Adam Sells’ takeaways from Crystal Palace’s 2-1 defeat at Chelsea

Crystal Palace suffered a late 2-1 defeat at Chelsea on Wednesday night.

The Eagles are winless in their last eight Premier League outings.

Here are Adam Sells’ takeaway from Stamford Bridge.

A TOUGH ONE TO TAKE

This defeat was the proverbial ‘Bitter pill to swallow.’

Palace fought gamely throughout, giving as good as they got and were extremely unlucky not to come away with anything to show for their efforts.

Following the disappointing performance at home to Bournemouth, Roy Hodgson’s team have turned in four very decent displays against teams that will almost certainly be in the upper echelons of the Premier League table come May.

Results may have been hard to come by, but performances have been good of late. It is clear the players are performing for the manager, and it is hard to see who he is not able to get a tune out of.

Competing against a Chelsea squad that was put together for a cost of around £1bn, the challenge was great, but Palace had more attempts on goal both on and off target – underlining the positive approach.

ROBUST RICHARDS A BIG PLUS

Many fans have been critical of Hodgson’s deployment of central defender Chris Richards as a defensive midfielder.

But his presence and physicality have been a big plus. His blockbuster challenge high up the pitch led to Michael Olise’s equaliser on the stroke of half-time and the likeable American’s form has offset the loss of Cheick Doucoure somewhat.

The disappointing run of results would have been tempered had Palace not suffered the defeats at the hands of Everton and Luton when the Eagles were superior in every metric apart from goals scored, conceding five goals without Doucoure on the field.

If Richards had been utilised in this way in these games, one is inclined to think five goals would have not been lost. Those calling the manager out would be wise to look at the reasons behind his experienced mindset.

SUBSTITUTIONS: STICK OR TWIST

Social media was awash after the game with fans complaining about in-game management. The substitutions made by Hodgson and those not, were the source of much discussion.

With the match in the balance at 1-1, Hodgson’s counterpart, Mauricio Pochettino shuffled his pack in order to try and wrestle control of the game.

Rather than criticise the Palace boss for not doing the same, what should be considered is the effect his team was having on the opposition.

With the score level and the visitors looking threatening there was not much wrong and a huge need for change.

This is the lot of a manager, in hindsight, everybody has theories about what may and may not have happened if certain changes were made.

With 79 minutes on the clock, a tiring Jordan Ayew was withdrawn, and there must have been some temptation to throw on Matheus Franca.

But if you are looking likely to come away from Stamford Bridge with a very good point, it also represents a huge risk in sacrificing sone defensive stability, so it was certainly understandable that Hodgson opted for Jeffrey Schlupp.

Once trailing to the late penalty, there was little to lose and Franca was immediately introduced for the remainder of stoppage time.

TAKE THE POSITIVES AND GO AGAIN

Results may have not been a fair reflection of Palace’s efforts in the past four games, but they must keep believing and go again in Saturday’s London derby, when Brentford visit SE25.

Both teams have suffered wretched luck with injuries and results of late.

Though Eberechi Eze was not at his brilliant best at Stamford Bridge, getting 90 minutes under his belt will certainly have helped as he seeks to regain full-match sharpness.

This fixture was the first time both he and Michael Olise have been on the pitch together all season for the full duration, which will be a big boost.

Perhaps Saturday presents the best opportunity to start Franca alongside them. The Brazilian has shown in recent cameos that he looks an exciting talent and with the ability the trio have to go past players, the weekend’s clash against an opponent that may be a little lower on confidence might just be the moment.