COLE PALMER is used to mopping the floor with Premier League opponents.
And the Chelsea star has been so angry with recent results that he is now taking his own teammates to the cleaners – by dominating fitness tests at Cobham.
Cole Palmer has consistently featured in Chelsea’s starting line-up[/caption]
There were fears Chelsea star Palmer could be heading towards burnout[/caption]
But Palmer still aced a fitness test and did much better than Chelsea team-mates[/caption]
The Blues welcome struggling Southampton to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday needing to kick-start their Prem campaign back into life with Champions League qualification a priority.
That ambition has been hampered by a stinking run of form – collecting NINE points from a possible 30 in the league since December 22, 2024 to leave them in seventh.
Hope is not lost just yet, especially with fifth potentially earning a Champions League spot this year.
Enzo Maresca’s men remain just four points off the top three with third-placed Nottingham Forest, fourth-placed Manchester City and sixth-placed Bournemouth all losing at the weekend.
And Palmer, 22 – goalless since drawing 2-2 with the Cherries on January 14 – is leading the way in training, to the delight of Maresca ahead of facing the Saints.
Asked if Palmer trains harder when things aren’t going well, the Italian coach explained: “Yeah absolutely. I will tell you one detail that is very important.
“Every six or seven months we do a physical test. So we did one in pre-season and we did another last week and [Palmer] was the strongest one. The one that won the test.
“So that’s sure that he has desire not only on the ball, but he is working hard and he’s doing fantastic. I absolutely love that.
“Every game, we expect a goal or assist from him. Because everyone relies on Cole, people see on Cole as the solution. But the solution at the end has to be always the team.”
Off the back of reaching – and scoring in – the Euros final 2-1 defeat to Spain for England last summer, Palmer has started all 26 of Chelsea’s Prem games this term.
With 2,283 Prem minutes to his name – subbed off just seven times so far – no Blues player has featured more.
It is no wonder then that Palmer has suffered a slight dip in form in recent weeks, without a Prem goal in five outings and without a league assist since December 1.
With the score at 1-1 away to Aston Villa on Saturday night, Palmer missed a golden opportunity to score his 15th league goal of the season before the hosts grabbed a late winner through Marco Asensio thanks to a Filip Jorgensen goalkeeping howler.
It was not the Palmer we are used to watching – one who notched a Chelsea-record 26 goals and 13 assists in the Prem in 2024.
Whether he could do with a rest against relegation-bound Southampton, Maresca said: “No. Cole belongs to that kind of players that in some moment they can do something different.
“For sure in terms of numbers, goal and assist is a moment where he struggles but at the end he had the chances. He was there, then he missed, okay, but he was there.
Southampton game plan
“The problem is when you are not there. But it’s not just about Cole. We have had more chances with different players but because it’s Cole, everyone is watching. That is okay.
“From now on, we have 12 games to go and no doubt that all of them are a must win for us.
“Probably in this moment it’s not enough, we need to find something extra to get results. But for sure we’re going to be there.”
Despite letting Asensio’s shot wriggle under his body, Jorgensen is set to start in goal once more ahead of error-strewn Robert Sanchez, with Maresca explaining: “If we need to change players every time they make a mistake, we need to change players game by game, many players. But nothing has changed.
“He feels a little bit sad or upset because he recognised that it has been a mistake but he’s ok.”
Centre-back Trevoh Chalobah will miss the Southampton game and will be out for another week after being forced off against Villa – another defensive blow with Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana targeting a comeback next month.
