Chelsea’s homecoming as newly crowned world champions never quite caught fire. Their 0-0 opener against Crystal Palace was defined instead by a rare refereeing intervention that ruled out a spectacular Eberechi Eze free-kick after 13 minutes. Referee Darren England ruled the effort out on review because Marc Guehi was deemed within a metre of the Chelsea wall at the moment of impact, turning a dream moment for Palace into an indirect free-kick and a reset.
It was a decision that matched the stop-start nature of a feisty London derby. Palace, slick and organised, had the better of the early exchanges, with Jean-Phillipe Mateta forcing Robert Sánchez into action and Eze later broke dangerously on the counter. Chelsea rallied after the interval and introduced debutants Estêvão Willian, Liam Delap and Andrey Santos to tilt the momentum, yet Dean Henderson’s goal was rarely truly threatened despite 19 attempts, only three of which were on target. The points were shared, and the talking point was unmistakable.
A free-kick, a metre, and a mood swing
Eze’s free-kick was everything a big-match moment should be: pace, dip and precision from 20 yards, past Sánchez and seemingly into Palace lore. Then VAR James Bell alerted England, and the referee judged Guehi to have strayed within one metre of the wall while grappling with Moisés Caicedo. The law, in place since 2019 yet seldom enforced, was applied to the letter. England relayed the decision to the crowd; the restart was an indirect free-kick to Chelsea and a disallowed goal for Palace.