Gary Neville has predicted where Chelsea will finish this season on the back of the Blues' opening day draw against Crystal Palace.
Gary Neville predicts where Chelsea will finish this season originally appeared on The Sporting News
Chelsea kicked off their new Premier League season with a disappointing 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The Blues struggled to break down a disciplined Palace defence and were, in fact, lucky to escape with a point as Eberechi Eze’s free-kick was controversially disallowed by the referee due to encroachment on the wall.
Despite their best efforts, Enzo Maresca’s team could only manage three shots on target throughout the game, and two of them came after the introduction of Liam Delap as a second-half substitute.
Maresca has splashed the cash on a number of attacking players this season, including Jamie Gittens and Joao Pedro, but neither of them had what it took to unlock Crystal Palace’s defence on the day.
Pedro, in particular, came into the game on the back of good form in pre-season and many expected him to be the difference between the two clubs, but he had a subdued Premier League debut for his new club.
On the back of Chelsea’s opening day draw against Palace, Gary Neville has predicted where Chelsea will finish this season
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Gary Neville predicts where Chelsea will finish this season
Despite the disappointing result on opening day, Gary Neville still believes Chelsea are in for a strong campaign.
However, he added that Chelsea’s attacking options cannot be compared to those of Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool.
He said, “I think Chelsea will have a very good season but you’re not looking at Joao Pedro and Delap in the same light as Arsenal’s front line or Haaland or Liverpool, the spine is also not there, they’re not ready, we’re not just saying that because of today, because they’ve drawn against a very good side in Crystal Palace”
While there is no denying that the Chelsea attack had an off day against Palace, it is way too early to rule them out of the title race, based on their first performance.
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