The Blues have completed their first game of the new Premier League season, which resulted in a 0-0 draw vs Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge. It was a relatively uninspiring effort that lacked cohesion and seemed to run out of ideas when it came to breaking down the low block deployed by Oliver Glasner’s side. To analyse the game, we will go through the squad and coaching staff and provide you with our heroes and zeros for Chelsea on the day.

Josh Acheampong | Hero

Plenty was made of how Acheampong would fare this weekend against one of the Premier League’s main bullies, Jean-Philippe Mateta, who led the line for Palace. He more than held his own, limiting Mateta to no clear-cut chances, and even when beaten physically, Acheampong recovered quickly, winning 11 of his 14 combined aerial and ground duels. Playing the central centre-back role in Maresca’s system is crucial for build-up play, and aside from one slip-up, he completed 87 of 93 passes, a solid 94 per cent success rate. No doubt he has areas to improve, but for a 19-year-old, he flashed serious potential.

Hard to quantify exactly how Josh Acheampong did in the 'Colwill role' in defence.

But he registered 93.5% pass accuracy, had 108 touches and 93 passes in total. He also had the most duels, duels won, aerial duels, aerial duels won and most tackles won yesterday. pic.twitter.com/sJjV3CAtKN

— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) August 18, 2025

Enzo Fernández | Zero

Tough day for the Chelsea vice-captain, who, in his 79 minutes, showed a level of rust that could be explained by the sheer amount of football he has played over the last three years, which has been non-stop. He made a few mistakes we aren’t used to seeing from him, like a touch under no pressure that went out, not releasing Pedro Neto down the line in time on the counter, and a few other minor errors. We all still know his class, and he will likely find his rhythm very soon for the Blues. If he needs rest, Maresca can rotate him early in the season with Andrey Santos, because for Chelsea to be at their peak, they need their conductor firing on all cylinders.

Estêvão | Hero

The wonderkid, whom Maresca called a “very important player for the club,” showed exactly why during his 30-minute cameo at The Bridge. He brought instant energy and quality off the bench, as he skinned the Palace defence, and almost set up Pedro Neto for the goal that could have broken the deadlock. He remained a constant threat down the right flank, causing problems for Palace all match. He even had his chance to break the game open, drifting across the box and firing a rocket just over the crossbar. While he didn’t deliver the decisive blow, he’s making it very difficult for the manager to leave him out of the starting XI this weekend.

🚨 Carragher on Estevao: “I think he’s already got Brazil caps, he scored against Chelsea in the Club World Cup, He looks pretty special, he’s very young I don’t think it will be too long before he’s a starter, I think he’s got a decent chance of playing on Friday” (@SkySportsPL)…

— Pys (@CFCPys) August 18, 2025

João Pedro | Zero

From one Brazilian to another, Chelsea’s striker João Pedro had a his first game that wasn’t exactly sublime in Chelsea blue. He didn’t make any glaring mistakes, but he also didn’t seem to seek the ball or drop deep to get involved. That could have been part of Enzo Maresca’s tactical plan, but the lack of involvement is why I’m marking this one down for Pedro. Still, I have full faith in him and am not worried; this just wasn’t his most effective outing.

And there you have it, thats my take on Chelsea’s opening Premier League clash of the season. More importantly who were your heroes and zeros for the Blues in their showdown with Crystal Palace?