Following a steady start, Walter Nutter opened the scoring for the Blues with a stunning free-kick that curled into the top corner beyond Palace goalkeeper Marcus Hill.

After the interval, Chelsea created a handful of chances but had to dig deep as Palace increased the pressure and pinned us back in our half.

Blues goalkeeper Hudson Sands made several crucial saves to keep us in front and despite having Nutter dismissed late on after being shown a second yellow card, we battled our way to the final whistle to claim three points before the international break.

Getting settled

This London derby began with both teams feeling each other out, but the young Blues soon settled into a rhythmic passing game and we started to work our way up the pitch.

Our first genuine chance of the contest fell for Harry McGlinchey. Cutting in from the wing, he whipped a dangerous shot toward goal but Hill remained composed and gathered the effort with minimal fuss.

Momentum quickly swung as Palace carved out an opening of their own. Jasper Judd launched a looping ball to the onrushing Joel Drakes-Thomas on the flank. He burst forward and fired a fierce shot on target, but Sands reacted well to keep the game goalless.

Drakes-Thomas proved a consistent outlet for the Eagles and threatened our goal again with a strike from a similar distance. This time, his attempt flew narrowly over the crossbar.

We thought we had broken the deadlock when McGlinchey and Nutter combined brilliantly, and the latter whipped a cross into the penalty for Chizaram Ezenwata. The Blues forward headed into the bottom corner but just as the celebrations began, the assistant's flag went up for offside.

As we approached the half-hour mark, Palace came close to scoring. Drakes-Thomas played a sharp one-two with Rylan Brownlie, who unleashed a low, venomous shot. Sands, once again, reacted sharply to block the effort and keep us on level terms.

Fabulous free-kick

The breakthrough finally arrived in the 33rd minute - and in stunning fashion. After Reggie Walsh was brought down just outside the box, Nutter stepped up with confidence and struck a sublime right-footed free-kick into the top corner.

It was a moment of brilliance from the schoolboy to put Chelsea ahead.

Palace reacted with urgency and almost forced an equaliser on the counter. Kai-Reece Adams-Collman drove forward at pace and threaded a clever pass through to Ben Casey. The attacker struck low from inside the area but his effort whistled past the post.

We nearly doubled our advantage just before the break. Ezenwata picked out Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli inside the box and his powerful effort rolled agonisingly wide. With that, the Blues headed into half-time 1-0 up but determined to build on our lead.

Full force

We started the second period with purpose as Ezenwata burst forward and slid a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Sol Gordon. The forward skipped past his marker and unleashed a powerful strike, but the ball flew into the side netting.

Palace reacted with a spell of intense pressure and pinned us deep in our half. Drakes-Thomas whipped a dangerous cross into the box and Dean Benamar rose highest to meet it. His header bounced awkwardly toward goal, but Sands reacted instinctively to push it away and preserve our lead.

As the tempo increased, we fought back. McGlinchey drove down the wing before threading a pinpoint pass into Nicoll-Jazuli’s stride. He struck it first time but his close-range effort rolled wide of the post.

With momentum now in our favour, we pressed for a second – and Nutter delivered a wicked curling corner that Gordon managed to get the slightest touch on, but his header cleared the crossbar.

Holding on

Palace weren’t finished and Williams hammered a powerful free-kick against the crossbar. Jerome Osei Kyremeh reacted quickest to the rebound to smash home, but the offside flag went up immediately.

The game's final minutes were nervy for our young Blues. Adams-Collman made a bold run upfield and cut the ball back for substitute Donte Martin, who fired a close-range shot on target. Sands pulled off a crucial save to deny a late leveller.

Just as we thought we had seen the job through, Nutter received his second yellow card for bringing down the tricky Drakes-Thomas.

Yet despite being reduced to 10 men, the Blues remained resilient and continued to fight, securing our first clean sheet and league victory of the season.

What's next

Chelsea return to Under-18 Premier League action after the international break with an away match against Reading on Saturday 29 March. Kick-off is at 11am and supporters across the world can watch the fixture live for free on the official Chelsea website and app.

The teams

Chelsea (4-3-3): Hudson Sands; Joseph Wheeler-Henry, Olutayo Subuloye, Calvin Diakite, Walter Nutter; Ollie Harrison (c), Sol Gordon (Frankie Runham 67), Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli (Yahya Idrissi 78); Reggie Walsh (Dante Waite 90+1), Chizaram Ezenwata, Harry McGlinchey (Ryan Kavuma-McQueen 68)
Unused subs: Hezekiah Grimwade
Scorer: Nutter 33
Sent off: Nutter 90+4
Booked: Nicoll-Jazuli 14, Nutter 53, 90+4, Wheeler-Henry 89, Sands 90+1

Crystal Palace (3-4-3): Marcus Hill, Jasper Judd, Dean Benamar, Euan Danaher (Chuks Okoli 76), Sean Somade, Jacob Fasida, Joel Drakes-Thomas, Kai-Reece Adams-Collman, Ben Casey (Donte Martin 83), Sebastian Williams (c), Rylan Brownlie (Jerome Osei Kyremeh h-t)
Unused subs: Tyler Whyte, Harry Whitworth
Booked: Fasida 44