It was yet another game where you could see why the Premier League’s wealthiest clubs want Eberechi Eze and half of Crystal Palace’s players. It was also another game where you could see why there have been some doubts over whether Chelsea can go from world champions to champions of their own country.
Enzo Maresca’s team arguably deserved to lose this 0-0 at Stamford Bridge, and possibly would have had Eze’s fine early free-kick not been disallowed for Marc Guehi’s “interference” with the wall. It had the look and feel of one of those decisions that are always zealously cracked down on for a brief period, but that no one would otherwise complain about. Chelsea didn’t complain too much in the moment.
After the game, Maresca fairly pointed out this was his side’s first game after that Club World Cup. The new summer tournament may yet have a considerable effect on their season, since it seemed to leave them undercooked here.
Palace, meanwhile, continued an already historic year. This was their 25th game of the year, and they have only lost three. Of those, the last 10 have involved six matches either away or at Wembley against the old “big six”, and another FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa. They are unbeaten in all of them, and have won two trophies.
In short, Palace have become that team that the title challengers and more entitled wealthy clubs absolutely detest playing. There’s always one, but Oliver Glasner has possibly taken this side even further than any of them.
Maresca said “we know how tough they are, how well organised they are” but that was understating it. They’re a serious side, a robust defence complemented by an exhilarating attack when it gets into flow.
From that, unlike so many similar upwardly mobile teams, Palace also got that landmark silverware through the FA Cup. They look capable of so much more, which is why it is such a shame that it may be stripped for parts.
That is modern football and its stratified economy, which led to this game being almost entirely framed by Eze’s potential departure for Tottenham Hotspur.
His very place in the starting line-up became a significant part of the story, with his lingering applause to Palace’s travelling fans afterward only adding to it. In between, there were of course shots of Spurs consultant Fabio Paritici in the crowd.
It’s hard not to conclude that Eze’s signing was discussed, although there is a lot of conflicting information about where the story is at.
From speaking to people on various sides of the situation, The Independent understands the following: there was considerable progress over Friday and Saturday, where it looked like a deal could be struck for £55m plus add-ons. Sources even state that the idea of Eze not playing at Stamford Bridge was talked about. After the actual game, Glasner re-iterated that he was always going to play and that “as long as he’s a Palace player, he plays”.
That points to the caveat, of course, since it could well have been the case that he was almost out of the door by Sunday morning.
Instead, The Independent reported on Saturday evening that the negotiations had run into “difficulties”. There were claims that this was about Palace wanting more of the fee up front, so they could immediately commit to Eze’s putative replacement, Leicester City’s Bilal El Khannouss. Leicester themselves need the money coming in. Palace are meanwhile looking at Club Brugge’s Christos Tzolis.
There is naturally a lot of brinkmanship to this, as well as a chain of purchases and sales that almost resembles the property market.
While there are still obstacles, Spurs are understood to right now have a clear run. Arsenal had been interested in Eze all summer, but that was mostly because of the genuine belief that Ethan Nwaneri could have gone to Borussia Dortmund. As it was, Nwaneri committed, and Mikel Arteta now has a lot of options in the centre and on the right – exactly where Eze excels.
Arsenal will only make another purchase if they can sell, and they are next prioritising a left-sided player.
Talks with Spurs, and Spurs alone, are consequently expected to continue. For now, Glasner of course insisted that Eze will play in Palace’s Europa Conference League play-off qualifier against Fredrikstad on Thursday, having been demoted from the Europa League after Monday’s CAS case. This match at Stamford Bridge was soundtracked by chants about that situation – much of it not repeatable here.
It would feel fitting if Eze at least fully carried Palace through to European competition proper. He was sparkling in so many other ways here, particularly one brilliant drive that almost caught out Robert Sanchez late on. On the other side, it was a largely quiet game for a lot of Chelsea’s stars.
Joshua Acheampong coped well with his promotion to the starting line-up, especially with the midfield in front of him looking flat. Jamie Gittens only offered promise. Liam Delap was active when he came on, and there was naturally a lot of anticipation when Estevao was introduced.
The Brazilian teenager has been hailed as one of the brightest talents in football. There were only flickers of it here. While he looked so exciting when taking on players down the right, he did snatch at one good opening late on.
It would have been very harsh on Palace had that gone in. It is already harsh that modern football is putting a team in a situation when they get to a moment of history, only to have their future stunted.
You can certainly see why they generate such interest, though.
