N'Golo Kante fired Chelsea to a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in their London derby at Selhurst Park this lunchtime.
A marginal offside call denied Olivier Giroud the opening goal on 29 minutes as he volleyed Jorginho's lofted pass across Vicente Guaita and into the bottom corner.
Giroud's France international teammate broke the deadlock on 51 minutes when he controlled a measured David Luiz pass and shot under the goalkeeper from 10 yards.
Palace's three-match unbeaten run ended with a whimper as they barely mustered a response, and the defeat could have been worse for the Eagles had the offside flag not thwarted Giroud again.
Relive how the action unfolded courtesy of Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates below.
Crystal Palace and Chelsea wind down their 2018 schedules with a London derby at Selhurst Park this lunchtime. The Eagles have already knocked off Manchester City over the festive period and will be hoping to pull off another giant-killing, so Chelsea must be on their game. Team news coming up...
CRYSTAL PALACE: Guatia; Wan-Bissaka, Tomkins, Sakho, Van Aanholt; Milivojevic, Kouyate, McArthur; Schlupp, Townsend, Zaha
Subs: Hennessey, Ward, Dann, Meyer, Puncheon, Wickham, Ayew
Subs: Hennessey, Ward, Dann, Meyer, Puncheon, Wickham, Ayew
CHELSEA: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Luiz, Rudiger, Alonso; Jorginho, Kante, Barkley; Willian, Hazard, Giroud
Subs: Caballero, Emerson, Zappacosta, Christensen, Ampadu, Kovacic, Morata
Subs: Caballero, Emerson, Zappacosta, Christensen, Ampadu, Kovacic, Morata
A pair of hamstring injuries suffered by Pedro and Callum Hudson-Odoi in Boxing Day's win over Watford triggers a recall for Olivier Giroud, an alteration to Chelsea's front line which will see the talismanic Eden Hazard shifted from his recent False 9 role and back to his usual home on the left wing.
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The only other change made by Maurizio Sarri from the 2-1 win at Vicarage Road is swapping Mateo Kovacic for Ross Barkley in midfield. The former Everton midfielder enjoyed a good run in the team in October before an injury setback so will be hoping to rediscover that breakthrough spell of form.
Alvaro Morata scored twice in the reverse fixture as Chelsea ran out 3-1 winners at Stamford Bridge on November 4, but has not scored in the Premier League since and it is a sign of his fading importance to Sarri that, even with that pair of attacking injuries, the Spaniard is only on the bench today.
Sarri chooses not to rotate too heavily, sticking with the back four that has started all but one of Chelsea's Premier League games this season, and also choosing not to rest either Jorginho or N'golo Kante in midfield. We saw what fatigue did to Spurs in the second half of their defeat to Wolves yesterday so it is a slight risk from Sarri only three days removed from the Watford match.
Roy Hodgson is not blessed with the same luxury of options that his opposite number has on his disposal so his choice to only make one change is less of a surprise. Jeffrey Schlupp replaces Max Meyer in the forward three to provide Palace with more natural width and a greater counter-attacking threat.
Wayne Hennessey has recovered from the back injury which has caused him to miss Palace's last three matches, but Hodgson keeps faith with summer signing Vicente Guaita in goal after two clean sheets out of three. Christian Benteke is still missing and a hamstring strain rules out Martin Kelly.
A wonderful Christmas present for Connor Wickham was his second appearance since November 2016 after a horrific spell with injury. The striker came on as a substitute in the 0-0 draw against Cardiff City on Boxing Day and again makes the bench today. Palace's recognised forwards have yet to score a Premier League goal this season so Wickham's return will be a welcome one to Hodgson.
Wilfried Zaha continues to operate in a centre forward role, similarly to how Hazard has for Chelsea. However, the Ivory Coast international has not had his usual influence on Palace's results as of late, failing to score and providing only one assist in his last 12 Premier League appearances.
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Despite Zaha going slightly off the boil, Palace welcome Chelsea during their best run of the campaign, having gone the last three games unbeaten including two wins and that big scalp at the Etihad Stadium. Another win today would put some distance between the Eagles and the relegation pack.
While Hodgson's men could not fully capitalise on their triumph of the champions when being held to a 0-0 draw by Cardiff, they were unfortunate not to beat the Bluebirds having created 31 chances - their highest number in a Premier League match in 15 seasons.
