69)
Subs Not Used Matthews, Ward, Rodney, Umeh, Devenny, Agbinone
Booked Hughes, Munoz
Goals Eze 53

Attendance 39,298

Referee Jarred Gillett

VAR Michael Oliver