Chelsea FC can still lose. The 1-2 defeat to Fulham rudely brought the Blues back down to earth with a bump. Cole Palmer’s new record didn’t get the big stage he wanted.
After a good quarter of an hour, it seemed at Stamford Bridge that the game on Boxing Day would take the expected course. Thanks to him. Thanks to him, of course. Cole Palmer started dribbling in the 16th minute, left two opponents standing and tunneled the third. Bernd Leno in goal was powerless.
For Palmer, it was already his 12th goal and 18th direct goal contribution (six assists) in the 18th league game this season. In the Premier League, only Erling Haaland (64) and Andy Cole (57) have scored more points than Palmer (52) in their first 50 games for a club.
Palmer also set a club record: no Chelsea professional had ever scored 26 league goals in just one calendar year. The previous record was held by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who managed a total of 25 goals in 2001.
Hasselbaink actually witnessed Palmer’s record goal live, as he was working as an expert for Prime Video. “The boy deserved it,” said the now 52-year-old: “The mark had existed for a long, long time. But it was now time. And there is no better player than Palmer for that.”
The latter, of course, did not want to hear any personal praise. “We knew we weren’t going to win every game,” said the disappointed Englishman. “It’s the coach’s first season with us. We’re still learning.”
No one expected Chelsea to be title contenders anyway. According to Palmer, however, the setback will not derail the Blues: “We are getting better and better as a team and growing.”
Maresca: A game “from which we can learn a lot”
Like Palmer, coach Enzo Maresca also missed an important component in Chelsea’s game. “We can control the game better,” the Italian clarified: ‘Fulham is a team with Iwobi, Traoré and Jimenez that is very good at switching the play. You have to control that better.’
However, Maresca also saw a game ‘from which we can learn a lot.’ Ideally for the next one on Monday, when they travel to newly promoted Ipswich Town.
