Chelsea's over-reliance on Cole Palmer is impacting his form, says manager Enzo Maresca

Chelsea’s over-reliance on Cole Palmer is impacting his form, says manager Enzo Maresca

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Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, left, and Chelsea’s Marc Guiu celebrate after an own goal by West Ham’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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West Ham’s Andy Irving, left, and Chelsea’s Cole Palmer challenge for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Chelsea’s Cole Palmer sends a cross by Brighton’s Adam Webster during the English Premier League soccer match between Brighton and Chelsea in Brighton, England, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

LONDON (AP) — Chelsea’s over-reliance on Cole Palmer is affecting his form, manager Enzo Maresca said Monday, with the England star going through his driest run since moving to the London club.

Palmer hasn’t scored in his last six games and his last assist came 13 matches ago.

His poor form is a big factor in the downturn in fortunes of Chelsea, which has dropped from second to seventh in the Premier League amid a run of two wins from 10 games and has also been eliminated from the FA Cup.

Palmer has been a revelation since joining from Manchester City in September 2023, scoring 22 league goals last season — second only to City’s Erling Haaland — and 14 this season.

He was visibly frustrated with his Chelsea teammates during the 2-1 loss at Aston Villa on Saturday.

“I’m not concerned,” Maresca said. “I’m always concerned about general performances, but I’m not concerned about Cole because he is a human being. During the season, he can have some moments where he is struggling a little bit more.

“The problem with Cole is probably that we rely on him for everything. I said since we started that we need to rely on the team. For sure we need big players, top players like Cole but we are not worried about him at all.”

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After three straight losses, Chelsea has a great chance to get back to winning ways on Tuesday when last-place Southampton visits Stamford Bridge. A win could move Chelsea back into the Champions League qualification place, with the Premier League likely having five of them for next season’s competition.

“In this moment, his performances reflect a bit the team’s performances, that we struggle to score goals,” Maresca said of Palmer. “We need to be a little bit more clinical when we get the chances.

“Cole is just upset because we are not winning games, no more than that.”

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer