Chelsea handed starts to new boys Geremi, Duff, Bridge and Johnson, with Marcel Desailly making his first start of this pre season.
And any fans that still managed to get into the stadium late, despite the kick off being delayed by 15 minutes, would have missed a blistering start by Chelsea. Damien Duff and Wayne Bridge combine well on the left to allow Bridge to send in an inviting ball for Mikael Forssell. The Finn knocked the ball past the despairing defender before burying a right footed shot past Matt Clarke into the far corner.
Both sides had their chances in the first half, but it was Palace who would grab the games next goal with 40 minutes on the clock. Michael Hughes' quick free kick left Dougie Freedman in the clear, and the Palace man duly lobbed the ball over the stranded Cudicini.
The lead was shortlived though. Just minutes later, Hughes' late challenge on Geremi gave Chelsea a free kick in a very dangerous position. You could say that it was in Gianfranco Zola territory...
But with the great Italian departed, Geremi stepped up to curl a magnificent shot past the despairing dive of Matt Clarke. It was a wonderul way for Geremi to mark his Chelsea debut.
In the second half, both sides made plenty of changes and as a result, the game trailed off. Dougie Freedman had a couple of great chances to equalise for Palace- however, both opportunities were spurned.
In the end, 2-1 was probably a fair reflection on the game but the scoreline was irrelevant. It was all about the players building up their fitness, with a Champions League qualifier just a week and a half away...