Chelsea 1-2 Crystal Palace: Sam Allardyce hails his 'shock team'

Sam Allardyce labelled his Crystal Palace side a "shock team" after the Eagles came from behind to earn a stunning 2-1 Premier League win at Chelsea on Saturday.

Chelsea were beaten for just the second time in 18 home games under Antonio Conte and conceded twice for the first time since the January 4 loss at Tottenham, despite having Eden Hazard back following a calf injury.

After Cesc Fabregas' early strike, Chelsea looked set to extend their lead at the top of the table, but two quick-fire goals from Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke turned the match on its head.

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The Eagles held on for a fourth successive win thanks to a battling defensive display, and Allardyce could not hide his delight.

"Everything comes down to how resilient you are when you are not in possession," Allardyce told Sky Sports.

"Anybody who tells you any different is not really up to speed, because anyone that wins anything has one of the best defences, if not the best.

"All you have to do is look at Chelsea, who had only conceded one goal here in their last five games.

"What delights me is the Premier League, and we are the shock team today, and that can happen anywhere at any time in this league. That's why it is the best league in the world.

"I won here when I was at Bolton, when Claudio Ranieri was in charge here, and that was from 1-0 down too... but under the circumstances this was amazing.

"Chelsea were 10 points clear - I think they are going to go and win the league. The quality of their players meant we had to be resilient when defending against them, and we were, and when they did breach that, our goalkeeper was magnificent.

"Our forward line took their opportunities. The plan worked. We played differently than we would normally play, but it has worked very well for us today.

"In the end, because of injuries to a back five, we had to see out a lot of stoppage time at the end."

Allardyce was also keen to praise his clinical strikeforce, insisting Benteke's goal will give the Belgium international a huge boost.

"It was hugely important for him," Allardyce added. "He is a goalscorer, and he was a little worried that he wasn't scoring, and what better way to end that run than scoring the winner against the would-be champions? The way it was worked made it even better.

"Wilf [Zaha] could have had a hat-trick today. If you have a look at the chance he scored, that was the hardest chance he had."