Another positive of the Cardiff stalemate yielded Palace their third successive home clean sheet in the Premier League. Today, the Eagles could keep four consecutive top-flight home clean sheets for the first time since a club record run of five in a row in 1992.
No team outside of the top four has kept more clean sheets than Crystal Palace's seven this season. Their 25 goals conceded is the lowest in the bottom half of the table and that should bid them well in their attempts to stay out of trouble after the New Year.
Palace have won only two of their past 14 Premier League London derbies at Selhurst Park, losing 10 of those including this season to Spurs, although they did hold Arsenal to a 2-2 draw. The last time they beat one of their capital rivals at home was a 2-1 triumph over Chelsea last November.
Crystal Palace have not won their final league match of a calendar year since 2011, when they beat Millwall in the Championship. Meanwhile, the Blues have not lost their final league fixture of a calendar year - when it has been away from home - since 2002, when they were beaten 2-0 at Leeds United.
Yesterday was a good day for the Blues with top-four rivals Arsenal and Spurs both losing. They are 14 points back from leaders Liverpool so their early-season title talk was definitely premature, but a return to the Champions League in their first season under Sarri would be a success, and they are on track.
Of course Eden Hazard remains absolutely crucial to Chelsea's fortunes. The Belgian has been directly involved in a league-high 19 Premier League goals this campaign, scoring 10 and setting up nine, and has Giroud back in the team to bounce off today, a combination which has produced his best form.
This is Giroud's first Premier League start since December 2 against Fulham, and the Frenchman only has one top-flight goal to his name this season - a late consolation in defeat to Tottenham. With Morata firmly out of favour, Sarri will be one of several managers on the lookout for a striker in January.
There may be outgoings from Stamford Bridge, as well as incomings next month. Sky Sports reports that Bayern Munich want to make talented teenager Callum Hudson-Odoi the next Jaden Sancho and give him the chance to launch his career in the Bundesliga. A £20m bid has apparently been lodged.
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While Chelsea's fans would be reluctant to lose an academy graduate of great potential, they may be more concerned about the future of the finished article that is Eden Hazard, whose links to Real Madrid continue to intensify. Hazard is yet to commit to a new contract and Sarri has said it is 'decision time'.
The Hazard-inspired win at Watford was only a fourth in eight matches for Chelsea, although three of those victories have come in the last four games. The Blues are striving to find the consistency that they showed earlier this season, recording successive league wins only once since October.
Having said that, Chelsea have been very consistent against bottom-half opposition this season, winning all nine of their matches against the bottom nine teams in the division. As it stands, 11th-placed West Ham United are the only team in the bottom half to take a point off Chelsea this season.
That draw with the Hammers is one of five previous away London derbies through which Chelsea have gone winless. Their last victory away at a capital rival was at Wembley against Spurs in August 2017. We have already discussed Palace's recent derby woes, so something has to give this lunchtime!
Around 10 minutes until kickoff now at Selhurst Park, which is hosting the first of four Premier League games today. Following this one, Burnley host West Ham, and Manchesters City and United face Southampton and Bournemouth respectively. Sports Mole will have live coverage of those latter two games from 1.15pm.
HEAD TO HEAD: Palace have won two of their last four league encounters with Chelsea, which is as many victories as they had registered in their previous 18 attempts. Defeat for the Blues today would be the first time they have suffered consecutive away losses to the Eagles.
This has the makings of a real test for Chelsea today, and a concern for Sarri may be the lack of attacking options on his bench. With Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Cesc Fabregas both missing, only Morata is a goalscoring threat among his substitutes so he will hope to get off to a quick start today.
Who needs Eden Hazard to rescue their Fantasy Football weekend? His recent away form is very good...
SCOUT: Eden Hazard is averaging 9.6pts per match in his last five #PL appearances away from home#FPL #CRYCHE pic.twitter.com/xFAVj6AhTs — Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) December 30, 2018
PREDICTION: The restored Hazard-Giroud combination could be key to securing Chelsea a narrow victory. Palace are well set to hit the hosts on the break but the end product of Townsend and Zaha can't always be counted on, whereas Chelsea have world-class quality in the shape of Hazard.
