“They need to know” – Danny Murphy reveals what Chelsea are lacking as winless run continues with draw v Palace | OneFootball

Chelsea continued their winless run as they drew Crystal Palace in South London. The Blues have drawn Everton and the Eagles and lost to Fulham and Ipswich Town in that dreadful run, plummeting from second to fourth on the Premier League table.

Chelsea took the game to Palace in the opening moments and earned themselves a deserved lead. Jadon Sancho wriggled away from his man, jinxed two and set up Cole Palmer for his 13th league goal of the season.

The West Londoners were in cruise control and should have made their dominance count with more goals. Nicolas Jackson was guilty of spurning two excellent chances that a striker of his ilk should have converted.

Palmer failed to connect with a superb cross from Pedro Neto, and youngster Josh Acheampong should have put a back-post header on target. The misses came back to bite the Blues as Jean-Philippe Mateta netted an equaliser late in the game.

It was the same story against Fulham. They had scored once and should have killed the game with the chances they created, but let the Cottagers back into the game. They could have also managed the game better.

Pundit Danny Murphy blamed Chelsea’s inability to secure three points on their failure to control proceedings. “It’s game management where Chelsea are lacking at times,” he said (via the BBC).

“They need to know when to slow things down, having some men drop off, having someone sitting alongside Moises Caicedo in the base of midfield, instead of this constant trying to go forward. Against Fulham, it was similar to today. It ended up being end to end and like a basketball game towards the end, and they lost.

“There is still the quality there, and they are a young side. I still think they will be strong in the second half of the season.”

The draw leaves Chelsea facing a crucial period in their season. They must quickly rediscover their winning form to avoid falling further behind in the top four race. Newcastle United are breathing down their necks. They must be wary.

Chelsea have the next week to regroup before a third-round FA Cup fixture against Morecambe. Three days later, they will lock horns with AFC Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.