LONDON, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Eberechi Eze was denied a free-kick goal as Crystal Palace was held to a goalless draw at Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday.

The 27-year-old midfielder, linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur, started at Stamford Bridge and appeared to give Palace the lead with a thunderous strike from 20 yards in the 13th minute.

However, referee Darren England disallowed the goal after a VAR review, ruling that defender Marc Guehi had stood within a meter of Chelsea's wall when the kick was taken. The regulation, introduced in 2019, left Palace frustrated after an encouraging first half in which Jean-Philippe Mateta and Maxence Lacroix also went close.

Chelsea, who paraded its FIFA Club World Cup trophy before kick-off following victory over Paris Saint-Germain just over a month ago, looked disjointed for much of the opening period.

After coming off the bench, Chelsea debutants Estevao, Liam Delap and Andrey Santos posed threats but failed to find the net. ■