Chelsea cannot expect too much from misfiring Palmer, says Maresca

Enzo Maresca says Chelsea cannot always expect Cole Palmer to hit the dizzying heights he reached last season, after the Blues’ supporting cast stepped up in a 4-0 win over Southampton.

Palmer, who scored 22 goals and provided 11 assists in the Premier League in 2023-24, has struggled for form since the turn of the year.

Tuesday’s 4-0 win over Southampton was his seventh straight game in all competitions without a goal involvement – a run that has seen him fire off 26 shots worth a total of 2.8 expected goals (xG).

He missed two good first-half chances against the Premier League’s bottom club, but his struggles did not matter to Chelsea as Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto, Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella got on the scoresheet.

Maresca has previously warned Chelsea are too reliant on Palmer, and when speaking to TNT Sports after full-time, he said the 22-year-old was due a bad patch.

“We are all former players. All of us went through some bad moments,” Maresca said.

“You cannot expect Palmer to be like he was last season, or how he was in the first part of the season.

“It’s normal. He is human. I was telling him it was normal. He is happy. He is okay.

“He has shared the changing room with some top players and he knows that every top player goes through bad moments.

“It’s about how you react. Keep working, keep laughing, keep calm, be happy and enjoy the football. It’s the only thing you have to do.”

Chelsea had lost three straight games in all competitions before Tuesday’s match, sliding to seventh in the Premier League table and exiting the FA Cup.

Their victory moved them back into the top four ahead of Newcastle United and Manchester City playing on Wednesday, and Maresca knew the importance of earning three points.

“We all needed that. We were in a bad run in terms of results. The performance was always there, maybe except against Brighton. The club needed that,” he said.

“This month and half has been when I have pushed players even more to believe in the process. Since we started, we have almost always been in the top four.

“But now it’s normal to go through some bad moments. It’s about how we react and how we continue to believe in what we do. The players are fantastic and work hard every day.”

Chelsea now have a week off before facing Copenhagen in the first leg of their Europa Conference League last-16 tie on March 6, with Maresca’s former club Leicester City visiting Stamford Bridge three days later.