KICKOFF: Chelsea get the game underway, in their changed all-yellow strip. Craig Pawson is the man in the middle today...
It has been a bit of a scrappy start from both sides, with the ball bouncing to and fro with little control. That won't bother Palace too much but we know with 'Sarri-ball' that Chelsea like to get the ball down early and seize the impetus.
Palace are going to have to be very careful about the positions which Hazard is taking up. He clearly has the freedom to roam but has spent most of the early minutes centrally, trying to get close to Giroud and there have already been a couple of examples of how those two can link up so smoothly.
Regardless of the result today, Chelsea will remain fourth in the table but a victory would be significant in that it would take them five points clear of Arsenal in fifth, and to within two of Spurs in second. Sarri would certainly consider dropped points a missed opportunity considering yesterday's results.
YELLOW CARD! Alonso picks up a foolish early booking for dissent, punching the ball away in frustration after a cross-field ball from Luiz bounced over his head and out for a throw-in. With Townsend potentially running at him all afternoon, that could prove to be costly, and certainly an area that Palace look to expose.
The home crowd wants a penalty but there is no appeal from Zaha who had gone to ground during a tussle with Azpilicueta. Townsend had got to the right byline and stood up a cross for the Ivorian who simply lost a battle of strength with the Spaniard. That is not the service he will want from out wide.
CHANCE! Rudiger runs into space from a Willian free kick but cannot generate any power on a difficult header. The defender was facing away from goal and did his best to direct the effort at goal but it was easy pickings for Guaita. Palace will be wondering quite how the German found himself to be that free though.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka has quite rightly earned rave reviews for his emergence in the Palace team and today faces one of the biggest tests of his defensive capabilities against the left-side tandem of Alonso and Hazard. That attacking threat has curbed his own offensive instincts so far in this match.
SHOT! Chelsea go direct to Giroud whose layoff sets up Kante for a 25-yard shot which he drags a few yards wide.
Jorginho's reputation as one of the signings of the season has taken a hit in recent weeks, but the midfielder has made a couple of important defensive interventions already today, both against Townsend as the one-time England winger was breaking at full pace, and later when he was preparing to shoot.
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Not a single shot on target in that opening 20 minutes. There was a glut of Boxing Day goals in the Premier League but this round of fixtures has been a bit leaner thus far, with four of the six completed fixtures seeing two goals or fewer. Then again, Liverpool did make up for that with five against Arsenal!
A promising Wan-Bissaka run into the right side of the area is halted by two Chelsea defenders, and the eventual cross from Townsend is headed clear by Rudiger above Schlupp. Palace don't have the right kind of target in the box to be delivering crosses like that so might need to have a slight rethink.
Chelsea are finding it harder to get the ball into the feet of Hazard now, with Palace's three central midfielders all sitting off to limit the space between defence and midfield. The Belgian is having to come deep to get the ball but the hosts will be fairly happy to see him floating around the halfway line.
The visitors are perhaps guilty of overplaying a bit at the moment, with Jorginho and Hazard both having passed up shooting opportunities during a move in which they passed the ball around the edge of the box but barely looked penetrative. Guatia hasn't had anything to do and Sarri will want that changing.
DISALLOWED GOAL! The ball has been in the net, but Giroud's fine finish has rightly been ruled out for offside. Jorginho knocked a ball over the top for the Frenchman who struck the bouncing ball beautifully across Guatia and into the bottom corner, but he had just strayed beyond Tomkins before the pass was played.
Chelsea are having to play a very patient game to try to get beyond this Palace defence. This is where I would be looking at someone like Barkley to get on the ball and run with it to try to commit defenders and pull Palace out of shape as otherwise the passing from the Blues is pretty pedestrian.
Jorginho is not known for his goalscoring and it is clear to see why with a 30-yard effort which is sliced horribly wide. Palace will be very happy if they can continue to limit Chelsea to long-range efforts from Kante and Jorginho.
OFF THE POST! Willian on the other hand is very capable from distance, and he strikes the post with a free kick which drops over the wall and bounces up against the post. Guatia may have had the bottom corner covered and apparently got a touch on the ball according to the officials so Chelsea have a disputed corner.
