Chelsea player ratings vs Crystal Palace: Dazzling Estevao Willian & Joao Pedro clip the Eagles' wings as Liam Rosenior's side leapfrog Liverpool in top four race

Chelsea's young Brazilians were the stars of the show on Sunday as the Blues beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park to move above Liverpool in the Premier League's top four race. Estevao Willian opened the scoring in style before Joao Pedro made it 2-0 just after half-time. An Enzo Fernandez penalty then put the game out of reach, while Palace finished with 10 men after Adam Wharton saw red in the second half.

Crystal Palace had the first chance after just eight minutes when Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr combined to rob Benoit Badiashile of possession just outside his own penalty area. Mateta strode forwards and fired at goal but was denied by Blues goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who blocked his effort.

The breakthrough came just after the half hour through another mistake. Estevao pounced on a poor back pass and raced goalwards, managing to shrug off the attentions of Tyrick Mitchell. The Brazilian looked to have taken the ball too far but then smashed a brilliant finish past Dean Henderson in the Palace goal.

Chances were at a premium for both sides in the opening 45 minutes, but Chelsea doubled their lead just minutes into the second half. Estevao dinked a ball over the top for Pedro to run into the penalty area, cut the ball past Wharton and then blast past Henderson for 2-0.

Estevao was at the heart of all of Chelsea's best play and made Henderson work again to prevent the visitors from going 3-0 up. The Brazilian whipped in a wonderful curling shot with his left foot that Henderson managed to tip away at full stretch. Yet Chelsea didn't have too much longer to wait to extend their lead as the Blues were awarded a penalty for handball after Pedro's shot was blocked by Jaydee Canvot's arm. Enzo Fernandez duly stepped up and fired a low shot home to end the game as a contest.

A miserable afternoon for the Eagles was compounded when Wharton caught Moises Caicedo late and was handed his marching orders for picking up a second yellow card. Chris Richards did manage to pull a scrappy goal back late on for Palace but it was to prove only a consolation as Chelsea took all three points to move above Liverpool in the table.

GOAL rates Chelsea's players from Selhurst Park...

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Goalkeeper & Defence
Robert Sanchez (7/10):
Made an important save early on from Mateta and didn't have too much to do after that. Was left fuming late as his clean sheet was ruined despite his best efforts.
Reece James (7/10):
Another commanding performance from the Chelsea skipper. Solid at the back and made some good overlapping runs.
Trevoh Chalobah (8/10):
Put in a good performance up against Mateta and played a part in Chelsea's second goal with a great tackle.
Benoit Badiashile (5/10):
Almost gifted Mateta the opener with a poor mistake but was saved by Sanchez.
Marc Cucurella (6/10):
Not his greatest performance and struggled to link well with Pedro down the left flank. Had a sight of goal in the second half but wasted it.

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Midfield
Moises Caicedo (6/10):
Had to be really careful after being booked early on and then going close to another yellow card with a second mistimed challenge.
Andrey Santos (7/10)
An effective showing from Santos in midfield. Made a vital clearance in the first half, won some important duels and distributed the ball well.
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Attack
Estevao (8/10):
Another exciting showing from the Brazilian. Opened the scoring with a great run and an even better finish. Might have added a second before the break in similar style and then set up Pedro for Chelsea's second.
Enzo Fernandez (7/10):
Fired over a decent chance after a cross from Marc Cucurella but finished off Crystal Palace with a confident penalty.
Pedro Neto (5/10):
Put a shift in as always but didn't cause Palace many problems.
Joao Pedro (8/10):
Very quiet in the first half but doubled Chelsea's lead at the start of the second half with a great run and finish and then won a penalty.

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Subs & Manager
Malo Gusto (N/A):
Came on with the game already won.
Jamie Gittens (N/A):
Another late substitute but didn't have much time to make an impact.
Liam Rosenior (7/10):
The Chelsea boss was without Cole Palmer yet again but saw his team cruise to victory at Selhurst Park. That's now four wins out of five for Rosenior since he replaced Enzo Maresca at the helm.

Goalkeeper & Defence

Midfield

Attack

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Subs & Manager