Chelsea vs Crystal Palace result: Five things we learned as Frank Lampard’s side go second with win

Chelsea 2-0 Crystal Palace: Goals from Tammy Abraham and Christian Pulisic secured Chelsea a victory that moves them above Manchester City and into second

(Getty Images)

Chelsea moved second in the Premier League table with a battling win over Crystal Palace.

With the visitors set up to frustrate, Frank Lampard’s side endured a first half with plenty of toil but little quality as Palace packed men behind the ball and defended resolutely.

However, a delightful flick from Willian teed up Tammy Abraham for the opener soon after the interval, and Christian Pulisic added a second ten minutes from full-time to take Chelsea above Manchester City.

Roy Hodgson’s side have now failed to win any of their last four Premier League games, and are yet to keep a clean sheet away from home this season.

Here are five things we learned from the game.

1. Frank Lampard’s Mason Mount gamble pays off

With Jorginho suspended and Ross Barkley injured, Frank Lampard risked Mason Mount, who came through a late fitness test after injuring his ankle against Ajax in midweek. Mount was installed as a number ten for this game, ahead of Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante who operated as a defensive midfield pairing.

Mount has operated on the left of a midfield three this season and such a role might have been favoured today in the absence of Chelsea’s best midfield distributor, but perhaps owing to the uncertainty over his fitness Lampard selected him in a role that required less up-and-down shuttling, and allowed him to thrive as a creator behind Tammy Abraham, with two energetic players in Kovacic and Kante doing the legwork behind him. The gamble paid off.

2. Chelsea’s strong squad

One of the inhibitions that a transfer ban is designed to give punished clubs is to harm the depth of the squad. While it is more obvious to focus on the fact that procuring the star names is not possible, you cannot add the stocking-fillers, the squad men to add depth and push for places to prevent complacency.

Chelsea have found a way around it. Like or loathe the manner in which they have stock-piled young players over the last decade or so, it meant they were not left desperately short of stock this summer when the ban was levied. The emergence of four or five first-team regulars from those who were part of the loan diaspora previously has only aided the depth of options available to Frank Lampard.

Lampard has a strong squad to work with (REUTERS)

The emergence of so many promising young players at Chelsea this season has strengthened their squad significantly. Benched today were Cesar Azplicueta, a returning Andreas Christensen, Olivier Giroud, Michy Batshuayi and one of the most promising young players in England in Callum Hudson-Odoi, players who can all push those selected in the first eleven on. Consider that Antonio Rudiger, Barkley, Jorginho, Pedro and Marcos Alonso could all return to the squad in the not-too-distant future, and that Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be back at some point from a more serious injury, and Chelsea suddenly have real competition for places.

If Chelsea are to sustain their excellent run of form, that will be vital. That they have managed to be so consistent recently even with a slew of first-team injuries is credit to the way Lampard has managed his squad so far, and there is no real reason to think they will fade. Indeed, as those new faces develop, they may get even better.

3. Palace’s compact and competent set-up works in the first half…

Roy Hodgson has built his Crystal Palace side really well. They set up in a relatively simple 4-5-1 that can morph into a 4-3-3 when moving forward, with a tightly packed defensive four and three workmanlike midfielders that provide extra shielding through the middle. They are stout and stodgy in that midfield area, particularly when James McArthur starts ahead of the livelier Jeffrey Schlupp, with Luka Milivojevic one of the most positionally-sound defensive midfielders in the league.

It is a team built to frustrate, particularly on the road, and particularly against teams that struggle to penetrate through the width. Chelsea’s set-up today was largely funnelling inside, and Palace’s structure combatted it well, with the defence and midfield strong in the tackle and the block to keep them out in the first half.

4. But frailties show early in the second

Crystal Palace are yet to keep a clean sheet away from home this season, and while their structure is a sound one, their passive style invites pressure. Against a team with the confidence and quality that this Chelsea team possess at the moment, and at some point you are likely to be unlocked.

Tammy Abraham provided the telling moment at the end of a purposeful movement from Chelsea. Mateo Kovacic dragged the midfield slightly wide and then drove inside, firing a good pass in to the feet of Willian, drifting inside between the lines. With the midfield dragged slightly out of position, the centre-backs were unsure about whether to bite in on Willian in the ‘D’, opening a gap for the Brazilian to produce a delightful flick and tee up Tammy Abraham for another goal.

James was outstanding (Getty Images)

5. Reece James earns his stripes

Installed into the Chelsea side for this fixture, Reece James made his first Premier League start after a number of impressive cameo showings in recent weeks. James is very much a coming force after drawing rave reviews during a loan spell at Wigan, and produced a full Chelsea debut showing to prove he can take the right-back berth on a more permanent basis.

Wilfried Zaha seldom had a sniff throughout the 90 minutes, partly due to Crystal Palace’s commitment to defending, but also due to James’ excellent tracking, tackling and natural positional sense. He looked comfortable in possession and combined nicely with Willian down the right, offering an outlet and adding threat down the flank.

On this evidence, Cesar Azpilicueta will have a real struggled pushing James out of the side. Just as Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori have taken their opportunities and ran with them so far this season, James seems set to join the youth movement in the Chelsea first team.