Four takeaways from Crystal Palace’s 3-0 loss to Chelsea – as sloppy mistakes get punished by rampant hosts

In Patrick Vieira’s Premier League debut as Crystal Palace’s head coach, the Frenchman saw his side fall to a 3-0 defeat to Thomas Tuchel’s rampant Chelsea.

Vieira named an unchanged line-up from the side that beat Watford 3-1 in their last pre-season fixture. Vieira handed Marc Guehi his Palace debut and named four of the club’s academy products on the bench.

The three-time Premier League winner had been lining up with a 4-3-3 during pre-season. However, to combat the threat of Chelsea’s attacking full-backs, Vieira chose to start with a 4-4-2 at Stamford Bridge, with Wilfried Zaha and Jean-Philippe Mateta as the two up front.

SLOPPY MISTAKES 

In pre-season, Palace fans had been treated to a side that played out from the back, looked composed on the ball, and attempted to carve out opportunities themselves rather than hit teams on the counter-attack. But, under the high-pressure environment of Tuchel’s ruthless Chelsea, Vieira’s side crumbled.

After giving away numerous silly fouls on the edge of their own area, Marcus Alonso eventually punished the Eagles.

For their second, after being unable to clear Guaita’s parry away from goal, Christian Pulisic slotted home Chelsea’s second and gave the hosts breathing room heading into the second half.

Vieira’s side gave Trevoh Chalobah time and space on the ball to shoot from distance and put the game out of Palace’s reach.

MORE ADDITIONS NEEDED 

This game was a free hit for Vieira – Palace and Chelsea will not be jostling for positions in the same area of the Premier League table throughout the season. But he might have been disappointed with the way his side relinquished early control of the game.

After being penned in their own half for the majority of the first 45, Palace’s resilience finally broke in the 26th minute. Following a foul on Mason Mount on the edge of the area, Marcus Alonso whipped an unstoppable free-kick into the roof of Vicente Guaita’s net, leaving the Spanish shotstopper rooted to the spot.

Vieira did cite the forward and midfield positions as to where he believes that his side is “short,” and with the window closing in two weeks, the Eagles must swoop quickly to ensure that every piece of the Frenchman’s jigsaw is ready to be slotted into place.

NO NEED TO PANIC

While the defeat wouldn’t have been the perfect start that Vieira dreamed of when the fixture list was released, there were plenty of positives for the head coach to build on for Brentford next Saturday.

The players are still getting up to speed with his philosophy, using double sessions on the training pitch to adapt to Vieira’s style of play. Also, bedding in the likes of Michael Olise, Joachim Andersen and more late additions in the transfer window will only serve as a tool to speed up the transition.

A SWITCH IN FORMATION

The last time Crystal Palace beat the current European champions was in 2017, so little was expected from today’s result.

The Eagles, in recent years, have chosen to defend deep, attempt to fend off any attacks and hit teams on the counter, with their last visit to Stamford Bridge resulting in a 4-0 defeat with zero shots on target.

However, once the Eagles switched to a 3-4-3, this afternoon’s second-half attacking performance slightly improved.

Wilfried Zaha nearly brought the Eagles back into the game, but Rudiger’s expertly timed tackle thwarted the Ivorian.

Palace’s next fixture will be at Selhurst Park against Premier League new boys Brentford.