Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer has been in outstanding form since his £40 million move from Manchester City last season, but head coach Enzo Maresca says he does not want to see too much pressure put on the 22-year-old shoulders. Palmer – who had scored 31 goals and laid on 20 assists in 54 appearances for club and country – recently became Chelsea’s first player to take England’s Player of the Year award since Ashley Cole in 2010.
Maresca knows Chelsea go into Sunday’s game against the leaders of the Premier League, Liverpool. The importance of a team performance is something he has impressed on: “If we think Cole will solve all our problems, it’s a big mistake. We have so many players doing very well. Noni Madueke, Pedro Neto, Nicolas Jackson, to name a few.”
Chelsea are lying fourth in the league with 14 points, four behind Liverpool. Though on a strong note, Maresca brought to notice that his team needs to further improve. “We work every day to be close to Liverpool. Game after game, we are improving,” he added.
Chelsea’s only loss this term came against current champions Manchester City. Sunday’s visit to Liverpool at Anfield will be a proper test of how much better they have become under Maresca, who arrived in June following his title-winning campaign with Leicester City in the Championship.