The Pride of London
Fansided

Chelsea 2-0 Crystal Palace: Three lessons learnt in FA Cup

By Tan Yi Hao

Chelsea's English midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek (R) celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal of the English FA Cup semi-final football match between Chelsea and Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium in north west London on April 17, 2022. - - NOT FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING USE / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP) / NOT FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING USE / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea's English midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek (R) celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal of the English FA Cup semi-final football match between Chelsea and Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium in north west London on April 17, 2022. - - NOT FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING USE / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP) / NOT FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING USE / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 17: Antonio Rudiger of Chelsea during The FA Cup Semi-Final match between Chelsea and Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium on April 17, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 17: Antonio Rudiger of Chelsea during The FA Cup Semi-Final match between Chelsea and Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium on April 17, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images) /

2. Chelsea’s shaky defence

Perhaps still slightly unsettled from the two late goals that Real Madrid scored to knock them out of this season’s Champions League, the Blues’ back line still appeared to be rather shaky against Crystal Palace. While the Eagles did not dominate possession, Crystal Palace continued to pose a legitimate threat from various set-piece opportunities. Patrick Vieira’s side was unlucky not to have scored at least once on the day given the quality attacks it was putting together.

Thomas Tuchel will undoubtedly have been unsettled by what he saw today given the fact he first established his side as a resolute defensive unit when coming to the club from Paris Saint-Germain. This is especially true given the identity has stuck with the Blues for well over a year now. Andreas Christensen, for one, does not possess the presence or aerial ability of Thiago Silva. The Blues simply do not look as assured when placed on the back foot without the Brazilian veteran at the heart of the Chelsea defence.

Moreover, Jorginho’s poor performance at the base of the Blues’ midfield served only to worsen the pressure that the back line had to contend with throughout the afternoon. Guilty of dwelling on the ball on multiple occasions in the first half, it is a tiny miracle that Chelsea did not concede as a result of Jorginho’s carelessness when in possession. It’s hard not to give him a bit of the benefit of the doubt given Kovacic’s early substitution, which had to play a small part in the way the Italian maestro approached the match. Nevertheless, with difficult games against Arsenal and West Ham  United coming up in the next few days, individual mistakes like the ones on display Sunday have to be minimised. If Chelsea wants to come away with the maximum number of points and further solidify its hold on a top four finish in the Premier League, it needs to be near flawless.

Home/FA Cup