Cole Palmer is outperforming Phil Foden as Mikel Arteta’s three-year-old ‘project’ prophecy offers hope for Chelsea fans, who still need convincing that Mauricio Pochettino is the man to take them forward despite a big win over Newcastle.
“We have created a really strong group, a really strong bond with our players, with our fans, with our staff and that is going to pay some big tribute in the future I think when everything comes back to normality and we are able to work the way we needed to work with some stability. I think this project is going to go bang and this is where we are. Sometimes it is difficult to see the moment now, but I’m sure where we are going.”
Mikel Arteta’s words, exactly three years ago, at which point Arsenal were tenth, on one point less than Chelsea have now. The vast majority doubted him, including large swathes of his own fanbase, as we all mocked the pale imitation of Pep Guardiola for an obsession with a “project” which showed little to no sign of bearing fruit before it did indeed ‘go bang’.
Mauricio Pochettino will need more than a win over Newcastle to convince the fans that he can mimic his Arsenal counterpart, but performances like the one at Stamford Bridge on Monday – in which Chelsea exhibited enough moments of quality to convince that progress is being made towards a worthy ideal – are now more commonplace than games that have been frustratingly written off as a lesson learned for Pochettino’s creche of inexperienced but ludicrously pricey footballers.
Malo Gusto was very good again, combining composure and aggression both in defence and attack, dealing comfortably with Anthony Gordon and then Miguel Almiron on Newcastle’s left, and leaving Dan Burn huffing and puffing through his dribbling speed and link-up with Cole Palmer, with whom he’s creating quite the bond.
Newcastle’s press was about as tame as they come, which allowed Chelsea out all too easily on multiple occasions, but the opening goal still required some precise passing between Gusto and Palmer, who one-twoed their way down the pitch, before the latter’s shot was flicked in smartly by Nicolas Jackson. It was poor on the whole from Newcastle, who had barely left the team bus, and Sven Botman will be particularly disappointed by his attempt at a clearance, which only made it as far as Palmer on the edge of the box.
Gusto was though culpable, along with Enzo Fernandez and Axel Disasi, for Alexander Isak’s equaliser, as the Chelsea trio engaged in a ten-second game of giveaway with a couple of willing Newcastle participants, before Bruno Guimaraes found Isak, whose touch to manoeuvre the ball and finish into the far corner gave Disasi and Djordje Petrovic no chance, such was the limited gap between the two actions.
Palmer got a goal and an assist in the same game for the fifth time this season, more than any other player in the Premier League, and now has 19 goal contributions in total, the fifth most in the division, with this latest brace taking him above Darwin Nunez (17), Jarrod Bowen (17) and – perhaps most significantly given where he hailed from – Phil Foden (18).
His assist was a fortunate one, but Palmer’s goal with have intrigued the watching Gareth Southgate, as will his performance besides. Enzo found Palmer in a tight space on the edge of the box before he whipped his shot inside the near post – a finish which is becoming something of a trademark. There are very few players (of which Foden is one) who can manipulate the ball in confined spaces with as much control as the 21-year-old, who drops a shoulder as well as anyone in the Premier League.
Palmer – who has now contributed to 40 per cent of Chelsea’s Premier League goals – was once again the difference for Pochettino’s side, but Jackson also impressed, flicking on for Raheem Sterling, who rounded Dubravka but couldn’t beat Dan Burn on the line, and then breaking away from the Newcastle defence to create the chance for Mykhaylo Mudryk, who neatly squeezed the ball through Fabian Schar’s legs before calmly doing what Sterling couldn’t. A lovely goal from Mudryk, who was as penetrative and effective as we’ve seen him against a leaden-legged Newcastle.
The Chelsea fans were calling for Jose Mourinho only last weekend, but their side have now lost just one of their last seven games in all competitions, the Carabao Cup final, in which they were the better team in normal time, and that run has featured impressive displays against Aston Villa, Manchester City and Newcastle, as well as a win from behind away at Crystal Palace.
There are now more frequent positives than negatives for Chelsea, who are a point behind Newcastle in tenth and four short of West Ham in seventh, and an all-important European qualification spot, with a game in hand.
Pochettino will need to build on this to earn the trust of the fans, most of whom will be rolling their eyes in disbelief at the thought of him following in the footsteps of Arteta. But the Arsenal boss fixed a failing project, and so too can Pochettino, with Cole Palmer set to be the spark whenever, if ever, Chelsea ‘go bang’.
