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Reaction to Chelsea's 0-0 draw against Palace: two points dropped or one point gained?
17 Plays19 days ago
Hello everyone, welcome to the Daily Chelsea podcast, the long-awaited 25-26 season has got underway – with a draw – 0-0 at home against Crystal Palace
After all that optimism with the Club World Cup win and two pre-season wins against Leverkusen and AC Milan, it was an end-to-end 0-0 draw – but still a 0-0 draw nonetheless
Two points dropped, one point gained, well that depends on how glass half full or empty you are – Palace of course have beaten Man City and Liverpool in recent months
You’re listening to Martin and in this episode we’re going to reflect on the game, what were the things we learnt, do we need more tweaks in the transfer window with 2 weeks left?
Host: Martin Li
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Transcript
Season Opener: Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace
00:00:10
Global Sports Podcast Network
Hello everyone, welcome to the Daily Chelsea podcast. The long-awaited 25-26 season has gotten away with a draw. 0-0 at home against Crystal Palace. After all that optimism with the Club World Cup win, two pre-season wins of course against Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan.
00:00:29
Global Sports Podcast Network
It was, I suppose, an end-to-end draw, but still a 0-0 draw nonetheless. Two points dropped, or one point gained. it That depends, I guess, on how glass half full or half empty you are. Palace, of course, have beaten Manchester City and Liverpool in recent months. You're listening to to Martin. Over the next 10 minutes or so, we're going to reflect on the game.
00:00:55
Global Sports Podcast Network
What were the things we learnt? Do we need more tweaks in the transfer window with two weeks left or not?
00:01:43
Global Sports Podcast Network
Welcome back to the Daily Chelsea podcast. um Yeah, it was... it was but For a nil-nil, it was a good game, but it was nil-nil. And I think when you look at the stats post-match, you know, Chelsea had 72% possession, had 19 shots, but only three on target. And Palace actually had more shots on target ah from 11 shots they had. So...
00:02:11
Global Sports Podcast Network
Stats tell a different different picture. um i think we start from the start. Obviously, this is the first ah Premier League match of the season.
00:02:23
Global Sports Podcast Network
i was interested. I was there over the weekend as as I was there for one of the pre-season matches as well. um And I was very keen just to see what the atmosphere would be like.
00:02:36
Global Sports Podcast Network
um You know, the last couple of seasons, the first game of the season has actually been really, really ah hot in terms of atmosphere, mainly because we had, you know, you will recall, we had some new signings.
00:02:47
Global Sports Podcast Network
um I remember the sort of the first match after sort of Enzo Fernandes, Moises Caicedo signed, everyone was super excited there. And I just wanted to get a pulse of, of the atmosphere, um At the start of this season, you know the transfer window hasn't been probably the the biggest talking point this summer. The biggest talking point for sure would have been the Club World Cup win.
00:03:07
Global Sports Podcast Network
um I was keen to see how optimistic we were feeling. And I think the mood generally was most people were quite optimistic. um I think, as I say, we haven't done the talking necessarily on the transfer window.
Digital Ticketing System Rollout Issues
00:03:22
Global Sports Podcast Network
So it's not like one or two players that we can massively bond over to be super excited about.
00:03:27
Global Sports Podcast Network
a la Moises Caicedo and Fernandes. But still, very strong atmosphere. Probably not as strong as... i wonder if it was just you know Sunday 2pm, not exactly Saturday 5.30 a Saturday sort of sort of vibe um and i think last season um or the last couple of seasons our first game has either been sort of a liverpool or a manchester city so crystal palace doesn't exactly whet the appetite as much with no disrespect of course to to crystal palace still a london derby um but the atmosphere was strong it was also added to by the fact that um chelsea on their social media and on web on their websites were telling everyone to get there early
00:04:12
Global Sports Podcast Network
um um One, really, it was um Chelsea are now rolling out a new digital ticketing system. So to sort of alleviate any um any weights at the gates, there was definitely a desire to get people in early um just to avoid the queuing, switching from ah from a physical ticket to a QR code ticket.
00:04:34
Global Sports Podcast Network
But also there was a big fanfare over the fact that there'll be a big reveal made pre-match, you know, everyone get in your seats 30 minutes before kickoff, there'll be a big reveal.
00:04:47
Global Sports Podcast Network
And, you know, the social media channels were going, um, going haywire in the days leading up to it. Would it be a really, um, a really cool signing that no one had expected? Um, would it be announcing the Chelsea third kit?
00:05:01
Global Sports Podcast Network
Both would have been pretty, pretty cool. um But all it was was essentially a banner um just outside Stamford Bridge um unveiling of a new a new banner, which says essentially world champions.
00:05:18
Global Sports Podcast Network
um Looks really cool. Don't get me wrong. Definitely the kitting around the stadium, you can tell, is a very sort of cool golden, golden white vibe to it to celebrate the the win against PSG over the summer. But for all that fanfare, people were thinking it would be, you know, a mic drop moment with a transfer incoming that, you know, Fabrizio Romano hadn't picked up on.
