Premier League 2019-20: 3 factors which stood out in Chelsea's 2-0 win over Crystal Palace

Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 2-0 in an entertaining Londen derby on Saturday at Stamford Bridge. Frank Lampard’s men are now third in the league table with 26 points from 12 matches. On the other hand, Palace succumbed to their fifth defeat in the league this season and now have 15 points from 12 matches.

It was Chelsea’s eighth league win of the campaign and fans are rightfully optimistic about a top four finish. They gave a lively performance yesterday to enthrall a capacity crowd in their home ground.

Tammy Abraham scored the first goal of the match in the 52nd minute of the match. Christian Pulisic doubled their tally in the 79th minute to ensure the victory. The extent of Chelsea’s dominance can be gauged from the simple fact that they had around 20 attempts in the match against Palace’s two.

In fact, Palace failed to have a single shot on goal in the first half of the match. They also failed to win any corners in the first half.

Here are three factors which stood out in yesterday’s match

#1 Opportunistic Abraham’s does the trick again

Tammy Abraham had a very ordinary first half. In fact, he struggled to get near the ball while playing as the lone striker in Chelsea’s 4-2-3-1 formation. However, Abraham made amends in the second half by scoring the vital opening goal, his 10th in the league this season that sees him near the top of the Golden Boot race.

Abraham again positioned himself well inside the Crystal Palace penalty box in order to meet a delectable flick by Willian and slot the ball past Palace’s goalkeeper Vicente Guiata. The goal was a testimony to Abraham’s opportunism and finishing ability.

The young England striker continues to impress and could go on to be one of the star men for Frank Lampard's side this season.

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#2 Defensive midfielders and Willian work tirelessly

Chelsea started with a double pivot in the midfield form of N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic. Both defensive midfielders were tireless in their approach and gave adequate cover to the back-line. They also ventured forwards in tandem, and played vital passes to the attacking players.

Kante especially, was everywhere on the pitch and made his presence felt in the middle third with his deft movements and astute passing. Kovacic also played box-to-box at times, and played some incisive passes.

However, the main creative spark was provided by Willian upfront and the Brazilian was excellent again for Chelsea. Most of the passes flowed through him from the midfield and he tried to dribble past the Palace defenders repeatedly.

Willian also played some quality crosses and passes to the likes of Abraham and Mason Mount. He registered his third assist of the season when he supplied the ball for Chelsea's opening goal in the second half.

#3 Christian Pulisic is turning out to be a great signing

Christian Pulisic is turning out to be a great signing for the Blues. The American forward has been a regular starter for Chelsea since his hattrick against Burnley in October. He again had a very good match yesterday, and managed to score his 5th goal in 14 matches for Chelsea.

The 21-year-old started as the wide man on the left and made some darting runs to the opposition penalty box through the inside-left channel. His speed and ball skills were on display from the very beginning of the match. He exchanged some quality passed and opened up spaces in the final third in the first period.

In the second half too, he continued to excel and scored in the 79th minute to round off the tally. He collected the ball in the middle third and played it to Batshuyayi before venturing into the box. Batshuayi’s shot deflected off a Palace defender and Pulisic was there to head the ball in from close range. The goal emphasised his importance in the current Chelsea line-up to a great extent.

Edited by A. Ayush Chatterjee