Blue’s Brazilian Boys Steal the Spotlight as Chelsea Silence South London at Selhurst Park

Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea sealed a crucial victory in South London, climbing to fourth in the Premier League after a convincing 3–0 win over Crystal Palace.

The afternoon belonged to Chelsea’s Brazilian contingent, whose influence proved decisive as the Blues recorded a second league win under Rosenior and consecutive victories for the first time since November.

For Oliver Glasner’s Palace, it was another miserable chapter, extending their winless Premier League run to eight matches.

The opening 45 minutes were competitive, with both sides sharing spells of possession. Chelsea controlled the ball, while Palace were the more direct, creating four chances despite only one testing Robert Sánchez. The hosts almost enjoyed a dream start when Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr dispossessed Benoît Badiashile deep in Chelsea territory. Mateta surged toward goal, but a heavy touch inside the penalty area allowed the chance to slip away in the eighth minute.

Chelsea responded swiftly. Five minutes later, Marc Cucurella’s delivery into the box caught Palace’s defence flat-footed, falling to Enzo Fernández, who fired over the bar from a promising position. Palace threatened again when a misplaced Reece James header gifted Sarr a chance, but a recovering Cucurella did enough to force the Senegalese winger wide of the post.

Despite Palace’s moments, Chelsea’s dominance in possession began to tell.

The breakthrough arrived when Brazilian wonderkid Estêvão capitalised on a costly misplaced back-pass from Palace youngster Jaydee Canvot. Latching onto the loose ball, Estêvão burst clear with Tyrique Mitchell in pursuit before calmly finishing down the middle to put the Blues ahead.

The teenager nearly doubled Chelsea’s advantage minutes later, racing onto a clearance that turned defence into attack, but his effort drifted narrowly wide of the far post. Chelsea went into the break with Estêvão’s opener separating the sides.

The Blues emerged after the restart with renewed intensity. Just five minutes into the second half, Estêvão was involved again, this time turning provider.

His clever lob behind the Palace back line found João Pedro, who cut inside, beat Adam Wharton, and fired through Dean Henderson’s legs to make it 2–0 and put Chelsea firmly in control.

Brazilian flair continued to torment the Eagles. Estêvão forced Henderson into a sharp save with a curling effort from distance, while Palace struggled to contain Chelsea’s pace and movement. The third goal arrived before the hour mark when Canvot, unfortunate again, was penalised for handball as João Pedro looked set to score into an open net.

Enzo Fernández stepped up and coolly dispatched the penalty into the bottom corner.

Palace’s afternoon worsened when Adam Wharton received two reckless bookings in quick succession, reducing the hosts to ten men.

Chris Richards grabbed a late consolation goal, but it did little to change the narrative of a dominant Chelsea performance.

Rosenior’s side now move ahead of Liverpool in the Premier League table, with a Champions League trip to Naples looming as they look to secure progression to the last 16. Palace, meanwhile, face another stern test away at Nottingham Forest next week, searching desperately for a spark to halt their alarming slide.