Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has said Cole Palmer is capable of “things no-one expects” after his penalty ended a 16-week goal drought to help them beat Premier League champions Liverpool 3-1 at Stamford Bridge.
Palmer was back to his best and his stoppage-time goal was the result of an impressive individual performance that paid off as the Blues took a significant blow to their Champions League qualification.
Chelsea were excellent against an admittedly much-changed Liverpool side, Arne Slot making six changes to the side that had won their 20th title a week earlier and however much it disrupted their rhythm the home side were quick to take advantage.
Enzo Fernandes opened the scoring after just three minutes, Jarrell Quansah, making only his third appearance this season, scored a bizarre own goal and then, after Virgil van Dijk had briefly reduced the deficit, Palmer ended months of frustration by converting a penalty after Quansah had fouled Moises Caicedo.
“We saw Cole every day at the training ground and he was the same: scoring goals and in a good mood,” said Maresca, whose side are level on points with fourth-placed Newcastle.
“Of course, when he doesn’t score, he feels dissatisfied, and this is explained by the fact that he wants to help the team and the club achieve important goals.
“He's obviously happy to have scored and that we won, but I haven't seen him change from three months ago. He's scored 14 goals in his (first) 20 Premier League games.”
Things may have gone better for the England striker, although he hit the post from just outside the box after a quick run.
“He's a player who can do things that nobody expects,” Maresca added. “They're different players. When he has the ball, I expect anything because he's capable of so much.”
Palmer told Sky Sports: “I feel
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