#4 Dogged defending wins the day
Instead of buckling under pressure, Crystal Palace rose to the occasion in typical underdog fashion after they had the lead within 10 minutes. They made the most of their early opportunities and held on rather valiantly in a repeat performance of last season much to the satisfaction of the rest of the bunch in the Premier League. The Palace defenders did some of their best work of the season in their bid to move to a safe distance away from the relegation battle.
The Eagles were five points poorer at this point last season under Alan Pardew and their victory against Chelsea could not have come at a better time. Joel Ward, Mamadou Sakho, James Tomkins and Jeffrey Schlupp were incredible at the back as was Wayne Hennessey who made 10 saves. The former Liverpool player ended the game looking especially impressive after making a couple of crucial interceptions inside the box.
Joel Ward and Jeffrey Schlupp tracked Hazard and Pedro well, especially after the break and contained the threat from the Blues far better than some of the better sides this season. Even Christian Benteke who had little to do this afternoon played his part well every time one of Chelsea’s defenders had the ball at their feet.