00:05:40
Global Sports Podcast Network
Even the third kit was a good shout because we're due to but due to launch that shortly soon. um But no, big anticlimax. And you do have to think it was more just a ploy to try to get people in, um given it was this new digital ticketing system QR code
Eze's Disallowed Free Kick: A Controversy?
00:05:59
Global Sports Podcast Network
rollout.
00:05:59
Global Sports Podcast Network
Which, by the way, still a ton of people were stranded outside the stadium and there were still a ton of queues anyway. But in any case, atmosphere was strong. Definitely, you know, made stronger by this announcement, which actually didn't materialise anything.
00:06:50
Global Sports Podcast Network
Welcome back to the Daily Chelsea podcast as we wrap up the weekend's draw against Crystal Palace. Again, not much in terms of actual clear-cut chances to talk about. The biggest one, and everyone's been swatting away at the law book of football, um was Eze's free kick.
00:07:09
Global Sports Podcast Network
Beautiful free kick. Um... sort of midway through the first half, 20 yards out, went for power, went right through the wall, which I'll clarify what I mean in a moment.
00:07:20
Global Sports Podcast Network
um And Robert Sanchez couldn't save it. It turns out, and again, in the stadium, it was quite hard to work out what exactly had happened. A lot of the chatter you know in and amongst the seats that but I was around was that you know there was a push on Moises Caicedo.
00:07:37
Global Sports Podcast Network
Was it too strong a push? That's definitely why, obviously, the referee blew. Turns out that whilst there was a push, Moises Caicedo could definitely have been stronger there. um The push by Mark Gahey actually inadvertently brought him within one metre of the wall.
00:07:55
Global Sports Podcast Network
um And Law 13 of the law book, introduced only six years ago and rarely enforced, but for Chelsea fans, thankfully it was enforced this time, um just states that when a wall is formed, no opposition player can be within one metre of that wall. And so and it did always surprise me that whenever a wall was formed,
00:08:18
Global Sports Podcast Network
You almost had the the team defending the wall form their own sort of wall um about a metre apart, which now makes sense given the distance. But um yeah, Mark Gahey in pushing away Moises Caicedo, which then freed up the gap for as a shot to go through, um brought him close into the wall within one metre. And that's why on a technicality, Chelsea got away with it.
Chelsea's Tactical and Performance Analysis
00:08:40
Global Sports Podcast Network
um But that was really the main... The main, um if you like, drama action point, um Chelsea had some chances, you know, nothing, as I say, nothing super clear cut. Esteval had one that he shot over, leaning backwards with his left foot.
00:08:59
Global Sports Podcast Network
Andres Santos towards the end. 93rd minute, great chance to put his name um in the Chelsea books already. um Couldn't sort his feet out.
00:09:12
Global Sports Podcast Network
Couldn't sort his feet out in the 93rd minute of 96. So blazed over the bar. i think I think it was, yeah, for ah for a first game of the season, it was okay. We expect more.
00:09:26
Global Sports Podcast Network
um And as I said at the start of this podcast, There's a few things we definitely learnt from the game and I've written down five. um And Chelsea fans, feel free to disagree.
00:09:39
Global Sports Podcast Network
that There probably is more than five. There probably is... um Some might actually disagree with with some of the things some of the things i say. but number one um I think we we we reverted back to a very slow Chelsea, which quite surprised me, especially you know after the PSG win, after some of the pre-season games.
00:10:00
Global Sports Podcast Network
We reverted back to quite a slow Chelsea. Enzo was off it. Palmer was off it. um
00:10:06
Global Sports Podcast Network
And it's definitely a ah plan B is needed when teams like Palace are so organised, play a low block, We just can't be this slow. And maybe it was, say you know, it was 35 days since that Club World Cup win. So we've had quite a truncated pre-season anyway.
00:10:27
Global Sports Podcast Network
um Maybe that, you know, ah comes into comes into why things were slower as well. But definitely we were slow. Yeah.
00:10:38
Global Sports Podcast Network
There was not much to get too excited about, you know, with 72% possession, but we didn't do a ton with it. um So that was the the thing number one that I think we learned. Thing number two, um I think Mariska's tactics are pretty clear.
00:10:53
Global Sports Podcast Network
You know, it's it's more and more evident the more and more um you watch his Chelsea sides play. In defence, sorry, in possession and out of possession, we're very different. In possession, know,
00:11:07
Global Sports Podcast Network
Kukurea, frankly, is... is do you know The left-back position for him is is a paper position because when we're in possession, he is as advanced as a Cole Palmer.
