Chelsea superstar Cole Palmer calls most of the shots on the Stamford Bridge pitch. Enzo Fernandez's revival takes some responsibility away from the England international. Though Palmer undoubtedly remains the main man on Fulham Road.
The former Manchester City starlet is the Blues focal point in almost every way imaginable. And it appears Cole Palmer's opinions (negative, constructive, critical or otherwise) do in fact carry weight with his so-called superiors within Chelsea's management.
I'm not sure if the co-ownership groups are willing to open their doors for the Cole Palmer Suggestion Box. They probably just deal with sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart. Not to mention surely occasionally listening to team manager Enzo Maresca.
However following the unnerving Fulham loss, Palmer seemed to convey a suggestion for, or a criticism of, his boss. The Blue appeared to question one of the Italian's practice during his post-match interview. Maresca's game management came under scrutiny from the player, as I understood the quote. And the Chels head coach agreed with the assertion!
Chelsea shouldn't have lost to Fulham but rivals are generally underappreciated
Maresca would likely be the first person to admit he was mistaken in his match plan. While sensationalism in the sporting media now claims the result 'dents' CFC's title chances, the 44-year-old wasn't on that wavelength anyway.
The one-time Manchester City staff member will return to the drawing board; assessing and resolving issues shall be the order of the day. Though Maresca did pinpoint one obstructive and counterproductive factor from the unpredictable defeat: transitions. The Cottagers are excellent on the counter attack, or breakaway. The Blues boss declared he and his men could've counteracted that element more efficiently.
Did Cole Palmer criticise Enzo Maresca?
Analysing Palmer's comments after the final whistle was interesting to say the least. Judge for yourself if he found fault with his gaffer from the two below quotes:
"We need to try and manage the game a bit better."Cole Palmer
"When asked if Chelsea's game management was the issue as Palmer said, Maresca replied: 'Yes, it's exactly what I said to them. We can manage the game better. We have to control the game, it's a game we can learn many things [from].'"Enzo Maresca