Cole Palmer was let down by Chelsea tonight. Part of the blame also goes to the referee, who made two awful decisions that handed Bayern the win, but the third goal conceded was purely the Blues’ fault. You just cannot lose the ball to Harry Kane out of all people. That was a deserved goal that Chelsea conceded, no debate against it.
Palmer did everything in his capacity to win this game singlehandedly, but it fell short in the end. In fact, he was even better than before for one simple reason that was clear tonight and might now become a staple if Enzo Maresca noticed it.
Palmer scored Chelsea’s only goal from the right wing after a brilliant link-up play with Malo Gusto, and that shows the synergy between the winger and the full-back that works every time and needs to be fixed in the starting lineup moving forward.
Gusto’s beautifully crafted assist to Palmer, and the out-of-this-world finish, stood out and gave the idea clearly that Palmer’s abilities are much better placed and exploited with an overlapping full-back at his support.
Enzo Maresca just learned an invaluable Cole Palmer lesson he cannot ignore
It was obvious that the right side was the most dominant part of Chelsea’s otherwise non-existent attack, and Cole Palmer was absolutely thriving there with Gusto.
Gusto’s heatmap from Sofascore shows heavy presence in the opponent’s half, far more than in his own. And Palmer’s presence across the pitch was complementary to that capability displayed by the full-back.
Gusto and Palmer’s partnership brings the best out of each other. One fills the space for the other and allows more freedom on and off the ball. Palmer has not been able to find that level of comfort and understanding on the wing with any other full-back, at least not in my recorded knowledge.
The idea is that Palmer is a more creative and independent player when he is paired with a full-back on the wing who is as attack-oriented as he is and constantly juggles the ball to exploit spaces.
If there’s one thing that is well understood and appreciated about Palmer, it is his ability to carve chances from spaces. But he cannot do it alone, especially from the wing. He needs an explosive and omnipresent full-back for that, one who covers positions in the final third so Palmer can cut in and directly challenge the goalkeeper.
Maresca must take note of this. It can be a game changer.