Cole
Palmer made it five penalties out of five and nine goals for the season in
total with his coolly-taken spot kick in Chelsea's 1-0 win over Fulham on
Saturday. But it was the pass to release Raheem Sterling in the build-up
that really caught the eye.
Having cut in from the right flank and shaped to shoot in first-half
stoppage time at Stamford Bridge, Palmer instead threaded an ingenious
reverse pass between three Fulham defenders, allowing Sterling to skip away
from Issa Diop and win the foul.
It was one of few standout moments of quality in a poor first half and it
was no surprise it came from Palmer. Even in a dysfunctional Chelsea team,
the 21-year-old, a £42.5m signing from Manchester City, has been one of the
Premier League's top performers.
Chelsea had not created much before that breakthrough moment against Fulham
but, from Palmer's perspective, at least, it was not for the want of trying.
In fact, he had already come close to releasing Sterling with similar passes
on several occasions.
There was an example in the 13th minute, when he collected an incisive pass
from Axel Disasi in a comparable position, looked up, and quickly funnelled
the ball forward towards his former City team-mate, only for Kenny Tete to
make a last-ditch interception.
Then, on 31 minutes, Palmer hurdled a Joao Palhinha challenge and skipped
away from Antonee Robinson, again in that inside right position from which
he is so dangerous, before aiming another diagonal pass towards Sterling
which Tete just managed to block.
Palmer's persistence paid off eventually. Another goal and another trademark
'cold' Palmer celebration followed.
But his scoring record - albeit after some uncharacteristic misses in last
week's Carabao Cup loss to Middlesbrough - should not distract from his best
attribute which is the quality of his passing.
"He is someone who can get in great positions and time a pass well," said
Sterling after the win over Fulham. It is a feature of his game which had
Pep Guardiola waxing lyrical not so long ago.
"Cole has a special quality in front of the box," said the Manchester City
manager. "When he has the ball there, most of the time it ends up in the
net. It is a talent that is difficult to find."
Palmer hoped to show that talent in City colours. He said as much in an
interview with Sky Sports last week. But Guardiola's options are such that
he felt comfortable cashing in and it is to the youngster's credit he has
immediately done so for Chelsea instead.
The statistics underline the extent of his creativity.
According to Opta, Palmer ranks behind only Jeremy Doku in terms of
open-play expected assists per 90 minutes this season. He is making more
through-balls than Trent Alexander-Arnold, his average of 1.09 per 90
minutes putting him second only to Lucas Paqueta.
Palmer is Chelsea's top chance-creator this season. A deeper look at the
numbers throws up even more evidence of his effectiveness. Palmer ranks
eighth in the division for both primary and secondary shot assists per 90
minutes. He ranks even higher for passes which break the opposition's
backline.
He tormented Fulham when cutting in from the right flank on Saturday but he
is equally dangerous when stationed in the No 10 position. Mauricio
Pochettino has happily used him in both roles.
That he has a relatively modest total of four assists says more about the
wastefulness of his team-mates than anything else.
On the one hand, his tally is roughly in line with his 'expected' total of
4.30. But it is worth noting that all but one of the nine other Premier
League players to have registered a total of four assists this season have
done so with a lower 'expected' total than Palmer.
They are not the only ones. Pedro Porro and Pascal Gross have provided seven
and six assists respectively from only fractionally higher 'expected' totals
than Palmer. Phil Foden and West Ham's James Ward-Prowse have six apiece
from lower totals.
While his contemporaries have been able to count on the clinical finishing
of their team-mates, Palmer has not, with Chelsea only scoring 35 times from
42.10 expected goals, the third-biggest underperformance in the Premier
League this season.
The problem for Palmer is that, with the exception of Sterling, his
team-mates are struggling to match his speed of thought and execution. He
looks on an altogether different wavelength. It is an issue which could be
seen repeatedly in Saturday's game.
There was a similar example soon after half-time, when, having wriggled
between Robinson and Andreas Pereira on the edge of the Fulham box, Palmer
laid the ball off to the unprepared Armando Broja, who was unable to sort
his feet out or get a shot off at all.
Gallagher was culpable again midway through the second period, when, in a
similar position, Palmer collected a short pass from Noni Madueke with his
back to goal, turning in the same motion, only to see his flicked ball in
behind roll under the midfielder's foot.
Palmer could not hide his frustration on that occasion, hopping on the spot
and holding his hands to his face as Bernd Leno rushed off his line to
collect the loose ball, his good work wasted again.
In the end, Chelsea were fortunate that a single goal proved sufficient to
win the game. Results are improving, though, and the hope for Pochettino is
that better chemistry will develop in time.
He is not the only one who will be watching with interest.
Gareth Southgate handed Palmer his first senior England call-up in November,
using him from the bench in the European Qualifiers against Malta and North
Macedonia.
He now looks a good bet to feature at the tournament itself, especially as
his emergence has coincided with the struggles of some of England's other
supporting forwards.
Three years ago, Southgate's European Championship squad featured Marcus
Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Jack Grealish and Sterling. Palmer is indisputably
performing at a higher level than all of them.
Chelsea are already feeling the benefits of his presence. Whether they can
truly capitalise, though, is another question. For now, Palmer looks a step
ahead. It is down to his team-mates to catch up.
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