There's no doubt Chelsea losing to Crystal Palace was the big football event of the weekend. The somewhat bizarre manner in which the Blues contrived to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory made the story all the more compelling, and the reasons behind the loss have been widely debated.

From a tactical perspective, the absence of Victor Moses, who had failed to recover from a calf strain sustained in the FA Cup win over Manchester United, forced Antonio Conte to shuffle his starting XI. Pedro deputising for Moses at right wing-back seemed logical enough. The Spaniard had been deployed in this position by Conte to good effect in earlier rounds of the cup.

Perhaps more significantly, the inclusion of Cesc Fabregas and retention of N'Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic saw the Blues boss switch from his successful 3-4-3 template to 3-5-2, though this would later change to what looked like 4-2-4 and then all out attack (including goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois) as Chelsea chased the game.

Having taken an early lead through Fabregas, the stage was set for a comfortable victory. Bathed in balmy spring sunshine, Chelsea supporters sang their ditty about the Spaniard and his magic hat, praised Conte and chirruped about winning the title -- and why not?

What could possibly go wrong?

A reversal of expectation of seismic proportions. A few crazy minutes later, Chelsea were 2-1 down and Palace fans were having a pyrotechnic party in the away section of The Shed End, chanting: "Can we play you every week?"

Since his return to the Bridge, David Luiz has been every inch the model defender, but the centre-back had a degree of culpability for both Palace goals, being on the missing list for Wilfred Zaha's equaliser and then failing to deal with Christian Benteke in the build up to what was the winner for the visitors.

Luiz will no doubt have been angry and disappointed with himself when watching replays of the goals. That's a good thing. With an in-form Sergio Aguero due at the Bridge on Wednesday night, the Brazilian will need to be fully focused to ensure the prolific Manchester City striker doesn't add to his tally of 14 Premier League goals.

Palace manager Sam Allardyce being feted as a tactical genius in some quarters for masterminding the Eagles' unlikely victory had a touch of comedy about it. The truth of the matter is Allardyce and his team got lucky. Having fallen behind, Chelsea would go on to deliver a phenomenal 35 crosses into the box and have 24 shots on goal, forcing Palace keeper Wayne Hennessey into a remarkable 11 saves. Diego Costa infuriatingly missed chance after chance, including a couple of absolute sitters.

Post match, Conte cut a humble figure. "It's a pity but it wasn't our day," concluded the Italian. No excuses, no recriminations, no finger-pointing -- not in front of the media anyway. You can bet the boss was less relaxed about the dramatic turn of events when reviewing proceedings with his players.

Three points squandered, and second placed Tottenham winning away at Burnley saw Chelsea's lead at the summit of the table cut to seven points. Conte quipped about the title race being more interesting now, and he is right. With nine games still to play, the title remains Chelsea's to lose but any further aberrations will mean that if Spurs keep the bit between their teeth, the scenario could change.

The Palace defeat could therefore be a blessing in disguise for Conte and Chelsea. Any creeping sense of complacency will have been completely erased. There will be no more lapses of concentration, no more defensive follies and no more profligacy in front of goal.

It may well be that a by-product of this is a series of dull 1-0 wins until the title is secured, but if that's what it's going to take then Blues supporters won't be criticising or complaining.

Chelsea's next three games, Manchester City (h), Bournemouth (a), Manchester United (a) could prove significant given that Spurs face an easier-looking trio of matches, Swansea (a), Watford (h), Bournemouth (h) -- but then as Crystal Palace capably demonstrated, it pays to take nothing for granted. Fortune favours the brave, and if Chelsea are to get lucky again they will need to focus and play each remaining game as if it were a cup final. Nothing comes easy in life, least of all the Premier League title.

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by MARK WORRALL

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]