Chelsea VS Crystal Palace LIVE Match Score 1 Oct 2022

Chelsea VS Crystal Palace LIVE Match Score 1 Oct 2022

Chelsea’s attack has been a concern ever since Frank Lampard took over as manager at the start of the 2019/20 season. The Blues, back then, were serving a transfer ban, so Lampard had to put all of his faith in what he already had at his disposal. The former Chelsea midfielder put plenty of trust in players that had come through the academy – with the likes of Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham both shining in his first season in charge.

Abraham struck 18 goals in the 2019/20 season – in all competitions – but despite this, there were still question marks over his long-term future at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea found it difficult, as you would, to replace the outstanding Eden Hazard, who joined Real Madrid following back-to-back seasons of finishing as the west Londoners’ top goal scorer. The following season, Lampard was dismissed from his role in January and Thomas Tuchel took over the role of head coach. The German made Chelsea a solid team once again, but this had repercussions on the attacking setup.

Tuchel found it difficult to find the right balance between defending and attacking. However, it was the defensive stability that guided Chelsea to their second-ever Champions League triumph in May 2021. The following campaign, in what was Tuchel’s first full season in charge at Chelsea, the Blues managed to score 74 Premier League goals. On the face of it, that isn’t a bad return but it was 18 behind Liverpool in second and 23 from eventual champions Manchester City.

There was more structure to Liverpool and Man City’s attack. Their forward players were able to link up to devastate opposition defences. It’s something Chelsea could not do. Now, after six Premier League games this season, Chelsea have scored just eight goals. Tuchel, who took charge of all of the league matches so far, saw his side attempt 69 shots in those games – with only three top-flight clubs in Bournemouth (44), Aston Villa and Crystal Palace (both 67) registering fewer.

There’s a new era at Chelsea now, though, with Graham Potter the recently-appointed head coach. There’s an endless to-do list for Potter when it comes to improving Chelsea and it will not be a quick fix by any stretch of the imagination. One job that should be high on the 47-year-old’s agenda is improving how his side attack. The extremely difficult job for football managers is finding the correct balance between defending and attacking, so both can be done in really impactful ways. Potter managed to do so at Brighton, but it took time.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was signed by Tuchel on transfer deadline day, can be a big part in improving Chelsea’s attacking fortunes. The former Arsenal captain has proven over the years that he can be one of European football’s most prolific strikers when he is hot.

The task for Potter and his backroom staff is to try and get Aubameyang firing in a Chelsea shirt. So far, the 33-year-old has played twice for the Blues but failed to make an impression in either match.

Saturday afternoon sees Chelsea return to Premier League action for the first time in almost a month as the Blues head down to south London to take on Crystal Palace. You’d be naïve to think Potter will have his side firing in every aspect at Selhurst Park, but Chelsea fans will be hoping for some kind of sign of progress.

Graham Potter will finally take charge of his first Premier League game for Chelsea on Saturday afternoon, as Crystal Palace welcome their capital counterparts to Selhurst Park for a London derby.

The Blues entered the international break sitting seventh in the table, while the Eagles are nine places and four points worse off than their upcoming opponents.

A reunion with former loan star Conor Gallagher awaits Crystal Palace this weekend, and how Patrick Vieira could do with a player of his mould right now, as the Eagles seek just their second win of the league season in Saturday’s derby.

Nick Pope and Vicente Guaita stole the show as Newcastle United and Crystal Palace played out an action-packed 0-0 draw before the international break, although the PGMOL have since admitted that a mistake was made in ruling out a Magpies winner in the dying embers.

Newcastle’s goal was disallowed for a perceived foul by Joe Willock on Guaita, when in reality the ex-Arsenal man was pushed into the Spaniard by Tyrick Mitchell, and Palace fans would have been counting their lucky stars that they came away from St James’ Park with a point.

That has done little to improve the Eagles’ 16th-placed standing in the embryonic rankings – hovering just two points above the relegation line – but they do have a game in hand on most of the teams around them and have only suffered one defeat in their last six in all tournaments.

After ending the 2021-22 Premier League season with five consecutive clean sheets at Selhurst Park, Palace have conceded in each of their three top-flight home games so far this term – a defensive downturn which Chelsea and their new manager bounce will seek to take advantage of.

It has been a rather long time coming, with the death and state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II leading to a wave of postponements up and down the British Isles, but Potter will finally be in the dugout for a Premier League game with Chelsea this weekend.

Thomas Tuchel’s successor has had bountiful time to get acquainted with his squad of superstars having only taken charge of one game since his appointment was confirmed, drawing 1-1 with Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League as the Blues remain winless in Europe.

Potter has taken the reins at a Chelsea side who have only posted a measly two wins from their last seven games in all competitions, and a total of 10 points from six Premier League outings leaves the West London club languishing in seventh place in the table – eight points adrift of league leaders Arsenal having played a game fewer.

There are unsurprisingly some concerns that Potter may be a small fish in a big pond, and the ex-Brighton & Hove Albion boss is under immediate pressure to reverse a trend that has seen Chelsea lose each of their last three away games in all competitions.

The visitors have also notched up just two goals on the road in the 2022-23 season but can take some comfort in the fact that they have won each of their last nine league games against Crystal Palace, and their penchant for London derbies is apparent – winning eight of their last nine capital clashes on their travels.