Match ends, Crystal Palace 2, Chelsea 1.
Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace2ChelseaChelsea1
Wilfried Zaha scored the winner as Crystal Palace stunned reigning champions Chelsea to pick up their first victory of the Premier League season.
Palace had lost all seven of their previous games - including three under new boss Roy Hodgson - and had failed to score.
They finally ended their 731 minute wait for a league goal when Yohan Cabaye forced the ball down off his chest, which bounced off David Luiz and into the back of the net off Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta.
Palace's lead lasted only eight minutes as Cesc Fabregas' corner was headed in by Tiemoue Bakayoko.
But Zaha, on his return from injury, made it 2-1 just before the break and Hodgson's side held on despite an onslaught from the Blues in the second half.
The win does not move Palace off the bottom of the table, but they have reduced the gap from safety to four points.
Chelsea, meanwhile, stay fourth but are now nine points behind leaders Manchester City.
Zaha's return inspires Palace
No points, no goals and nine conceded in their past two games. The outcome of this encounter looked bleak on paper for Palace.
But the hosts seemed rejuvenated after the international break and were inspired by the return of Zaha, who had been out of action with a knee injury since the opening day of the season.
The combination of Zaha and Andros Townsend caused problems throughout, with Townsend sending in the ball for Cabaye for the opener.
The Blues dominated possession in the second half with 60% of the ball, but they were unable to convert from the 12 shots they had.
Fabregas' 25-yard strike hit the bar, while substitutes Pedro and Charly Musonda could not beat Julian Speroni - the 38-year-old keeper brought in to replace the injured Wayne Hennessey.
What went wrong for Chelsea?
The Blues looked pedestrian at times and seemed as off-colour as they had done in their 1-0 defeat by Manchester City before the international break.
The champions were without influential midfielder N'Golo Kante and striker Alvaro Morata, and also lost Victor Moses to a suspected hamstring injury in the first half.
But the front three of Michy Batshuayi, Willian and Eden Hazard failed to produce the goods, and although substitutes Pedro, Musonda and Davide Zappacosta piled on the pressure during a decent 15 minute spell in the second half, they could not find the goal they craved.
"We played this game without three important players and that's not straightforward," said Chelsea boss Antonio Conte. "We started very badly and it was a very difficult day. But we need also to understand the situation and to continue to work, to find solutions despite our injuries.
"They are big losses for us but we can only accept the situation and then do our best. I am not happy and my players are not happy."
I'll enjoy a glass of wine - how Hodgson reacted
Hodgson could have become only the second permanent manager to lose his first four Premier League games in charge of a side without scoring a single goal, after his predecessor Frank de Boer.
Instead, the former England manager was able to celebrate his first victory in his new job.
"That was really enjoyable," he said after the final whistle. "I have just said to the players that they really deserve to drink in that victory, because we played the champions of England but came off the field today having deserved our victory.
"In the past month we've taken some heavy defeats but even then there were moments that weren't as bleak as maybe the scoreline looked.
"I don't drink an awful lot these days. Red wine isn't the best thing to drink if you want to keep your calories low, but I'll enjoy a glass tonight because I enjoyed watching my boys play well and I'm proud of their performance."
Man of the match - Wilfried Zaha
Hodgson matches Allardyce's achievements - the stats
- Roy Hodgson is one of two managers to win against Chelsea with four different Premier League clubs (Blackburn, Crystal Palace, Liverpool, West Brom) - the other being Sam Allardyce, who also managed England.
- Palace's 11th-minute goal meant that they ended a run of 640 minutes without scoring from the start of the season. In Football League history, only Halifax Town in the fourth tier in 1990-91 (730 minutes) had a longer wait to score.
- Chelsea have lost consecutive Premier League games under Antonio Conte for just the second time.
- This is just the sixth time that the team starting the day bottom of the Premier League have beaten the reigning Champions.
What's next?
Chelsea are in Champions League action against Roma on Wednesday (19:45 BST) and welcome Watford in the Premier League next Saturday (12:30 BST).
Crystal Palace travel to Newcastle on Saturday (15:00 BST).
Line-ups
Crystal Palace
Formation 4-4-2
- 1Speroni
- 2Ward
- 6DannBooked at 83mins
- 12Sakho
- 3van Aanholt
- 18McArthurSubstituted forFosu-Mensahat 85'minutes
- 7CabayeSubstituted forRiedewaldat 86'minutes
- 4MilivojevicBooked at 71mins
- 15SchluppSubstituted forPuncheonat 75'minutes
- 10Townsend
- 11Zaha
Substitutes
- 5Tomkins
- 24Fosu-Mensah
- 25Kaikai
- 26Sako
- 30Henry
- 42Puncheon
- 44Riedewald
Chelsea
Formation 3-4-3
- 13Courtois
- 28Azpilicueta
- 30David Luiz
- 24Cahill
- 15MosesSubstituted forZappacostaat 39'minutes
- 4Fàbregas
- 14BakayokoBooked at 87mins
- 3Alonso
- 22WillianSubstituted forMusondaat 65'minutes
- 23BatshuayiSubstituted forPedroat 57'minutes
- 10E Hazard
Substitutes
- 1Caballero
- 2Rüdiger
- 11Pedro
- 17Musonda
- 21Zappacosta
- 27Christensen
- 36Scott
- Referee:
- Andre Marriner
- Attendance:
- 25,480
Match Stats
Home TeamCrystal PalaceAway TeamChelsea
- Possession
- Home43%
- Away57%
- Shots
- Home14
- Away15
- Shots on Target
- Home5
- Away5
- Corners
- Home5
- Away8
- Fouls
- Home7
- Away6
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Crystal Palace 2, Chelsea 1.
Post update
Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by César Azpilicueta.
Post update
Foul by Charly Musonda (Chelsea).
Post update
Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Post update
Foul by Charly Musonda (Chelsea).
Post update
Luka Milivojevic (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Timothy Fosu-Mensah (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Wilfried Zaha.
Post update
Attempt missed. Cesc Fàbregas (Chelsea) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box misses to the left.
Post update
Offside, Crystal Palace. Andros Townsend tries a through ball, but Wilfried Zaha is caught offside.
Post update
Attempt missed. Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the left.
Post update
Attempt missed. Patrick van Aanholt (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left.
Post update
Attempt saved. Luka Milivojevic (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner.
Booking
Tiemoué Bakayoko (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Foul by Tiemoué Bakayoko (Chelsea).
Post update
Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Attempt missed. Patrick van Aanholt (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left.
Post update
Attempt saved. Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Patrick van Aanholt.
Substitution
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Jairo Riedewald replaces Yohan Cabaye.
Substitution
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Timothy Fosu-Mensah replaces James McArthur.
Comments
Join the conversation
It's not about the name of the club that you play for but the heart, dedication and hard work that you put in, great job Crystal Palace, you earned your first 3 points of the season courtesy of Chelsea!!!!
Makes United's point look better now.
As a Chelsea fan it was a hard game to watch, especially when I repeatedly saw players that take home more than double my annual income every week struggle to pass the ball to a player wearing the same colour shirt.
They may as well have been wearing invisibility cloaks, as I saw way to many passes to an empty patch of grass or to a Palace player.