Sports

Chelsea ratings: Palmer, Gittens, Pedro all 4/10 in drab draw with Palace

Published

2 weeks ago

August 17, 2025

Chelsea ratings: Palmer, Gittens, Pedro all 4/10 in drab draw with Palace

Aug 17, 2025, 11:00 AM ET

Chelsea were left frustrated by Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon as an out-of-sync attacking display resulted in a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge.

The visitors had the ball in the net first when Eberechi Eze smashed home from a direct free kick, but a VAR intervention disallowed it after deeming Marc Guéhi to be within one meter of the defensive wall.

Palace looked the brighter of the two sides as Adam Wharton linked well with Jean-Philippe Mateta to force a save from Robert Sánchez, while Chelsea struggled to get Cole Palmer into the game and winger Pedro Neto tried to be positive in an overall sluggish opening 45 minutes from the Blues.

The introduction of Estêvão off the bench added energy into Chelsea’s attack as he instantly got past his marker after a break of the ball, before clipping a cross into a dangerous area. The 18-year-old Brazil international then had the best chance of the game, only to fire over the bar after taking a bad touch.

Chelsea’s best spell of the game didn’t come until the final 10 minutes when they made a handful of late chances — none better than the one that fell to substitute Andrey Santos, who skied it way over the bar. But it was too little, too late.

Positives

England youth international Josh Acheampong was a standout for Chelsea in defense, as he consistently matched Mateta to complete an assured 90 minutes. There were also positive signs from Estêvão who temporarily ignited the Blues’ attack off the bench, though he should have done better with his chance.

– Premier League updates: Chelsea held by Palace
– Sources: Simons favors Chelsea over Bayern, Man City

Negatives

Chelsea registered a shot on target in the third minute and then didn’t get another one until the 90th. The Blues struggled to find the answers to unlock Crystal Palace’s defense, while their final balls and execution of shots was poor.

Manager rating out of 10

Enzo Maresca, 5 — Proactive in looking to change the game, Maresca took little time to bring on Estêvão. But he could have brought Liam Delap on slightly earlier to try and get a goal.

Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)

GK Robert Sanchez, 5 — Saved by VAR after Eze’s freekick flashed past him, but then made a good stop against Mateta’s effort. He saved the efforts he was expected to stop.

DF Marc Cucurella, 6 — Flew into a challenge and fouled Will Hughes on the edge of the box, but was saved by VAR after Eze’s freekick was disallowed after Guehi was within a meter of the wall when the ball was struck. He made positive runs into the opposition box when inverted.

DF Trevoh Chalobah, 6 — He anticipated play well and picked up intelligent positions during counter-attacks; he also helped set the press to win the ball back by playing high and made himself an option to receive the ball.

DF Josh Acheampong, 7 — The Chelsea academy graduate battled well in an overall strong performance, winning several duels and looking composed when progressing the ball forwards. He marked Mateta closely to prevent him from linking play.

DF Reece James, 5 — Careless with his challenges at times, James was booked and then warned after committing foul following a nutmeg from Eze.

MF Moisés Caicedo, 5 — The midfielder pressed aggressively to challenge for the ball, but was sometimes too late and played around. He also mistimed his tackles in other moments.

MF Enzo Fernández, 5 — The Argentina international looked to play the ball forward but was too slow and ineffective before he was replaced by Andrey Santos.

AM Jamie Gittens, 4 — The winger worked hard but was unproductive overall on his Premier League debut for Chelsea and was replaced early in the second half by Estêvão.

AM Cole Palmer, 4 — Palmer was rarely involved as he struggled to find space to get on the ball. He looped an effort over the bar while another was blocked, and he was not as incisive with his passing as normal.

AM Pedro Neto, 6 — The winger had bright moments when looking to beat his marker and worked hard to chase down balls. He also applied pressure from long balls to force mistakes from defenders.

ST João Pedro, 4 — The striker dropped into channels to receive the ball but nothing came of it against a stubborn Palace backline. He drifted out of the game in the second half before being replaced by Delap.

Substitutes

Estêvão (Gittens, 54″) 6 — Made an impact as soon as he got the ball, taking on his marker before delivering a cross into the box that was marginally too high for Neto. He had Chelsea’s biggest chance in the 66th minute but took a bad touch and then fired over the bar. He was also booked for an aggressive tackle on Daniel Muñoz.

Liam Delap (Joao Pedro, 74″) 6 — Delap offered a more direct route for Chelsea and helped win a corner from his willingness to battle with opposition defenders. He beat his marker to work an effort at goal in the 90th minute but it was straight at goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

Malo Gusto (James, 79″) N/R — A bold effort from range was launched into Stamford Bridge’s orbit in the 89th minute.

Andrey Santos (Fernandez, 79″) N/R — Introduced in the 80th minute, the midfielder had a big chance to win the game but sent his strike high over the bar, joining Gusto’s effort in orbit. He also couldn’t find Delap when knocking the ball down moments later.

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Sports

Son Heung-Min nails 1st pitch at Dodger Stadium

Published

53 minutes ago

August 28, 2025

cineplex360

Son Heung-Min nails 1st pitch at Dodger Stadium

Mike WiseAug 27, 2025, 10:50 PM ET
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Star LAFC recruit Son Heung-Min is settling into life in Los Angeles brilliantly.

After netting his debut goal for the club last Saturday — a stunning 30-yard free kick against FC Dallas no less — the South Korea captain capped a fine week by throwing the ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.

Ahead of the Dodgers hosting Cincinnati Reds, the former Premier League star stepped up to the plate and launched a finely arced right-handed strike, much to the delight of the fans at the stadium.

