4 things we learned: United’s costly conservative approach, Chelsea and Arsenal’s major slip-ups

Crystal Palace is capable of shocking Chelsea (and the world)

Eight games into the season, Palace finally managed to score their first goal of the campaign and earn their first points of the season. Facing off against Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea in consecutive weeks is a tall order for any team, and so much more daunting for a team who never looked the part of an actual Premier League team in its first seven games.

Perhaps the international break was just what Roy Hodgson needed to instill some key tactical points and come away with a miraculous, yet deserved win against last season’s champions. It is more likely that Wilfried Zaha’s return in collaboration with Chelsea’s defensive lapses were the key factors that led to Palace’s highly unlikely victory.

Moreover, this loss signals some worrying signs for Antonio Conte’s team. The over-dependence on a tried-and-true number 9 striker was on full display. Chelsea does not produce goals when its lone forward is not playing at a world-class standard. In addition, the two goals came after defensive lapses the likes of which we have not seen from Chelsea lately. Cesar Azpilicueta was the main culprit allowing Zaha to sneak behind the defense, as well as being a step slow to react and anticipate Crystal Palace’s attempts to open up the Chelsea backline.

With Morata sidelined for another month, Chelsea needs to regroup quickly and find ways to generate scoring chances from the run of play while regaining that defensive sharpness that was the foundation of last season’s title run.