Jean-Philippe Mateta got off to a strong start and was afforded an early opportunity when he and Ismaïla Sarr teamed up to dispossess Benoît Badiashile, but the striker was denied by Robert Sánchez.
Enzo Fernández had a big opportunity of his own after João Pedro was unable to get a convincing contact on Marc Cucurella’s cross, although the Argentine blazed his shot harmlessly over the crossbar.
Moisés Caicedo was also left frustrated, having sent his attempt wide following another bounce that had sat up invitingly.
Reece James’ header from a long throw created problems for the Blues at the other end, as Sarr was quickest to react around the six-yard box but could only guide his shot wide.
Jaydee Canvot wasn’t so fortunate in the 34th minute, as Estêvão latched onto the defender’s wayward pass and raced away from Tyrick Mitchell before drilling the ball past Dean Henderson.
Oliver Glasner’s side responded well to the setback, although a Fernández header in his own box almost saw them undone by Estêvão again, as the Brazilian raced behind but fired wide on that occasion.
Chelsea opened up the hosts with ease within five minutes of the restart when Estêvão clipped the ball behind for Pedro, who effortlessly cut inside Adam Wharton and smashed the ball through Henderson’s legs.
Continuing to provide a threat, Estêvão saw a curling shot parried away by Henderson before the goalkeeper caught a Cucurella effort that had looped up off the floor.
He then failed to deal with Reece James’ cross, and Canvot handled Pedro’s shot to concede a penalty, which Fernández confidently converted.
Palace’s situation then got even worse due to Adam Wharton being shown two yellows in five minutes for challenges on Moisés Caicedo, which keeps him out of the match against Nottingham Forest.
Sánchez denied a Jefferson Lerma header in the 88th minute, but the visitors weren’t able to clear, and Chris Richards converted to give the home fans something to cheer.
Even so, the Blues navigated nine minutes of added time as Liam Rosenior became the first English manager to win his first two PL matches in charge of a club since Steven Gerrard in 2021, taking Chelsea up to fourth in the process.
The result also condemns Palace to an 11th competitive game in a row without a victory.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Estêvão (Chelsea)
