Eberechi Eze's sublime second-half strike denied Chelsea a second Premier League win on the spin, as the Blues' problems with inconsistent performances reared their ugly head once more.
Last time out in the Premier League, before this disappointing 1-1 draw, Enzo Maresca's side devastatingly beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 6-2 on their own patch, as Noni Madueke fired home an unbelievable 15-minute hat-trick.
Back at Stamford Bridge though, Chelsea were made to rue their ineffectiveness in front of goal, which was alien from their emphatic display against Gary O'Neil's bruised side.
One player who used to star for O'Neil at Molineux was notably out-of-sorts against Oliver Glasner's Eagles, as Pedro Neto never got going in the early afternoon match-up.
Neto's performance vs Palace
The £54m signing from the West Midlands outfit this summer was below-par throughout, on what was only his third-ever clash wearing his new Chelsea blue.
Picking up an assist against his former employers in that 6-2 rout to get his Chelsea career off the ground, Neto displayed no such creative spark against Palace, with zero shots registered at Dean Henderson's busy goal.
Alongside going all goal-shy against Palace, the 24-year-old attacker only amassed 22 touches of the ball from his forgettable spell on the Stamford Bridge turf – which ended up being fewer than Robert Sanchez in-between the sticks for Chelsea who managed 41 – with zero accurate crosses tallied up too from four attempts.
Scott Wilson, who was covering the match for GOAL, dished out a low 4/10 match rating to Neto after the full-time whistle as a result, stating that the new Portuguese recruit 'struggled' as many Chelsea attacks were focused down the opposing right flank, as the game bypassed the former Wolves man subsequently.
23/24
20
2
9
22/23
18
0
1
21/22
13
1
1
20/21
31
5
6
19/20
29
3
3
Chelsea will just have to hope they've spent more of Todd Boehly's mega millions wisely on Neto, as he can be a menace for Premier League defences to contain at the very top of his game, with nine assists managed last season for Wolves from just 20 top-flight games, owing to an injury-disrupted campaign.
However, for Chelsea's next trip to AFC Bournemouth, the £54m-rated winger could well be sacrificed, as Maresca assesses who might start in the underperforming attacker's place now versus the Cherries.
Who Maresca could replace Neto with
During the game against Palace, Maresca threw another new signing into the mix in Neto's spot when the ex-Wolves man left the pitch on the 58th-minute mark in the form of Joao Felix, who can operate down the left channel if needed.
Neto's fellow compatriot returned to Stamford Bridge in dramatic fashion this summer and will want a starting spot soon in West London, with six goals managed from ten games lining up in the left wing spot when previously playing for Atletico Madrid.
There's also the small matter of trying to fit in Jadon Sancho to the Chelsea line-up for the Italian to get his head around, as the former Borussia Dortmund winger attempts to resurrect his Premier League career with the Blues.
He stands a good chance when it comes to featuring against Bournemouth, owing to the international break giving him time to get up to speed with things in his new location, on top of the fact Mykhaylo Mudryk isn't exactly banging the door down for his starting spot back on the left.
The hot and cold Ukranian forward did try and cut open Palace late on, with one key pass managed from 16 minutes of action, but his output of seven goals and five assists from 61 Chelsea contests to date still makes for underwhelming reading.
It's a selection conundrum that Maresca will have to solve moving forward, as the Blues now have a lengthy international break to contend with, which could prove to be beneficial on the training pitch.
Chelsea have struck gold on amazing star who's worth far more than Sancho
Enzo Maresca could hit the jackpot on a winger he has recently signed
ByRoss Kilvington