The dangers of not taking risks. Nicolas Jackson was not the only one to blame at Selhurst Park, but the Chelsea striker will face the brunt of the criticism.
He, in particular, had the opportunity to finish the match and give the visitors an unattainable lead. Instead, they managed to waste it, making it four games without a win.
Chelsea's first goal was a splendid play. Jadon Sancho grew up in south London, a cage footballer whose creativity could not be contained, and perhaps it was that return to roots that brought out the best in him at that particular moment.
In a zip code that started with SE, I was a kid again. Levi Colwill's pass had enough power in it that I knew if he let him run behind him, there was no way Chris Richards would catch him. So he pretended to collect it, then didn't, and just like that, Chelsea took the lead.
Cole Palmer scored the goal after an assist from Sancho. But it was Palmer who gave up possession in the second half, allowing Palace to quickly counterattack and equalize through Jean-Philippe Mateta. With that, Chelsea's chances of a top-four finish took another hit.
Draw 0-0 with Everton, defeat 2-1 against Fulham, defeat 2-0 against Ipswich and now 1-1 with Palace. It's not the way of a club chasing the Champions League.
After all the clamor from Chelsea fans for Josh Acheampong to start, Enzo Maresca listened. However, he was not offered his full Premier League debut as a right-back, but rather in central defense alongside Colwill, a pairing produced entirely by Cobham.
Acheampong looked like he belonged from the start, starting an attack with an angled pass to Pedro Neto on the right side. It was a reflection of that play that saw Chelsea open the scoring in the 14th minute from the left side.
It started with Colwill throwing a pass to Jadon Sancho, who pretended he was going to receive it but instead let it run after him. That sent his marker Chris Richards into the shops.
Sancho slid in from the baseline after reaching the ball. With Richards, Daniel Muñoz and Maxence Lacroix swarming him, the winger flicked inside to Palmer, who used a favorable angle to score beyond Dean Henderson to make it 1-0.
Sancho borrowed Palmer's 'cool' celebration to mark his assist. There are no arguments there. He had earned it, the Englishman creating
It is not the first time this season that Chelsea wasted many opportunities. Jackson clipped a simple volley after a set piece. Neto mistimed a simple setup for Palmer after he had done the difficult part of skinning Tyrick Mitchell. Acheampong should have headed a corner when he was unmarked and inside the six-yard box.
With every opportunity you wondered if Palace would make them pay, and they almost did when Mateta went wide thanks to a deflection from Colwill.
Chelsea attacked again, hoping that XXX. Palmer's behind-the-back pass to Jackson was perfectly timed for him to attack. Picking up the ball, he turned Lacroix, but then shot wide with the outside of his boot.
After the restart, a cutback by Muñoz found Eberechi Eze. It opened, but this was a warning to Chelsea as Selhurst Park awoke from its slumber.
When Moisés Caicedo committed a foul, Palace prepared a cross from a set piece. Thirty per cent of his Premier League goals this season have been scored by defenders, and Richards was denied an equalizer when his header was tipped over by Robert Sanchez.
Chelsea cried out for a penalty in the 63rd minute, claiming that Neto was brought down by Mitchell. The slightest touch of the ball was enough for Palace to escape punishment.
After 69 minutes, Fernández shot wide from 20 meters. After the 70th, Jackson also failed when he only had Henderson in front of him. That was a great opportunity to settle the game, the kind any striker should take advantage of, and Maresca headed to his bench. There he saw Marc Guiu and, on his 19th birthday, he was given his first minutes in the Premier League since the opening day.
Within seconds of that substitution, the score was 1-1, when Palmer lost possession in midfield. Palace responded with Ismaila Sarr finding Eze's unfollowed run. He selflessly squared the ball to Mateta, who stole the pass from Marc Cucurella to take advantage of it.
Chelsea had scored last-minute goals on their last three visits to Selhurst Park. They needed another to save them here, but, unfortunately, it never arrived in Maresca.