Why Palmer was benched amid Pochettino unconvinced claim

The Pride of London explain why Chelsea star Cole Palmer was benched for the Brighton & Hove Albion game amid a claim that Mauricio Pochettino was initially unconvinced about the former Manchester City starlet. Meanwhile PoL give our assessment on the Blues performance against the Seagulls after a home win by a fine margin with one less man.

Everyone, Chelsea fan or otherwise, was very surprised to see no Palmer in the Blues starting XI. The senior England international is the talk of the club on a wider scale at the moment. The playmaker “felt something” in training, said Mauricio Pochettino. Therefore the CFC boss didn’t want to risk him at the start. Interestingly, ‘Poch’ wasn’t convinced about the 21-year-old to begin with:

"POCH NEEDED CONVINCING OVER PALMERMauricio Pochettino is as surprised as anyone by Cole Palmer’s superb start at Chelsea, because the manager had to be persuaded to sanction the £45million signing from Manchester City.The Argentine felt that Chelsea had enough attacking wide players when Palmer’s name was mentioned during transfer discussions, but was convinced to press ahead by influential director of recruitment Joe Shields."

Chelsea 3-2 Brighton & Hove Albion: a reaction from PoL

To win any Premier League match with 10-men is an achievement, as I see it. To manage an elite match for an entire half of 45 minutes in that situation and still be victorious is almost remarkable. Losing such an industrious player as Conor Gallagher must also be highlighted. Nonetheless, thanks to a brace from Enzo Fernandez and a Levi Colwill goal, Pochettino’s men prevailed.

However, something unremarkable at present is the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge. I am not particularly singling out the Blues faithful, either. A combination of two elements in the west London stadium possibly causes the tension. Worry over scorelines and the often underperforming new team, along with poor or ill-advised play decreasing some of the extensive and loud chanting. It is understandable from the outside looking in.

Nevertheless, the home side showed character to get the three points. In addition to that, the Chels‘ lineup did show glimpses of cohesion at times. But the neatness and arrangement requires more refinement from Poch. Not to mention a marquee signing or two as well as injured personnel returning. Then we’ll be talking!