Son’s pitch comes just days after BTS star V also threw the ceremonial first pitch in LA. We’ll leave it up to you to decide which Korean superstars’ throw was best.

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Sports

Travis Kelce calls for Shedeur Sanders to start for Browns amid controversy: ‘Give the people what they want’

Published

2 hours ago

August 28, 2025

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Travis Kelce calls for Shedeur Sanders to start for Browns amid controversy: ‘Give the people what they want’

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Travis Kelce has spoken out about the ongoing controversy over Shedeur Sanders‘ role with the Cleveland Browns.

During his “New Heights” podcast this week, the Kansas City Chiefs star said he believes the Browns should start Sanders, who is third on the team’s depth chart behind veteran Joe Flacco and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel.

Travis Kelce spoke about Shedeur Sanders’ role with the Browns on the latest episode of the “New Heights” podcast, which aired before the official start of the NFL season. (Imagn)

“Give the people what they want, in terms of the Browns fans. Start Shedeur. … Put him in coach,” Kelce said. “Give the people what they want. The world wants to see him go out there, and not only play, but have success. At this point, guys are rooting for him. This isn’t anything against Dillon. This isn’t anything against Joe. I’m just saying the excitement is there for [Sanders] to go out there. He’s going to put eyes on the screen. He’s going to bring people to the game.

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“I would love to f—ing see it, man.”

On the contrary, Kelce’s brother and co-host, Jason Kelce, defended the team naming Joe Flacco as the starter.

“[Browns head coach Kevin] Stefanski and the Browns are trying to do the thing that they feel gives them the best chance to win football games,” Jason said. “If the Browns and Kevin Stefanski felt their best option and the most confident option they had to win games was Shedeur Sanders, they would be playing him.”

Still, Jason conceded that he “wants” to see Sanders play.

“What do I want? I want to see Shedeur Sanders,” Jason said.

Jason also rejected the “conspiracies” surrounding the situation as to why Sanders is as low on the depth chart as he is.

Criticism and conspiracy theories directed at the Browns reemerged after the team’s preseason finale on Saturday.

Sanders entered the game in the third quarter and completed three of six passes for 14 yards, while taking five sacks for a combined loss of 41 yards against the Los Angeles Rams. He netted minus-27 yards for Cleveland before being pulled from the game on the final drive and replaced by veteran Tyler Huntley.

Huntley led the Browns’ offense on a game-winning field goal drive, and the Browns won 19-17.

It was a far cry from Sanders’ first preseason game against the Carolina Panthers Aug. 8, when he threw for two touchdowns and was praised by fans and sports stars, including LeBron James and Dawn Staley.

However, many fans and pundits were quick to defend Sanders for his rough outing on Saturday and blamed the Browns’ coaching for putting Sanders in a position where he had to rely on backup teammates while also calling questionable plays.

EX-NBA PLAYER MAKES SHEDEUR SANDERS-LEBRON JAMES COMPARISON AFTER QB’S PRESEASON DEBUT

Jason Kelce on the ESPN postseason countdown set during the 2025 Pro Bowl Games at Camping World Stadium Feb. 2, 2025. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

Former NFL quarterback Derek Carr questioned why Sanders wasn’t left in the game to finish the final drive.

“I need to understand why we don’t get to see Shedeur Sanders run this 2-minute drill? Wouldn’t you want to see your young QB operate in this situation? Get him more reps for the future? I didn’t see the whole game so maybe he already showed enough? Help me understand this…” Carr wrote on X.

Sports talk show host Skip Bayless posted a 16-minute rant in defense of Sanders on X, while condemning the Browns for their handling of the quarterback.

“They sabotaged it. They rigged it against him today, putting him in with third- and fourth-stringers, fifth-stringers. You got no shot at quarterback,” Bayless said.

Other users on social media leveled similar criticisms at the Browns, with some speculating that the obstacles being put in front of the quarterback are intentional.

Prior to that game, NFL Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson stoked conspiracy theories related to Sanders in a recent interview, claiming that NFL teams were “told not to” draft Sanders to “make an example” of the quarterback when he fell to the fifth round of the NFL Draft in April.

“I tell you this much, what I heard from someone that’s in the NFL [is] that the NFL told [teams], ‘Don’t draft him, do not draft him,'” Dickerson said in a recent interview on the “Roggin and Rodney” show on AM 570 LA Sports.

“‘We’re going to make an example out of him.’ And this came from a very good source, a very good source. They were going to have him not get drafted to basically show you, ‘This is what happens when you do this.’ I mean, look, the NFL’s got all kinds of power. They do all kinds of stuff.”

Sanders’ slide out of the first round shocked many, including President Donald Trump, who condemned the league’s owners for passing on the quarterback in a Truth Social post.

ESPN host Stephen A. Smith revealed a text message from an associate who compared the situation to Colin Kaepernick being out of the NFL since 2016, suggesting “collusion.”

“‘This is a bad look for the NFL. This feels like Kaepernick-level collusion,'” Smith said of the content of the text, adding the situation goes beyond “talent evaluation.”

“All the hard work the NFL League Office puts in to eradicate these kinds of perceptions, only to turn around and watch as the OWNERS look like they’re colluding, messing up everything. What has been done to Shedeur will outshine everything else in this draft. We’ll never believe this is about just talent evaluation again.”

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Shedeur Sanders on the sideline vs Eagles

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders against the Philadelphia Eagles during a game at Lincoln Financial Field. (Kyle Ross/Imagn Images)

Sanders was eventually taken by the Browns on the third and final day of the draft with the 144th pick. The quarterback was initially considered a possible contender for the first overall pick early in the draft process after finishing his final season at Colorado.

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Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.

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