Crystal Palace join fellow freefalling trophy-winners Spurs in relegation fight after Chelsea humbling

Dave Tickner
Estevao celebrates his goal as Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 3-1 in the Premier League
Estevao celebrates after opening the scoring

It might seem simplistic to suggest a single miserable afternoon can sum up an entire season, but Crystal Palace gave it a red-hot crack in a 3-1 home defeat to Chelsea that leaves them uncomfortably close to the relegation equation.

For Palace today there was some decent football, chances not taken, self-inflicted calamity, and an understandable sense of grievance at daft rules even if they were technically applied correctly.

Whether Oliver Glasner now hangs around for the relegation fight to come is now more doubtful than ever. Another bombshell press conference cannot be ruled out.

What is absolutely clear is that Palace are now in real trouble. If Spurs are in the relegation fight on 28 points – and they absolutely are – then Palace on the same tally must be as well.

At both clubs there is a sense of despair and an opportunity thrown – or taken – away after spectacular trophy success.

And they are now the two teams in conspicuously hideous current form in what is becoming a right old scrap to avoid the final relegation spot alongside Wolves and Burnley.

Two wins from two for West Ham have heightened the anxiety everywhere else, while Nottingham Forest’s win at Brentford today and Leeds’ run of good form has made things extremely interesting for clubs who didn’t really need their seasons made more interesting at this stage.

For Palace, this defeat makes it eight games without a win. Most damningly, it is a run that even includes turning down a prescription from Dr Tottenham, something that has proved so restorative to both Bournemouth and West Ham in recent weeks and has offered some respite even to Wolves and now Burnley this season.

Nineteen-game unbeaten runs seem a long, long way away now.

Palace had been fine for the first half-hour here. And then they weren’t. An inexplicable pass backwards let in Estevao, who took the goal in superb style, running through and keeping the rapid Tyrick Mitchell at arm’s length with astonishing ease before clipping the ball powerfully back and past a slightly mis-positioned Dean Henderson.

A killer second goal came shortly after the break as Joao Pedro was allowed to twist and turn far too easily in the penalty area before rifling a shot through Henderson’s legs.

It is the third goal that will bother Palace, though.

Jaydee Canvot could do nothing to prevent Joao Pedro’s shot hitting his arm. The only possible option would be to dive out of the way altogether. But because the shot was goalbound, no amount of accidentalness could save him from a penalty and a yellow card. Even the second part of that punishment feels unnecessary when the offence really does amount to being on a football pitch in possession of arms.

We don’t like this rule. Penalising accidental handball makes us uncomfortable anyway. When that handball is, as this one was, accidental to the point of being entirely unavoidable, it just feels like a wildly excessive punishment.

Enzo Fernandez’s penalty was superb, but not for the first time since that FA Cup triumph which really was only eight months ago, Palace could be forgiven for feeling like the world was against them despite the rules technically being followed.

It didn’t help that the referee’s on-field explanation referred to the accidental nature of the offence to explain the yellow rather than red card being shown, but made no mention of the fact this was a DOGSO offence in which the accidental nature of the offence could only impact the colour of card rather than overall decision. VAR remains a cumbersome, confusing and divisive mess even when it’s technically getting things right.

Not a novel or original thought but full abolition remains the only viable solution if the sport is to be saved from disappearing – accidentally or otherwise – entirely up its own arse in the futile, unachievable pursuit of some pipedream utopian future where every decision is correct and, more importantly, unanimously agreed to be so.

There could be no complaints about the red card shown to Adam Wharton, who flew into a pointless challenge having already been booked in a game that was by then long lost, ruling him out of what is now a monumental six-pointer at Nottingham Forest next weekend. It was a double victory for silliness on an afternoon where Palace could afford no more of that.

Chelsea, for their part, continue an eye-catching start under Liam Rosenior, who on early evidence really might turn out to be perfectly capable ager of Chelsea’s men for the next 18 months or so. No longer than that, obviously, because this is still Chelsea.

A funny afternoon for them, in many ways. They were as good as they needed to be but no more than that – although Joao Pedro in particular was mighty impressive.

The last 15 minutes were spent conserving energy for a vital Champions League trip to Napoli this week, which did offer Palace a consolation goal and some ephemeral hope of something outlandish.

It wasn’t to be at a ground and for a club where hope is these days to be found in increasingly short supply.

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