Enzo Maresca spoke about Cole Palmer’s goal worries after blanking against Aston Villa (Image: X/Chelsea FC)
has addressed growing issue with after the Blues star blanked in their 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.
The 22-year-old failed to score or assist for a fifth consecutive game for the Blues as they slumped to their fifth defeat in 10 Premier League matches.
Palmer had a golden chance to put the Blues back in front at 1-1 after Marco Asensio had equalised following Enzo Fernandez’s opener. But the England international fluffed his lines and allowed Ezri Konsa to hack his goalbound effort clear.
The playmaker often cut a frustrated figure on the pitch at Villa Park and after his pass to the Frenchman went astray.
But instead of focusing on Palmer’s issues in front of goal, Maresca challenged his team-mates to make up for the shortfall – insisting they cannot solely rely on him to produce the goods.
Asked if he was concerned about Palmer during a press conference on Tuesday, the 45-year-old said: “No. I’m always concerned about general performance but I’m not concerned about Cole.
“Cole is a human being. The problem with Cole is probably we rely on Cole for everything and I’ve said since the start, we need to rely on the team. We are not worried about Cole at all.”
Cole Palmer failed to score for the fifth game in a row for Chelsea (Image: Getty)
Palmer has once again been ‘s leading figure in goals and assists this season, bagging 14 goals and registering six assists in 26 Premier League outings.
But his alarming dip in form has coincided with ‘s similar slide down the table, as the west London outfit find themselves down in seventh following their latest defeat.
Asked how he can help Palmer rediscover his magic touch, Maresca added: “Just continue working in the way he is working. The other day, I think yes he had a great chance, but overall the performance from Cole [was good].
“Every game we expect goals and assists from him, so it’s difficult; he is a human being. His performances at the minute probably reflect the team’s performances.”
Enzo Maresca has told his side to ease the pressure on Cole Palmer by scoring more (Image: Getty)
And Maresca’s comments may ring true when considering that Christopher Nkunku, Jadon Sancho and have only contributed six league goals between them, while injured star Nicolas Jackson has found the net nine times.
Remarkably, Palmer has created 66 chances this term – the most of any player in the top flight – and only six have been converted. None of the last 32 have resulted in a goal, highlighting a huge issue with profligacy in the team.
As they prepare to face rock-bottom Southampton on Tuesday, won’t have better opportunity to put things right. But Maresca warned his side not to get complacent after saying he expected a ‘tricky game’.
“I really think that [it will be a tricky game]. It is football,” he said. “If you see a few games ago, the Man United one, they were winning until the end but Man United won the game.”