Enzo Maresca has told Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson that if they do not start scoring again, Chelsea have no chance of securing their target of Champions League football.
Palmer and Jackson both surprisingly started in Thursday’s Conference League second-leg clash with Legia Warsaw, but took their individual goal droughts to 15 and 12 games respectively as they again failed to score.
Despite losing 2-1 on the night – and being booed by their own fans at full-time – Chelsea made it through to the semi-finals regardless with a 4-2 aggregate win.
Next up is Fulham in a Premier League match which Maresca described as a ‘final’. Speaking ahead of that short trip, the Blues boss insisted he did not regret starting Palmer and Jackson so close to that clash, even though his attempt at bringing back their confidence backfired.
‘Using them is to build a little the physical condition, but also to build mentally a little, because they struggle to score in this moment,’ Maresca said. ‘To give them 45 minutes, one hour, it’s a chance to see if they can score and they can go again. When they don’t score, for sure I’m worried.’
Asked if Chelsea can achieve their top-five target if Palmer and Jackson do not score, Maresca said: ‘No.’ Pushed on whether it is as simple as that, he added: ‘Yes.’
Enzo Maresca revealed he started Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson against Legia Warsaw in a bid to boost their confidence
Goals have proven difficult to come by for the pair in recent weeks with both players without one in over ten games
Maresca added that the pair failing to recapture their form would be disastrous for Chelsea’s Champions League ambitions
On whether he is confident they will shake out of their scoring slumbers, Maresca continued: ‘I’m confident because they scored goals. Cole scored 14 goals in 20 Premier League games. He scored goals. Nico was the same before the injury. Now, unfortunately, Nico was out for two months, so probably physicality needs a little more. And this is the same for Cole.’
Opta’s xG statistics state Palmer should have scored at least five goals during his drought, while Jackson should have contributed three or more from the chances he has had.
Meanwhile, Romeo Lavia can return to the Chelsea squad for Sunday’s visit to Fulham with the club hoping he can now stay fit after his last two seasons were curtailed by hamstring injuries. The Blues are planning on managing Lavia in the same way as Reece James, the captain who has been told he cannot play every three days.
James was brutally honest after Chelsea’s second-leg loss to Legia and Maresca said his style of no-nonsense leadership is needed: ‘Absolutely, yes. He’s in charge of that.’
Maresca also stood up several news items from this week’s Chelsea Confidential column.
That included how they are waiting until the end of the season before deciding what to do with Strasbourg’s loan star Andrey Santos – though he will be joining them for their Club World Cup campaign in the United States – and how they have not yet made a decision on whether to keep Jadon Sancho or pay a penalty to send him back to Manchester United after his loan.
