Chelsea kicked off their Premier League 2025/2026 campaign with a goalless draw against Crystal Palace, as manager Enzo Maresca admitted his side still has room to grow.
The match, held at Stamford Bridge on Sunday evening (August 17), saw both teams share the points after a 0-0 stalemate.
Despite dominating possession, Chelsea struggled to convert chances into goals. Of their 19 total attempts, only three were on target. The best opportunity came early, when Marc Cucurella’s header in the third minute was cleared off the line by Ismaila Sarr.
In the second half, Chelsea looked more in control but still lacked a cutting edge in the final third. Cole Palmer and company couldn’t find a way past Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who had a relatively quiet night.
Speaking after the match, Maresca acknowledged that Chelsea still aren't at their best and pointed to a short preseason as one of the key reasons.
“We always try to win,” Maresca told Sky Sports. “Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to, but overall I think we deserved it. We created enough chances across both halves.”
“Other than the disallowed free-kick goal (from Eberechi Eze), I don’t think we were really threatened. But at the same time, we know how tough they are. They’re well-organized that’s why they beat Liverpool and City in the last two finals.”
“I think they’ve played seven or eight games already. For us, we only had two friendlies last week, and we had to rotate the squad to manage minutes. So, in a way, this felt like our first real match.”
“But of course, step by step, we’ll improve,” Maresca added.
