Chelsea deepened Crystal Palace’s woes with a convincing 3-1 Premier League victory, extending their dominance over the Eagles to 18 straight unbeaten head-to-head encounters.
Palace showed early intent as Jean-Philippe Mateta pounced on a loose touch from Benoît Badiashile after combining with Ismaïla Sarr, but Robert Sánchez stood firm to deny the striker.
Chelsea responded with chances of their own, as Enzo Fernández fired over after João Pedro failed to make clean contact with Marc Cucurella’s delivery.
Moisés Caicedo also went close, sending a promising effort narrowly wide after the ball sat up kindly for him.
At the other end, Reece James caused panic with a long throw, allowing Sarr a sight of goal inside the six-yard box, but the winger could only steer his attempt wide.
The breakthrough arrived in the 34th minute, courtesy of a costly error from Jaydee Canvot. Estêvão capitalised on the defender’s misplaced pass, outpaced Tyrick Mitchell, and coolly slotted beyond Dean Henderson to give Chelsea the lead.
Palace attempted to respond before the interval, but Fernández’s defensive header almost proved disastrous as Estêvão burst through again, only to drag his shot wide.
Chelsea needed just five minutes after the restart to double their advantage. Estêvão slipped João Pedro in behind, and the forward cut inside Adam Wharton before rifling the ball through Henderson’s legs.
Estêvão remained a constant menace, forcing a save from Henderson with a curling effort, while Cucurella’s looping shot was also gathered by the Palace goalkeeper.
However, Henderson was at fault moments later, failing to deal with Reece James’ cross, and when Canvot handled Pedro’s follow-up, a penalty was awarded. Fernández stepped up and dispatched it with confidence.
Palace’s problems mounted as Adam Wharton was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in quick succession for fouls on Caicedo, ruling him out of the upcoming clash with Nottingham Forest.
Although Sánchez produced a fine save to keep out Jefferson Lerma late on, Palace eventually found a consolation goal when Chris Richards reacted quickest to convert from close range in the 88th minute.
Chelsea saw out nine minutes of stoppage time to seal the win, lifting them to fourth place. The victory also marked a notable milestone for Liam Rosenior, who became the first English manager since Steven Gerrard in 2021 to win his opening two Premier League matches in charge of a club.
For Palace, the defeat extended their winless run to 11 competitive matches, underlining their growing struggles.
