Chelsea’s Premier League opener ended without a goal but not without controversy, as Eberechi Eze’s stunning early free-kick was wiped out by VAR for an infringement almost never seen enforced. Crystal Palace were the sharper side for much of a sweltering afternoon at Stamford Bridge, carving the better chances before Enzo Maresca’s raft of debutants injected late urgency that still fell short of a breakthrough.

For the visitors, Oliver Glasner’s compact, hard-running unit once again showed why they relish taking on the elite. Palace pressed with intelligence, built cleanly through Adam Wharton and Will Hughes, and were inches from a signature away win. Chelsea, crowned world champions only 35 days earlier, looked short of rhythm after a truncated pre-season, their expensively rebuilt attack misfiring until the bench tilted the flow after the interval.

A free-kick to remember — and to forget — as the rulebook takes centre stage

The game’s defining moment arrived on 13 minutes. Eze, restored to the XI despite intense speculation over a move, whipped a ferocious free-kick beyond Robert Sánchez and into the far corner. The away end erupted; Eze’s teammates mobbed him. Then came the check. Referee Darren England, sent to the monitor, ruled that Marc Guéhi had encroached within one metre of Chelsea’s wall as the ball was struck — a law introduced in 2019 to prevent blocking tactics. The goal was chalked off and an indirect free-kick awarded to Chelsea.

Palace’s anger was understandable. The infringement was clear under the letter of the law, but its application is rare and, to Glasner’s mind, a dangerous precedent if enforced pedantically. From Chelsea’s perspective the decision was a reprieve and a warning: Palace’s dead-ball craft and willingness to disrupt the wall had already cut through an unsettled back line.

Palace punch first while Chelsea stagger through a ragged first half

Disappointment barely slowed the visitors. Two minutes after the VAR call, Wharton spun beautifully in midfield and slid Jean-Philippe Mateta through on goal; Sánchez stood tall to block. Eze tested the goalkeeper again from range, a rising effort tipped over. Palace’s wide defenders, Daniel Muñoz and Tyrick Mitchell, locked down the flanks, while Guéhi and Joachim Andersen stepped in front of passes to keep Chelsea’s combinations sterile.

Maresca’s side, by contrast, were bitty. Without the injured Levi Colwill — so central to Chelsea’s first-phase build-up — and with Tosin Adarabioyo also unavailable, teenager Josh Acheampong endured an education at the heart of the reshaped back three. Cole Palmer struggled to find pockets; João Pedro was crowded out; debutant winger Jamie Gittens found little joy against Muñoz. Chelsea still carved two moments: Marc Cucurella’s glancing header was hooked off the line by a covering defender, and Trevoh Chalobah blazed over from close range.

Maresca turns to the bench; the tempo lifts but the net stays untouched

The restart brought a tactical reset and fresh legs. Estêvão Willian replaced Gittens and immediately gave Mitchell a different problem, carrying at pace and shooting over from a promising angle. Liam Delap’s introduction added direct running and penalty-area presence; one late volley was straight at Dean Henderson, who handled cleanly all afternoon. Andrey Santos arrived to drive from midfield and side-footed over in stoppage time.

For all the late pressure, the numbers underlined Chelsea’s issue: 19 attempts, only three on target — one fewer than Palace. The home side’s new-look attack, assembled at vast expense, showed flashes but lacked the final action. Palace, compact and disciplined, carried a constant counter threat even as the block dropped in the final quarter.

The cost of a compressed pre-season — and why patience may be required at the Bridge

Context matters. Chelsea’s Club World Cup triumph truncated their lead-in to just 13 days, and Maresca’s XI bore the seams of an accelerated integration: João Pedro up top, Palmer floating, Gittens left, Pedro Neto right, with Enzo Fernández asked to knit it together. Later came debut cameos from Estêvão, Delap and Santos, each offering a glimpse of the plan without the polish of repetition.

The spine still needs time and, perhaps, help. With Colwill sidelined and Adarabioyo short, the demand on Chalobah and Acheampong in the first phase was high; misplaced passes fed Palace’s press. The goodwill from a trophy-laden summer remains — the pre-match celebration produced one of the loudest atmospheres here since the pandemic — but this felt like points dropped rather than a statement made.

Palace’s present power — and an uncertain future — on show

For Palace, the performance fit the Glasner pattern: assertive pressing cues, quick verticality once the trap is sprung, and set-play detail that can turn tight games. The XI mirrored the one that won the FA Cup and then the Community Shield, save for Daichi Kamada’s injury opening a slot for Hughes. Wharton was outstanding in the pivot, threading lines and steering tempo; Mateta worked channels relentlessly; the back four protected Henderson superbly.

Yet the subplot loomed. Spurs are in talks for Eze; Liverpool have discussed Guéhi; an Atalanta bid for Mateta was rebuffed earlier in the window; Manchester United’s interest in Wharton bubbles for next year. Palace’s away end gave full voice to grievances about the multi-club ownership ruling that bumped them from the Europa League to the Conference League, and their ire only grew when VAR erased Eze’s moment. Holding Chelsea, though, underlined that the present group remains a match for anyone.

Manager voices frame a fair result

Maresca argued his team “created enough” to win while acknowledging Palace’s organisation and Chelsea’s lack of sharpness after a minimal pre-season. He expects improvements “slowly, slowly” as minutes and automatisms accumulate.

Glasner, pleased with “excellent defensive work,” warned the Premier League to be careful about disallowing goals for wall encroachment that occurs around most free-kicks — while accepting that the letter of the law was applied. Between those positions lay the truth of the contest: Chelsea had volume without incision; Palace had clarity without the finishing touch.

Key moments that shaped the stalemate

Chelsea threatened first when Cucurella’s third-minute flicked header was cleared off the line. Eze’s 13-minute free-kick was ruled out after VAR determined Guéhi was within a metre of the wall as he jostled Moisés Caicedo. On 15 minutes, Wharton’s slide-rule pass sent Mateta clear, Sánchez saving. After the break, Estêvão blazed over, Sánchez tipped a powerful Eze strike over the bar, Delap’s late volley went straight at Henderson, and Santos lifted a stoppage-time chance over.

Those flashpoints framed a fair draw: Palace’s early precision earned them the game’s biggest calls and chances, while Chelsea’s bench injected late threat without the finish to tilt the outcome.

What it means and what comes next

Chelsea leave with frustration and a reminder that chemistry takes time; the framework is visible, the finishing touch elusive. The priority now is rhythm and a steadier first phase out of defence as fixtures begin to pile up.

Palace depart encouraged: the structure held, transitions bit, and the away clean sheet at a ‘big-six’ ground remains a marker of their top-end credentials — even as transfer noise hums. If this is Eze’s farewell, it was a performance worthy of the player he has become — minus the goal the law, not the game, took away.