Cole Palmer marked his return to the Chelsea scoresheet by hitting out at the social media “idiots” who rubbished him during his 18-game goal drought.
Palmer stroked home a stoppage-time penalty to put the seal on the Blues’ vital 3-1 victory over champions Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.
The goal was Palmer’s first since he found the net against Bournemouth in mid-January and came after he had already hit the post from open play in a much-improved performance.
Palmer’s long dry spell marked the first significant slump in his Chelsea career, following a sensational breakthrough season and then an excellent start to the current campaign.
The 22-year-old’s recent performances have drawn particular scorn from rival fans but he insists his only frustration came from failing to contribute to Chelsea’s Champions League push.
Asked about his goal by Sky Sports in an emotional post-match interview, Palmer said: “I just felt normal. Obviously s*** happens, sorry for my language, it happens.
“Obviously I went, what, three months without scoring but it just gives me more motivation and more fight to do well not just for myself, but for my team.
“Social media these days is just full of idiots, basically. The trolls and that, I don’t pay any attention to that. To score today, I’m happy, but it’s only one and I’ve got to keep improving and try to reach new levels.”
Pushed on if it had been a tough few months, Palmer added: “Well, for anyone. You’re getting chances and you’re not scoring, obviously you’re letting your team down at the end of the day.
“Personally, I feel like I’m mentally strong anyway. Whatever people say doesn’t bother me, I’ve had it all my life growing up so I don’t really care.
“But obviously I feel pride in helping the team and if I’m not doing that I’m not happy.
“Today, I felt like myself before recent times. I felt confident. I was trying things, first-time passes, playing forward. Just playing free.”
Palmer’s penalty prompted wild celebrations at the Bridge, with even goalkeeper Robert Sanchez running the length of the field to join his team-mates.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, too, was delighted, having admitted last month that his side could only qualify for the Champions League if Palmer and Nicolas Jackson rediscovered their scoring touch.
“We saw Cole day-by-day, in training and he’s exactly the same, scoring, happy, enjoying sessions,” Maresca said.
“For sure when he doesn’t score he’s not happy because he wants to help the team and club to reach something important.
“We have three more [league] games and also the [Conference League semi-final] second leg and hopefully he can help us to the end.”
