Behind 2-3 from Manchester United until the 90+7′ minute, Noni Madueke’s penetration had to be brought down by Diogo Dalot in the penalty box. This time there was no Raheem Sterling who pretentiously took the penalty, because this decisive moment was only intended for Cole Palmer.
This 21 year old player coolly directed the ball to the bottom left of Andre Onana’s goal, exactly the same as the penalty he took in the first half. The score was tied at 3-3, and referee Jarred Gillett looked at his watch, calculating the additional eight minutes of injury time he had decided earlier.
Cole Palmer and Nico Jackson immediately took the ball to speed up the kick-in time for United. There was still time, and sure enough, Chelsea finally got a corner in the 90+10′ minute.
Enzo Fernandez quickly gave a short, horizontal pass to Cole Palmer when the Red Devils player was going blank. Having a good shooting angle at the end of the penalty box, Palmer immediately hit the ball and it went into Onana’s goal after it was deflected by Scott Mc Tominay’s body!
The whole of Stamford Bridge immediately shook! Chelsea, who was on United’s comeback until the 90+7′ minute, managed to make a comeback again in the last three minutes with a final score of 4-3. MU fans may have been infuriated by Gillet’s decision to add time, but Chelsea fans were drowning in euphoria.
That’s a picture of five crazy minutes at Stamford Bridge, on Friday. Blues fans have just watched a great match, apart from the 4-4 draw against Manchester City on November 12 2023.
Cole Palmer was the man of the match in that match with his hat trick. Now the left-handed player number 20 has scored 16 goals in the Premier League, only two goals behind Erling Haaland in the list of top scorers.
Considering that he was brought in at the close of the transfer window last summer, and even played in the Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup and the first Premier League Matchday for Manchester City, of course he was not the best choice in Mauricio Pochettino’s dreams.
So how was he able to reverse all predictions, by shining alone as Chelsea’s corner star? When Enzo and Caicedo, who should be shining, are involved in the chaos of the Blues’ inconsistency? Let’s discuss it.
For Manchester City fans, Palmer’s name has resonated since he was at academy level. Coming in after Jadon Sancho and Phil Foden, he is expected to be a big star for City in the future. His goal score is very outstanding in the age category. Moreover, he is a native of Manchester, although he is more inclined to be a fan of the Red Devils.
As we know, Jadon Sancho decided to leave Borussia Dortmund because he didn’t want to compete with Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus at that time. Meanwhile, Foden, who is more patient, finally only this season was promoted to become a core player for The Citizen.
It turns out that Palmer is following Sancho’s path. After Chelsea’s sudden offer came at the close of the transfer window, Cole Palmer spoke with Pep Guardiola. He was clear that if he stayed at City at that time, Palmer would be the sixth choice player after Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez, Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku.
The only choice is to hold on or sell. Manchester City does not want him to be loaned to another team. He also decided to accept Pochettino’s offer to become Chelsea’s main player with a dowry of 45 million pounds. The price at that time was considered quite expensive for players who had not regularly played at the main level of competition.
It turns out Pochettino has good instincts about him! Maybe only Palmer, a new Chelsea player, is the personal desire of the Argentinian coach. Nico Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, and Moises Caicedo are Todd Boehly’s obsession.
The results are visible! Cole Palmer is always present whenever Chelsea needs him. He has scored a total of 19 goals and 12 assists for Chelsea in 36 appearances this season. Palmer has repeatedly been the savior in many of Chelsea’s crucial moments.
His hat trick against Andre Onana (5/4/2024), his penalty at the end of the match when he equalized 4-4 against City (12/11/23), then his two goals in the 3-2 win against Luton Town (30/12/2023 ).
There was also a single goal that Chelsea won over Fulham (13/1/2023) and a goal against Leeds in the FA Cup quarter-finals, making it clear that Cole Palmer is carrying Chelsea this season!
