Maresca: Chelsea on right track despite Palace draw

Enzo Maresca believes Chelsea are on the right track despite being pegged back to a 1-1 draw by Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday.

Nicolas Jackson scored during a dominant first half for the Blues, but they had to share the points after Eberechi Eze’s stunning long-range strike.

Dean Henderson’s work in goal also frustrated Chelsea, who got seven of their 13 shots on target, creating 2.27 expected goals, but they struggled to recreate the clinical showing they put on at Wolves last weekend.

Despite still searching for their first Premier League home win of his tenure, Maresca was proud of his team’s performance.

“We completely deserved to win the game,” Marseca told Sky Sports. “We had many, many chances.

“The most important thing was the performance, and the performance was there. We conceded just two shots today.

“We didn’t take the three points but playing the way we did today, I think we will win games.

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“I feel a bit of shame for the result, but not the performance. The direction is the correct one.

“With the players arriving now, we can even better.”

Palace were perhaps fortunate not to go down to 10 men in the second half, with Will Hughes not receiving what would have been a second booking for a foul on Palmer just before Eze equalised.

Asked if he believed it should have been a red card, Maresca admitted it would have changed the picture of the game.

“This kind of thing for sure changes the game,” he added.

“It was a clear second yellow card, but the referee thinks in different ways. In that moment, we were also 1-0 up and the game completely would change 11 v 10.”