SHOT! Willian tries his luck again with a low shot from in excess of 25 yards, and this time Guatia is required to push the ball around the post. McArthur had allowed the Brazilian to cut inside onto his dangerous right foot a little too easily.
OFF THE POST! Finally signs of life from Chelsea, although this would have been an unlikely way of scoring the opening goal. Barkley got in front of his man at the near post and contorted his body acrobatically to flick a corner against the outside of the woodwork.
Really important intervention from Barkley at the other end now as he slides in to pinch the ball from Zaha who was running onto a cross from Van Aanholt. The former Everton midfielder had to get that spot on otherwise it was penalty territory and he did time it perfectly.
Townsend does really well to keep the ball in play but nearly takes out a photographer in the process as his momentum took him towards the advertising hoardings. After checking the wellbeing of the young female in question, Townsend loses the race for the loose ball. Who said chivalry was dead?!
Slightly nervy moments in the Palace defence as Alonso fizzes in a low cross which they fail to clear on two occasions. A poor first touch from Willian in the box allows Sakho to pounce and clear the danger.
Chelsea are starting to apply a little pressure as we approach half time. Willian's cross is cleared but only as far as Barkley, whose 20-yard shot has all of the sting taken out of it by a deflection which takes it straight into Guatia's arms.
HALF TIME: PALACE 0-0 CHELSEA
The Premier League is famed for its unpredictability, but this first half at Selhurst Park has gone exactly as anticipated. Palace have sat back and been very difficult to break down, limiting Chelsea to long-range shots, and then tried to hit the Blues on the break when possible, although with little success so far.
It took 35 minutes for us to get any goalmouth action, and then Chelsea struck the post twice in as many minutes. Firstly, Willian rattled the woodwork with a dipping free kick, and another shot from distance earned the visitors a corner from which Barkley hit the outside of the post with a silky flick.
Having had the luxury of a couple of replays, it seems that Chelsea are actually unfortunate not to be 1-0 ahead. There were few complaints when Giroud's volley was ruled out as most of his body was ahead of Tomkins, but the foot of the Palace defender was arguably playing the Frenchman offside.
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STATS: The half-time numbers tell the story, with Chelsea enjoying 65% possession but only converting that into one shot on target. That is more than Palace have managed, and the Eagles have only had a couple of corners so haven't even had much chance of nicking one from a set piece.
Hodgson will surely be happy to keep things as they are for the timebeing, with Max Meyer and Jordan Ayew emerging as options in the last 20 minutes. Chelsea badly need some more creativity in midfield so not having Fabregas to call upon is a shame for Sarri. He may have to rely on Hazard once again.
The tide seems to be turning against Jorginho among Chelsea fans. Surely Kante would be more effective in that deepest midfield role?
The number of meaningless passes Jorghino has passed so far, it took mikel a whole Season to achieve #cfc #CRYCHE — A.B (@a_bajeh) December 30, 2018
KICKOFF: We are back underway at Selhurst Park with neither manager choosing to make a half-time change.
KICKOFF: We are back underway at Selhurst Park with neither manager choosing to make a half-time change.
The focus of Chelsea's attack since the restart has been down the left flank, and Hazard has begun the second half in a more traditional wide role. If he can help stretch the game it might provide the space for the likes of Barkley and Willian to have a greater attacking influence also.
GOAL! PALACE 0-1 CHELSEA (N'GOLO KANTE)
There has been lots of talk about the negatives of Kante's switch of role, well here is a clear example of the positive! The Frenchman makes a really good run inside Van Aanholt, and Luiz finds him with a measured lifted pass. Kante brings it down and squeezes a left-footed shot through Guatia from 10 yards.
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That goal so early in the second half will be a blow to Palace but it won't change Hodgson's game-plan just yet. The Eagles will still try to keep it tight and restrict Chelsea for the next 20 minutes and then change things up in the final 20 minutes. A point would be an excellent result from here.
Townsend checks back onto his left foot and whips in a vicious cross which Rudiger gets his head to with Schlupp lurking.
Azpilicueta makes a really important interception to prevent Van Aanholt from releasing Zaha into the area. The rest of Chelsea's defence had switched off expecting the whistle to be blown following a collision between Willian and Milivojevic, but the Spaniard was as on the ball as ever.