00:11:19
Global Sports Podcast Network
He is basically the the attacking midfielder alongside Cole Palmer and and also Enzo Fernandes pushes up as well. so um Yeah, very, very clear to see now. he is a sort of a decoy left back, really makes making sure that we have enough bodies um in in sort of the central third, which then also means that our defense reverts into a three,
00:11:43
Global Sports Podcast Network
um In this case, over the weekend, um you had Rhys James from right back coming in essentially as a right centre back. um You had Josh Achimpong in the middle of that three.
00:11:55
Global Sports Podcast Network
And we'll talk more about um Josh in a minute. And actually, we'll talk more about it now because that was my point number three. um A lot of talk has been had since Levi Colwell got injured, whether Chelsea need another defender. And some people are of the thinking that, oh, no, you've got loads, you know, at least five or six for for two positions. You don't need another defender.
00:12:20
Global Sports Podcast Network
Mareska was pretty clear in his thinking, actually, um in terms of why he thinks he needs one. Just because, as i say, when Cucuré does go up, That central centre-back when they're played in a three is a pretty pivotal position. And according to Mareska, only two can really play it, which is Tosin, who was also injured, um and and Levi Colwell. So he tried Josh Achimpong this time.
00:12:49
Global Sports Podcast Network
I'm mixed about whether it worked. I'm very mixed. I'm mixed. I thought he looked nervous at the start. There's been a lot of praise for him actually after the game. And I think on balance, he did okay. Of course, there will be harder opposition and harder people to mark than Jean-Fleur Mateta.
00:13:06
Global Sports Podcast Network
um I think he was nervous at the start. He lost quite a few balls. And actually, anytime he did make a great clearance, it was probably because he he lost he lost the ball to to start with.
00:13:18
Global Sports Podcast Network
But then he... he cot recovered really well. um So I think that's a concern, is that can he play, you know, week in, week out in that position against harder people to mark?
00:13:32
Global Sports Podcast Network
Not sure. um We had Trevor Chalabah there being sort of left centre-back, if you like. um And again, there's Wesley Favana to come back. um
00:13:44
Global Sports Podcast Network
So, you know, that Chelsea have enough bodies, I guess, um in defence, but whether it plays exactly how Enzim Resca wants that central centre-back to play, really to start playoff, frankly, pinging balls left, and centre.
Defensive Concerns and Player Performances
00:13:59
Global Sports Podcast Network
um TBC, I didn't see it too much from Josh Achampong, be honest. um Number four, I've written down, Liam De Lappe, actually, in these matches look a lot better than Joao Pedro.
00:14:11
Global Sports Podcast Network
For teams with that low block, which is really hard to break down, Joao Pedro started the game. um he had about 70-odd minutes. and Then Liam De Lappe came on for the last 20 minutes.
00:14:23
Global Sports Podcast Network
I've got to say there was more so physicality. There was more hold-up play. um Lappe went into into beast mode, if you like, to try and sort of muscle his way into into into chances. There wasn't much with Joao Pedro. Don't get me wrong.
00:14:38
Global Sports Podcast Network
Joao Pedro, for me, is still probably the... the leading man between the two as Chelsea's main striker. But I think sometimes in matches like this, Liam De Lappe is the one that works better, as evidenced by by his 20-minute cameo, I thought was really strong.
00:14:55
Global Sports Podcast Network
um And then finally, as we wrap up this podcast, just point number five, and I will end on up on an optimistic one. Palace were, the two Chelsea Palace games last season in the league, home and away, were a draw.
00:15:08
Global Sports Podcast Network
So not the worst outcome um have to have another draw. I think it's also, it's the sort of game that actually in yesteryear we could have lost.
Reflecting on the Draw: A Positive Outlook?
00:15:20
Global Sports Podcast Network
So ah don't think it's the worst outcome to have um sort of come away with a draw, as I say, on another day with a different VAR, maybe that um that one metre free kick rule um wouldn't have been enforced.
00:15:35
Global Sports Podcast Network
And so we would have actually lost the game. So on another day, we really could have lost it. So I do see a few positives by us managing to um to be tight at the back. You know, Robert Sanchez, you know,
00:15:50
Global Sports Podcast Network
I guess now has a clean sheet so that can hopefully build up his his confidence. So all in, not the worst start. Obviously frustrating when um ah you have some of our rivals, you know, straight away go into um go into fine form. Man City won convincingly. Yeah.
00:16:13
Global Sports Podcast Network
ah Liverpool won, Spurs won, Arsenal won. So it's frustrating when you've already essentially lost ground on them. But all in, um considering they can be a tricky opponent, Crystal Palace, as I say, as shown against Liverpool in the Community Shield and Manchester City in the FA Cup, um not necessarily the worst the worst outcome.
Closing Remarks
00:16:35
Global Sports Podcast Network
Thank you very much for joining me today. You've been listening to the Daily Chelsea podcast on the Global Sports Podcast Network. Thank you for being with us and goodbye.