After Chelsea’s Conference League final in Wroclaw, Poland, we spoke to Cole Palmer. He told us he was sick of going sideways and backwards and that he simply decided to go for it when he set up the goals which won them that trophy over Real Betis.
At the time, we did wonder privately how that would go down with Enzo Maresca, and clearly, Palmer’s words touched a slight nerve with his manager as the Blues boss brought it up during his post-match press conference after beating Los Angeles FC.
Maresca told us: ‘After the Conference League final he said that he was quite bored receiving the ball and so he decided to do something different.
‘The day after that interview I said to him, “But you can do that since the first minute. Why are you waiting so long? Why are you waiting? Why don’t you do the same after one minute?”
‘Today (versus LAFC) he was exactly doing what we asked him to do. We are happy when he does that because I said many times that Cole is our best player.’
It appears Palmer can be under no illusions moving forward that he has the licence to thrill under Maresca, and against LAFC, he was back to being his dictating self even if he did not get in on the goals act this time himself.
Cole Palmer did exactly what he was told to do against Los Angeles FC, says Enzo Maresca
Enzo Maresca re-emphasised that Palmer is Chelsea’s ‘best player’ after beating LAFC 2-0
Neto on his toes
Whoever wins FIFA’s ‘superior player of the match’ award – a cringe title, I know, so blame them, not us please – must come in to the press-conference room afterwards to speak with the media.
After the LAFC win, that duty fell to Pedro Neto, who is working on upping his productivity from the right wing.
That will be needed when Estevao Willian arrives to compete with him for his position, particularly as Chelsea are aware of the clamour surrounding this Brazilian wonderkid arriving from Palmeiras who will need time to adjust to the rigours of English football.
We asked Neto on Estevao possibly coming in to pinch his place on the wing, and he said: ‘When the club signs players, it’s to help, like Liam Delap is doing now.
‘To be honest, I didn’t watch a lot of matches.
‘I’m always focused on myself and doing my job. That’s most important. I’m here to help.’
The best way for the Portuguese to make sure Maresca does not demote him behind the teenager from Brazil is to continue creating chances and chip in with the occasional goal for himself, as he did here in this opener.
Pedro Neto scored and needs to keep on top form with the incoming threat to his position
Estevao will arrive with plenty of hype and will need time to adapt to English football
New string to Enzo’s bow
Enzo Fernandez scored after a peach of a cross from Delap on his Chelsea debut, and this is a sight we might expect to see a fair few times over the forthcoming season.
Maresca spent much of his first year in charge badgering Fernandez to arrive in the box as he has that freedom to push into forward positions, whereas Moises Caicedo is seen as more of a night-watchman.
Fernandez has been improving in those movements over time and covers greater distances than anyone else for Chelsea, and his goal against LAFC which essentially confirmed their Club World Cup victory was further evidence of his adaptation.
Wrapping up James in cotton wool
Reece James is important for Chelsea – duh – and they need him fit for the foreseeable after the club captain’s injury history.
This LAFC win is unlikely to be the last time we see him and-slash-or Romeo Lavia subbed at half-time for their own good, however.
That is given they are each members of the hamstring gang who have missed more matches than they would care to have in their careers.
Maresca has taken to coming up with pre-match plans for individual players in association with his medical staff, and there is a consensus that these two players in particular need special attention.
That is especially the case given the humidity in the United States which can be troublesome on the muscles, so I’m told Chelsea do not want to be taking risks with those who have had such issues in the past.
Reece James will be carefully managed at the Club World Cup given his injury history
Maresca’s striker dilemma
Who starts for Chelsea up top in their next match versus Flamengo? Your guess is as good as mine between Nicolas Jackson and Delap until we next get to grill Maresca on it this Thursday in Philadelphia.
Chelsea’s head coach has always been open to telling us which goalkeeper he will use between Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen, but less so for every other position, feeling that gives the opposition too much of an advantage in their intel.
For what it’s worth, my money is on Delap starting, even though he is still getting to grips with his manager’s tactical instructions, which are naturally different to Kieran McKenna’s at Ipswich.
Maresca is keen to give each of his strikers their fair share of minutes at this tournament which, even if Chelsea insist it is not a pre-season tour, can still act as a fact-finding mission ahead of their Premier League start.
