Chelsea sent Xavi Simons transfer message as Estevao Willian truth perfectly clear to see

A gold badge on their chest, a 'world champions' banner unveiled on the hotel above the Shed End and an expectant stadium full of supporters - eventually, anyway - yet Chelsea could not find a way through a resurgent Crystal Palace defence.

The Eagles, led by the impressive Oliver Glasner, set out to frustrate the Blues while offering a threat on the break. That they did by earning a point at Stamford Bridge on an afternoon that will be looked back on with frustration from a Chelsea perspective.

Every team wants to get their first win of the season out of the way as quickly as possible. For Chelsea, they were unable to do that on Sunday, but there were plenty of positives to take from the sunny afternoon in SW6 - as co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali watched on.

Acheampong answers Maresca call

Enzo Maresca spoke at length on Friday morning about the impact Levi Colwill's serious ACL injury will have on Chelsea's season. The Blues head coach sent out a plea to the club to go and get him a new central defender - one, crucially, that can start the attack from the middle of a back three.

That is something Colwill does so well and while Chelsea have a host of other centre-back options; only Tosin Adarabioyo, in Maresca's view, can have the same sort of impact as the injured defender. So when Tosin did not turn up with the rest of the Chelsea squad on Sunday afternoon, there was a mixture of concern and intrigue about how the Blues would cope and who would be used there instead.

Maresca, much to the excitement of Chelsea supporters, put his trust in Josh Acheampong. At just 19-years-old, the Cobham graduate became the youngest starter for the Blues in the opening game of the Premier League season since Glen Johnson just over 20 years ago.

Acheampong, his talent and his potential is no secret to the Chelsea fan base, yet there was a curiosity to see how he would cope in an unfamiliar role. The way Maresca plays, the middle centre-back is effectively a deep playmaker. So when Acheampong gave the ball away early in the first-half - that eventually led to Eberechi Eze scoring from a free-kick, only for it to later be disallowed following a VAR intervention - there was a bit of a worry about how that would impact him.

The teenager showed character, though, to come through a shaky start. At one point, he put in a crunching challenge on Daniel Munoz that caused perhaps the loudest cheer of the afternoon - from the home supporters, anyway - before swiftly getting up and winning a free-kick after being fouled by Jean-Philippe Mateta, who was booked for the foul.

Mateta, a physical specimen, was his direct opponent on the afternoon and the Palace striker did cause Acheampong some problems. Overall, though, he managed to deal with Mateta well and there were not many times in the game where the French centre-forward looked too dangerous.

"Very good, very good," Maresca responded when asked how he thought Acheampong fared against the Eagles. "We already showed confidence in Josh last year. He played already some games. Today he did very well, he dealt with Mateta very well. So overall, he did a good game."

Estevao huffed and puffed

After a stimulating debut against Bayer Leverkusen nine days prior, Estevao Willian's introduction on 54 minutes was met with a huge noise around Stamford Bridge. There is such excitement when it comes to this kid - a potential generational talent. One who seems unfazed by the pressure and expectation that is part and parcel when it comes to representing a club the size of Chelsea.

18-years-old, yet his new teammates were keen to get him on the ball as often as possible. That happened moments after his introduction and he took on Marc Guehi - with ease as well - before delivering a peach of a cross to the far post for Pedro Neto, who could not get the right connection with his header.

He continued to huff and puff but could not quite blow the Palace house down.

Estevao is so tricky, so direct and such an annoyance to any full-back he plays against. Physically, he threw himself around as well - and we all know there are plenty of questions over whether an 18-year-old from South America is ready to play in the Premier League on a regular basis.

"He was very good," said Maresca when asked about the Brazilian. "He showed personality, he's already shown that in the training sessions. For sure, no doubt that slowly, slowly he will be a very important player for this club."

While Chelsea, like their supporters, are really excited by the prospect of Estevao and what he can offer the side, there will be no immediate rush when it comes to the teenage winger. The Blues will take their time with him as they look to handle such a special talent in the best possible way, but there is no doubting he will play plenty of football in what is set to be another action-packed campaign for the west Londoners.

Simons transfer message

In an ideal world, Xavi Simons would have been in the Chelsea squad for Sunday afternoon's draw. However, the Blues have been left frustrated - mostly because they are waiting for a couple of attacking outgoings - with a move for the 22-year-old somewhat at an impasse.

There remains - and this sounds like a broken record at this point - a confidence from Simons' side that a deal will eventually be completed, football.london understands. Manchester City showed an interest in the RB Leipzig attacker but were quickly made aware that he has his heart set on a move to Stamford Bridge this summer.

Negotiations will continue while Chelsea work on outgoings as well, but you cannot help feel the Blues could have done with someone like Simons on Sunday. Simons is an attacker that can operate in the tight spaces, those sort of areas on the edge of the box that are usually congested with players from both teams.

Cole Palmer, also, is usually effective at breaking such defensive lines down but Chelsea's new No.10 was not quite at it against the Eagles. Joao Pedro was brought in for games like this as well, but the Brazilian forward could not get involved enough to make an impact.

Perhaps Simons could have. But we will never know.