Samba and tango in London: Chelsea's South Americans dismantle Palace

When Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi joined Manchester City, the Eagles' boss Oliver Glasner warned everyone that his team's defence would be severely weakened.

The evidence of that came just days later, as Chelsea dismantled Palace 3-1 in a London derby.

Regardless of the result, the Blues weren't that good, but the home team's back line was abysmal, making mistake after mistake and helping Liam Rosenior's crew earn three points quite comfortably.

Estevao before the break, and Joao Pedro and Enzo Fernandez from the spot in the opening 20 minutes of the second half easily sealed the deal for Chelsea, which recorded their second straight EPL win and moved to the fourth league position, while Chris Richards' 88th-minute consolation goal did not change the impression much.

A general feeling was that the home team started the game better, while Chelsea seemed pretty disorganized and confused, without a clear idea of how they wanted to play.

It caused insecurity, which led to the first massive chance in the game. Benoit Badiashile lost the ball dangerously close to the Blues' box, Jean-Philippe Mateta faced Robert Sanchez one-on-one, but the Spaniard made a terrific point-blank save, keeping his team's head above water.

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The ball was way more in the visitors' half, Ismaila Sarr tormented their defence, and yet, Chelsea broke the deadlock, as the absence of Marc Guehi took its toll for the first time.

Palace's 19-year-old centre-back Jaydee Canvot sent a terrible back pass, putting Estevao through on goal. Tyrick Mitchell gave his best to catch up with the Brazilian, but ultimately failed, and the forward put the Blues in front.

By the end of the half, he had another decent opportunity to complete a brace, but Liam Rosenior and his lads had to be satisfied with the advantage they had at the break, since things could have easily been much different.

The fact that they were up despite a subpar performance, undoubtedly boosted the visitors' confidence, while Rosenior must have held a powerful half-time speech. Either way, his lads doubled their lead five minutes after the break!

The Brazilian combination worked perfectly, only this time, Estevao assisted, and Joao Pedro netted his eighth Premier League goal, paving the way for Chelsea's vital victory.

That goal totally disheartened Oliver Glasner's men, as their defence was close to collapse for the third time, minutes after the ex-Brighton striker's goal, but the custodian Dean Henderson saved them. Only temporarily, though.

In the 64th minute, Chelsea were awarded a penalty kick following Canvot's handball, and Enzo Fernandez didn't refuse such a gift, making it 3-0. What was supposed to be a fierce derby became a clash of might and vulnerability.

To make matters worse for the Eagles, Adam Wharton was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in the span of five minutes (67th and 72nd). The Blues had a clear path to demolish Glasner's crew. In the end, Palace managed to score a consolation goal over Chris Richards following a melee in Chelsea's box after an 88th-minute corner kick, but it will hardly bring comfort to them after another defeat.

PREMIER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 23

Saturday

West Ham - Sunderland 3-1 (3-0)

/Summerville 14, Bowen 28 pen, Fernandes 43 - Brobbey 66/

Burnley - Tottenham 2-2 (1-1)

/Tuanzebe 45, Foster 76 - Van de Ven 38, Romero 90/

Fulham - Brighton 2-1 (0-1)

/Chukwueze 72, Wilson 90+2 - Ayari 28/

Man. City - Wolverhampton 2-0 (2-0)

/Marmoush 6, Semenyo 45+2/

Bournemouth - Liverpool 3-2 (2-1)

/Evanilson 26, Jimenez 33, Adli 90+5 - Van Dijk 45, Szoboszlai 80/

Sunday

Brentford - Nottingham Forest 0-2 (0-1)

/Jesus 12, Awoniyi 79/

Crystal Palace - Chelsea 1-3 (0-1)

/Richards 88 - Estevao 34, Pedro 50, Fernandez 64 pen/

Newcastle - Aston Villa 0-2 (0-1)

/Buendia 19, Watkins 88/

19.30: (1.60) Arsenal (4.30) Man.Utd. (5.75)

Monday

23.00: (2.55) Everton (3.25) Leeds (3.10)

***odds are subject to change***