Palace are starting to be a little more proactive when going forward. Wan-Bissaka and Van Aanholt are both playing a little further forward and McArthur is also trying to get up in support.
Palace are starting to be a little more proactive when going forward. Wan-Bissaka and Van Aanholt are both playing a little further forward and McArthur is also trying to get up in support.
That strike from Kante was his third Premier League goal of the season - already his best scoring season in English football.
Azpilicueta was a great attacking outlet for Chelsea last season, forming a good relationship with Morata, but he hasn't been as adventurous this season. The Blues captain makes a rare venture to the Palace byline but Sakho, perhaps guilty of switching off for the goal, comes across to block the cross.
Over on the other flank Willian finds Wan-Bissaka a worthy adversary and runs the ball behind for a goal kick. The Palace youngster is very impressive when defending one-on-one, backing his speed and refusing to jump in.
SAVE! Hazard produces a lovely flick in the box to release the overlapping run of Willian, who tries to beat Guaita from a tight angle, with the free signing from Getafe pushing the ball away. Chelsea recycle play to Barkely whose attempted curler into the top corner is a few yards off target.
SUBSTITUTION: Selhurst Park grants Connor Wickham a warm return as the injury-hit striker replaces Jeffrey Schlupp. He should be able to provide this Palace attack with a better focal point, and hopefully Zaha, who has been on the periphary all game, will benefit from that.
Azpilicueta gets forward again but the cross along the ground is a poor one and Guatia can claim unchallenged.
DISALLOWED GOAL! Giroud produces another brilliant finish but again sees the offside flag deny him a rare Premier League goal in Chelsea colours. This was another marginal call that the forward would hope to be given in his favour, and he certainly put the ball away with aplomb, blasting past Guaita into the roof of the net.
SUBSTITUTION: On another day, Giroud may have been Chelsea's two-goal hero, but here he is limping off having rolled his ankle in the process of that second disallowed effort. Morata is on in his place - a man who did score two goals against Palace earlier this season, but hasn't scored since.
SUBSTITUTION: Palace have contained Chelsea in the last 10 minutes but nothing more, so Hodgson has gambled with an attacking change, bringing on Meyer in place of Kouyate.
Having been in a defensive mindset all game, it is difficult for Palace to change that so late in the day. Zaha has had one of the quieter games I've seen him have so it is difficult to see where their inspiration for an equaliser is coming from as we approach the final 10 minutes.
SUBSTITUTION: Emerson is finally starting to see some Premier League minutes for the Blues and he replaces Willian for the final stages here, a change designed to give Alonso more defensive support.
Meyer skilfully evades a couple of tackles on the edge of the Chelsea box but groans fill Selhurst Park as Zaha strays offside from the German's pass. That is a really good position wasted for the hosts.
Van Aanholt drives into the box and his shot is deflected behind for a corner. Tomkins and Sakho come forward but the delivery from Meyer does not beat the first man, and Selhurst groans again.
SHOT! Zaha cuts inside from the left edge of the area and tries to curl one into the far top corner but can't control his effort which was both high and wide.
SUBSTITUTION: Sarri winds the clock down with his final change as Kovacic replaces Barkley in the midfield three.
CHANCE! This could have been the chance that Hodgson and Palace were waiting for. Tomkins wins a knockdown for Wickham, whose left-footed poke on the half-volley from 12 yards out flies over the crossbar.
There will be four minutes of stoppage time, which begin with Sakho standing tall to stop Morata on a Chelsea counter.
Good goalkeeping from Kepa who comes off his line and punches emphatically clear from a hanging free kick sent in by Meyer.
FULL TIME: CRYSTAL PALACE 0-1 CHELSEA
Crystal Palace cannot follow in Leicester's footsteps in completely the Man City-Chelsea Christmas double, and in truth they rarely threatened to. It may be a narrow 1-0 win for Chelsea but they were rarely troubled by the Eagles following N'Golo Kante's goal. That is fourth place consolidated for the Blues.
That's it from our coverage from Selhurst Park. You can read our match report on the action here, and stick with Sports Mole for every kick from St Mary's as Manchester City travel to Southampton in need of a win. Thanks for joining me this afternoon. Until next time, goodbye!
Written by
Joe Fish
Joe Fish
