Eberechi Eze was denied a brilliant free-kick goal and potential fairytale ending in what could be his final appearance for Crystal Palace in the goalless Premier League draw at Chelsea.
The midfielder, 27, was a doubt for selection amid ongoing talks with Tottenham, but started for the visitors at Stamford Bridge and powered home a free-kick from 20 yards in the 13th minute.
However, the strike was ruled out by referee Darren England after a VAR check because Palace defender Marc Guehi – also linked with a move away to Liverpool – was within one metre of Chelsea’s wall when the free-kick was taken.
The rule, which has been in place since 2019, is rarely applied but cost Crystal Palace, who missed further chances through striker Jean-Philippe Mateta and Maxence Lacroix, and were the better team earlier on.
Chelsea celebrated becoming world champions over the summer before kick-off but delivered a flat first-half display. Their best chances fell to substitute debutants Estevao Willian, Liam Delap and Andrey Santos after the break.
It was just 35 days since Chelsea won the Club World Cup final against Paris St-Germain in New Jersey, which shortened their pre-season preparation to just 13 days.
Five players made league debuts for the Blues on Sunday – Estevao, Delap, Santos, Joao Pedro and Jamie Gittens – after another busy summer of business at Stamford Bridge.
By contrast, Crystal Palace started their own pre-season campaign a day before Chelsea’s 2024-25 campaign had even finished.
And the final two weeks of the window could be crucial for the Eagles with two of their star players potentially leaving the club.
