Mario Melchiot explains Chelsea's 'biggest problem' right now, it involves Cole Palmer
It’s very hard to pick out any Chelsea player that is in impressive form right now, even their star man Cole Palmer.
The Chelsea squad is struggling for an extended period for the first real time under Enzo Maresca’s management. In their last nine Premier League matches, the Blues have only recorded two wins.
For Cole Palmer, he’s yet again set the standard extremely high during his second season at the club. Therefore, people are flagging the fact that he’s without a goal or assist in his last five appearances across all competitions.
David Luiz recently compared Palmer to Chelsea legend Eden Hazard, which is a great reminder of just how talented he really is.
Mario Melchiot explains Chelsea problem, it involves Cole Palmer
Mario Melchiot, the former Blues defender, believes that Chelsea are struggling right now because nobody else is picking up the workload to help out Palmer.
Melchiot told ESPN: “All the people that play against Palmer now, they’re marking him differently because he’s not anymore a surprise package… This season kicked off, he started off well. Now you see the assists numbers coming down and goal production coming down.
“It’s not because I don’t think he’s a good player because he’s a great player, but you have to remember in every team when you focus on one individual that is that good, you need some other players to create danger. It looks like they’ve put the problem at him and let him fix everything. I think that is where the biggest problem is at the moment.”
Palmer has scored 14 goals and created six assists so far in the Premier League this season. Therefore, he’s directly contributed to 43 percent of Chelsea’s league goals.
Chelsea playmaker Palmer has massively improved his non-penalty goals when you compare this campaign to the previous one, so we’ve certainly got no doubts about him and his overall contribution.
The fact that Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson is out until April is another added dimension leading to the lack of creativity in recent weeks. Will someone else step up when the team desperately needs it, though?
What Danny Murphy has said about Cole Palmer
Danny Murphy has jumped to the defence of Chelsea’s Palmer to rave about his individual ability despite his quiet patch in recent games.
Murphy told talkSPORT: “He’s free. The way he plays isn’t risky to me. He knows when to pass and when to keep the ball. When I say free, he’ll still try things whether he’s playing well [or not]…
“His confidence and his arrogance is brilliant to watch. I love him. Every time he gets the ball, I think something is going to happen. His numbers tell you that they generally do, apart from this little dip.”
Don’t be surprised if Palmer hits another 20-goal season in the Premier League, so those criticising him could soon be made to look pretty foolish.
In terms of his lack of assists, nobody should be putting the fault at his door. He’s currently top of the Premier League for most chances created in the 2024/25 season so far.
| Player | Team | Chances created |
| Cole Palmer | Chelsea | 66 |
| Dejan Kulusevski | Tottenham | 60 |
| Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | 54 |
| Bruno Fernandes | Manchester United | 53 |
| Anthony Gordon | Newcastle United | 49 |
Hopefully, Palmer’s teammates can begin to find their shooting boots for the final third of the season.
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