Ricio Pochettino after the dramatic match against Manchester United yesterday. Pochettino underlined that Cole Palmer’s main strength is his extraordinary mentality.
“I think one of Palmer’s best skills is his mentality. His capacity is to deal with pressure. He’s young, this is the first season where he’s played very consistently. It’s extraordinary how he deals with pressure,” praised the manager after the match against United, quoted from goal. .com.
Cole Palmer still holds a perfect record when executing penalty kicks this season. All eight penalty opportunities were converted into goals. He needs three more penalty goals to equal Yaya Toure’s record of 11/11.
Looking at Cole Palmer’s position on the field, there are three posts that are often given to him by Pochettino. Starting the match as an attacking midfielder behind the striker, he can be in the right winger position in the middle of the half, until he becomes the sole striker in the final minutes of the game.
All the position adaptations were done very coolly, without much complaint. Maybe ten minutes after the change of position he is not visible in the game, but after one or two touches with the closest player he can suddenly be very dangerous.
Cole Palmer consciously knows that he is an important player, but remains cold in digesting the match situation. He is rarely involved in individualistic mistakes that are detrimental to the club.
This is what differentiates him from Nico Jackson, Moises Caicedo, and Mykhailo Mudryk. They are burdened as expensive players who are required to do a lot for the Blues. The decisions taken often end up being egocentric, such as Caicedo’s mistake during United’s first goal yesterday.
At the moment when his team was in chaos and conceded an “unnecessary” goal, Cole Palmer was often seen just shaking his head without making excessive complaints to the defense.
He led Chelsea to try to get back up again, although it didn’t always end up winning. And if on that occasion he successfully scores a goal, his celebration has now become a trademark, “stay cool”.
This celebration first appeared in Chelsea’s 3-2 win over Luton Town (30/12/2023). Palmer explained that his academy colleague Morgan Rogers, who at that time was still playing for Middlesbrough, had done it before, and he agreed that he would imitate him if he scored a goal.
Finally the moment arrived, and it was Cole Palmer who became the trademark owner of the celebration of rubbing arms crossed. In the end, it became appropriate for his current nickname, “Cold Palmer”.
With only three months left of the season, Chelsea’s target is only to improve their position in the Premier League and try to win the FA Cup. Previously, they failed in the Carabao Cup Final after being beaten by Liverpool in extra time.
For Cole Palmer individually, the target of overtaking Erling Haaland as top scorer is quite realistic. He now has the upper hand, because apart from showing constant performance, Haaland is actually appearing weak with Citizen.
The biggest gift for him, of course, is a call to the Three Lions squad, England, at EURO 2024 in Germany. Until last month’s International Matchday, it appeared that Gareth Southgate was still prioritizing Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden as his mainstay wingers. Palmer will compete with Jack Grealish, Jarrod Bowen and Marcus Rashford to be brought in as back-up players.
For next season with Chelsea, whoever the manager is, Cole Palmer should be able to be the same center of play when the Blues had Eden Hazard several years ago.
The position of the midfield trio filled with Caicedo, Enzo and Gallagher is quite good, you just need to add negative transition collectivity. Then for wingers, if there are no changes, Mudryk, Sterling, Nkunku and Madueke should be quite competent.
The position that Chelsea must fill is the main striker. Nico Jackson, even though on several occasions he seems very close to him personally, is not the best tandem that can help Palmer move up in class. The Senegalese striker, who is originally a left winger, wasted too many opportunities and often made wrong decisions.
As a Chelsea fan, I can only see one name, Victor Osimhen. This Napoli striker has all the qualifications needed to partner Cole Palmer on the front lines. I hope that in the transfer market, Chelsea will only focus on recruiting this one name.
Hopefully Cole Palmer continues to shine in West London, and continues to be a corner star amidst the inconsistency of other stars the club should expect to stand out.
His figure could inspire Reece James, Mudryk and Enzo to let go of their heavy burdens and immediately synergize with the squad.
ASL
