Cole Palmer has been on fire today, and he’s twice had Fabian Schar on toast. The second time was a magical touch, poking the ball one way and going the other, while the Swiss defender steamed into the distance.
It was similar to the move he used to rinse a Nottingham Forest defender a couple of weeks ago.
Palmer being palmer, it wasn’t just for show either. He used the space he’d created himself to drive forward and play a perfect raking pass out to the right hand side.
It’s understandable that teams want to man mark him tightly – as his manager said this week it’s something he will have to get used to. But when he’s doing players like this multiple times a game, you can imagine they’re going to start to worry about getting too close.
You can see the skill in the clip embedded here:
Cole Palmer is just ridiculous. 🪄 pic.twitter.com/4ikSlPGauO
— Chels HQ (@Chels_HQ) October 27, 2024
[Footage from Sky Sports]
Brilliant turn just the start from genius Palmer
It was a great first half from Palmer. This piece of skill was just one of many the attacking midfielder showed, despite the close attentions of several Newcastle players. As well as this, Palmer pinged the perfect long pass to set Pedro Neto free in the buildup to Chelsea’s goal.
Palmer also had a goal disallowed for a fractional offside just before that. This is just the sort of performance we needed from our creative hub, and now he just needs the rest of his team to get on his level. The defence is far too soft, and the midfield is being played through easily, despite Enzo Maresca’s selection of the nominally more solid Moises Caicedo – Romeo Lavia double pivot.
Cole’s doing his bit – now it’s everyone else’s turn.
