Enzo Maresca has told his Chelsea players that they cannot exclusively depend on Cole Palmer to keep producing the goods for the Blues.
Palmer has been Chelsea’s stand-out player and one of the best players in the Premier League since the beginning of last season, registering 28 goals and 16 assists in 40 top-flight appearances.
No other player in the Premier League has managed that many direct goal contributions in that period, and the figures are made all the more remarkable by the fact that he was posting those numbers in a struggling Chelsea team for much of last season.
Palmer goes into Sunday’s trip to Anfield in fine form but Maresca has called on his other players to supplement Chelsea’s star man. “If we think that Cole is going to solve all our problems, it’s a big mistake,” Maresca said.
“We put all the pressure on his shoulders and that is wrong. Also because we have Cole but we have many players that are doing well; Noni [Madueke], Pedro [Neto], Nicolas [Jackson], Christo [Nkunku], Enzo [Fernandez]. It’s not just about Cole, it’s about all the squad.”
Meanwhile, Maresca played down suggestions that Sunday’s clash at Anfield will be contested by two title contenders. Chelsea has started the season in good form, winning four of its opening seven league games having also finished the previous campaign with five successive wins under previous boss Mauricio Pochettino.
Both teams go into the weekend occupying the Champions League qualification spots, with Liverpool in first and Chelsea in fourth, but Maresca warned: “I don’t see in this moment Chelsea being close to these kind of clubs (Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal), for many reasons. But for sure we work every day to be close to (Liverpool), knowing it requires us to work together day by day, time to approach and go close.
“The only way to try to be close is just to be focussed on the things we need to improve. To think where we can to be in four games, its a bit difficult. The only thing I can say is that we want to try to do our best Sunday.
“I consider the City game our best this season, for many reasons. First of all because I know City, and second because we really played a good game, didn’t concede many chances. We had many chances before and after they scored. Game after game we are improving different things, but that game was a good game.”