It is no surprise Cole Palmer receives special focus from opposition players. It is an inevitable consequence of being one of the best in the world. How Palmer handles that close attention is his next challenge, according to Enzo Maresca.
The head coach has noted what a common occurrence Palmer being man-marked is. Sunday’s draw at Everton was a prime example, but even if our No.20 had one of his quieter games in a Chelsea shirt, he still would have registered an assist had Nicolas Jackson converted his square pass in the first half.
Maresca knows he has options at his disposal to try and find solutions, but he also expects Palmer to lean on his ingenuity and continue to make a devastating impact.
‘The next step for Cole is to manage that moment because most of the teams try to mark him man to man, so it’s difficult for him,’ said Maresca.
‘If you get frustrated, you lose a little bit of your focus. For sure he is going to understand more game after game when they man-mark him how to move.
‘One of the solutions could be Joao [Felix], or Joao and Cole together,’ added Maresca. ‘The other day [at Everton] we continued with Cole because there were some moments he could receive the ball and create something.
‘For sure Cole in terms of goals and assists is helping us a lot, but I’ve said many times after the games him and Nicolas are not only scoring goals. They are helping a lot with the way they press, with our intensity. I’ve said since day one, we can’t rely on Cole’s shoulders every game.’
Maresca explained that Palmer’s absence from our UEFA Conference League squad has been pivotal in allowing him to start every Premier League fixture so far this season.
With a flurry of festive fixtures upon us, continuing with today's game against Fulham, Maresca considered if he will need to rotate his squad with European football now on the backburner until March.
‘The reason why we have tried to share minutes this season is not because I want to keep the players happy,’ stated Maresca. 'I have four kids at home and I try to keep them happy, but not 25 players. It’s because they all deserve minutes.
‘Against Fulham we are going to change some things, then we have another game in three days, and we are going to continue to take decisions game after game.’