“I had enough of him” – See Why Cole Palmer shouted at Noni Madueke twice as Chelsea dressing room goes wild
Chelsea star Cole Palmer is an expressive footballer. He always has been. He plays the game like he lives it.
At his best he is off the hook and instinctive. At times this has had a robotic element to it like Erling Haaland and it has brought so much joy to Chelsea.
Although often emotionless and cold in the big moments, that is only the surface level because his celebrations and pure jubliation shine through. Think back to when he got carried away with it just over 12 months ago with the late, late winner over Manchester United at Stamford or his stunning strike to complete the demolition of Aston Villa.
That is Palmer unleashed. When there is something to burst out he will let it through the seams. Then he turns off and lets his mind go elsewhere. That is the interview Palmer you see. That is Palmer the character, and in the most loving way, the meme.
At Brighton, after being deployed as a striker for the second week in a row, this all materialised in a very different way. It is not a new way but it is not something often seen.
Palmer vented. Palmer moaned. Palmer chucked his arms out wide like someone who had never been told no before on a football pitch – because not many have stopped him up to this point. Palmer encapsulated everything wrong with Chelsea at this junction.
Even when Palmer has let his anger and frustration take over, because it naturally does at times in the heat of top-level football, it is usually followed up by a moment of magic. On the south coast he suffered possibly the worst defeat he has started in for Chelsea.
Having missed the 5-0 loss to Arsenal at the back end of last season there was something so out of kilter at the Amex Stadium on Friday night. Palmer was out of position, lacking conviction, and no longer supported by anyone able to help him.
Stripped of his tormentor-in-chief for much of the past 18 months in Nicolas Jackson, nobody at Chelsea looks like doing anything, let alone scoring, other than Palmer. And, in truth, neither does he at the moment.
Palmer’s two moments in a 3-0 humiliation at the hands of a club Chelsea have tried to copy and scale up under new owners were both the sort of chance he has converted without thinking for much of his short senior career to date. Recent weeks have seen him laying on the passes for teammates to fire in but here it was Malo Gusto down the right, cutting the ball back.
Twice, Palmer had room on the edge of the box to pick his spot but twice he missed the target without going close. That was as good as it got for Chelsea. The result leaves the feeling incredibly sour. Palmer wore that at full-time, when he had to be reminded to go and applaud the Chelsea fans – not that many had stayed, most making the choice to leave after Jakuba Minteh’s second – and also during the entire game.
15 minutes in he shouted at Noni Madueke for not being released in the middle of the park when Chelsea were looking to counter. Palmer was also there to groan into the sky as another move on Madueke’s right side found him but could only be blasted over.
Madueke would then go down and couldn’t play on. Palmer was left reaching an early boiling point. Before the end he had to be told to calm down by captain Reece James – on from the bench – after a cross wasn’t met by anyone in the box.
The ball was overhit and there were two players at the far post. Although any chance of Chelsea registering a shot on target had gone by this stage, let alone any sort of goal or comeback, Palmer was still flapping his hands and muttering under his breath. It was the sign of someone who had had enough.
It is no surprise that he has reached this point. As said, this might have been the worst performance he has been a part of for Chelsea since moving from Manchester City and it is only the latest chapter of a disappointing story since mid-December.
Chelsea are still fourth, for now, but could end the weekend sixth and still sliding. Their only two wins in the last nine in the league have been against the teams sitting 16th and 17th. Palmer hasn’t scored in five, his longest run since joining.
The blip is becoming a crisis for Enzo Maresca and he doesn’t have the tools to stop it. If anything, more and more is being taken away.
Already working without his only two natural strikers, Maresca lost his most productive winger this season for ‘a while’ when Noni Madueke went off injured. Palmer has been left to create for those unable to finish, he has been left to score the few opportunities made from others, and now he has to do both.
Not being able to do that is clearly a pain for him. He wears that truth so visably. Instead of being the leader which showed up against Wolves – or so Maresca claimed, because in truth it seemed like just a quiet day in a just-about-good-enough overall team display – Palmer played and acted like a pent-up youngster.
This is, again, completely understandable. A wider issue is that Palmer has no senior player to turn to. James tried in the dying embers but could only applaud the effort and attempt to be a single bucket of water over a wildfire.