Chelsea 1-1 Crystal Palace: Enzo Maresca’s side left to rue missed chances – as Eberechi Eze’s wonder strike gives Eagles a point at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea had wasted enough chances that when Eberechi Eze picked up possession 20 yards from goal, a feeling of inevitability fell over Stamford Bridge. The curler was out of Robert Sanchez’s reach and with that, Enzo Maresca was denied his first Premier League win at home.

For all the talent to walk through the door, with Jadon Sancho the latest big name to arrive on a season-long loan from Manchester United, it is hard not to scrutinise who Chelsea did land after leaving as disappointed as they did yesterday. Namely the superstar striker who could have made sure they won this match, negotiations with Napoli’s Victor Osimhen ultimately leading nowhere even as they continued deep into deadline day.

Nicolas Jackson is a player full of promise, hence why he is set to sign a contract extension until 2033 as a reward for the progress made in his first Premier League season. He tapped in an assist from Cole Palmer to open the scoring here and celebrated by forming a gun with his fingers.

But the 23-year-old Senegalese is not yet an assassin, as shown in stoppage time when he squandered two glorious chances to win this game. It is a big ask for him to grab the goals that take Chelsea to the next level, Champions League qualification being a quest this season.

There were nine deal sheets submitted to the Premier League prior to Friday’s 11pm deadline – the document required to give clubs two extra hours to complete paperwork – and Chelsea were involved in four of them. It turned into the late show as Raheem Sterling was loaned to Arsenal, Trevoh Chalobah to Crystal Palace and Armando Broja to Everton, while they finalised their own deal for Sancho with an obligation to buy. ‘Pass me the bloody wine,’ replied one source on WhatsApp at 1.18am on Saturday morning, summing up how stressful it had all been.

Sancho was a spectator here at Stamford Bridge, their new No 19 sitting next to Behdad Eghbali in the owners’ box as they watched Chelsea take control of this clash.

Palmer came close when he curled wide from outside of the area while Noni Madueke became a great source of creativity from Chelsea’s right-hand side, England’s newest call-up tormenting Will Hughes as if he had previously wronged him.

Madueke should have scored in the 22nd minute after breaking in behind, the ball trickling wide when the goal was gaping. In the 23rd, he thought he had made up for that miss by getting on the end of Enzo Fernandez’s cross, only for Dean Henderson to produce an extraordinary reaction save as he tipped over his volley.

Yet when Chelsea eventually made it 1-0, Madueke was instrumental in kickstarting the move. He used his speed to skin Hughes before playing a pass in behind for Palmer, who then set up Jackson for the tap-in. Never one to shirk a chance to be cheeky, he celebrated in front of the Palace end, who had been vocal in their support from the get-go.

Maresca had watched back Palace’s two Premier League losses to Brentford and West Ham as part of his homework. His assessment was they did not deserve either of those defeats, which was relayed to Chelsea’s players as a reminder this would be no breeze.

Yet Palace had provided next to no threat at Stamford Bridge, Oliver Glasner often showing his frustration from the technical area. The closest the visitors had come to scoring in the first half was when Adam Wharton tamely tested Sanchez from 20 yards. Other than that, Eze fired a 40-yard free-kick wide in stoppage time.

At the start of the second half, Hughes did well to avoid a second yellow card after a cynical foul on Palmer central to goal. The 22-year-old, another inclusion in Lee Carsley’s England squad, took the free-kick himself to force Henderson into an acrobatic one-handed save. From the resulting corner, Levi Colwill’s header was pushed wide by Palace’s goalkeeper.

In the 50th minute, Glaser put Hughes out of his misery before another foul earned him a red, replacing him with Cheick Doucoure. The substitute was then involved in Palace equalising.

It began with Wharton driving into the box before feeding Doucoure. His shot was blocked, but Eze had space to shoot from 20 yards in the aftermath. You knew what was coming. He curled it, cool as you like, into the corner for 1-1 to leave Palace in the ascendancy.

Suddenly, the visitors were on top. Maresca reacted by bringing on Joao Felix in place of Neto, whose minutes are being managed after an injury-hit season with Wolves.

In the 63rd minute, Jackson committed a foul while contesting for a long ball but then proceeded to play on and score after everyone else had stopped. Referee Jarred Gillett decided he went too far, showing him a yellow.

Chelsea’s supporters began to show their frustration as Sanchez nearly fumbled a blast from Daichi Kamada into his own net. As eight minutes of stoppage time were announced, Jackson sent a shot into the side-netting, some of Stamford Bridge fooled into thinking it was in.

Seconds later, he was through again but with only Henderson to beat, he could not do so as Nathaniel Clyne put pressure on him from behind.

Chelsea are tough to decode. They can destroy Wolves 6-2 in the Premier League, but can lose 2-1 to Servette in the Conference League. Maresca’s men certainly had the chances to win this clash, but lacked the striker to convert them.