Enzo Maresca has challenged Cole Palmer to take more responsibility and initiative to address the “boredom” the Chelsea star said he felt during last month’s UEFA Conference League final.
Speaking after Chelsea had come from behind against Real Betis to lift the trophy, Palmer explained that, during the game, he was “sick of getting the ball and going backwards and sideways”.
He took it upon himself to do something different on that occasion, but Maresca’s issue was that he needed to show more initiative from the outset to figure it out and make the change sooner.
There were signs of that as Chelsea opened their FIFA Club World Cup campaign with victory over LAFC in Atlanta on Monday. Palmer was at the heart of most things the Blues did with the ball and linked up well with Nicolas Jackson and, later, debutant Liam Delap.
“I had a conversation with Cole and I said to him that I really like the way he was in terms of taking responsibility, taking the initiative on the ball. He was trying even on our side to receive the ball, trying to go one versus one against the player,” Maresca explained afterwards.
“This is the Cole that we expect,” the coach added.
“After the Conference League final, he said that he was quite bored receiving the ball and so he decided to do something different. The day after that interview I said to him, ‘But you can do that since the first minute, why are you waiting so long? Why don’t you do the same after one minute?’
“[Against LAFC], he was exactly doing what we asked him to do. We are happy when he does that because I said many times that Cole is our best player, he is a top player and hopefully he can continue to do the right things.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Why Don’t You?’—Enzo Maresca Sets Challenge for ‘Bored’ Cole Palmer.
