Antonio Conte does not like to talk about games turning on luck, but little else explains Chelsea’s loss to Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Chelsea’s stats sheet on Saturday’s game against Crystal Palace can be called the Book of Three’s. Chelsea trebled Crystal Palace in nearly every aspect of the game. The Blues had 73% possession. They had three times as many corners and shots, and completed over three times as many passes.
The Blues even had more tackles than Crystal Palace, despite hardly ever being out of possession. Just about the only statistic where the Blues trailed the visitors was… goals.
Chelsea dominated Crystal Palace more thoroughly than many of the teams they have defeated this season. Beyond the statistical tilt, Antonio Conte’s side played some of the most beautiful and brilliant football of the season.
Must Read: Chelsea fall to Crystal Palace: Player ratings from a distressing day
Eden Hazard was transcendent in the first half, earning every comparison to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Beyond his individual efforts, his interplay with Pedro, Cesc Fabregas and even N’Golo Kante exemplified the beautiful football Roman Abramovich wants and the sexy football Antonio Conte can deliver. Marcos Alonso showed one of the best pieces of footwork of the year, combing an elastico with a nutmeg while on the move. And yet, and yet, and yet…..
Chelsea were not perfect against Crystal Palace. The defence completely shut down for 90 seconds, and Crystal Palace brilliantly exploited the gaffes. The back-line – even Cesar Azpilicueta – was completely absent for the second goal.
David Luiz showed much of the ill-discipline adventurism that pulls him out of position. That exposes Thibaut Courtois to the mercy of Gary Cahill’s ability to cover. Luiz was lucky to end the game on the pitch after taunting Craig Pawson to book him late in the second half.
"Saturday for sure was not our day because we created a lot of chances to score a goal and we dominated the game… Our performance was good but I don’t want to use this word unlucky because I don’t like this word. I think we at least deserved to draw the game but I know football very well and sometimes it can happen this type of game. – Chelsea FC"
Antonio Conte trusts his planning and his players. He will not make any drastic changes to the system that brought them this far based on what was, by all accounts, a fluke loss. Even if Conte had more than 72 hours to prepare for the next game, what could he do? Aside from perhaps a few sessions working on finishing opportunities, Chelsea showed few areas for improvement.
Next: Chelsea risk becoming too dependent on Victor Moses at wing-back
Win or lose, Antonio Conte reviews matches with the same critical eye. How Chelsea played against Crystal Palace will say much more to him than the result. Sometimes, no matter what you call it, you just get unlucky.