It’s half time in the Chelsea – Brentford game at Stamford Bridge, and it’s been a busy first half with plenty of incident.
Chelsea had a big penalty claim turned down, but then managed to score through Joao Pedro. Brentford had two great chances to equaliser without taking either of them. Then Alejandro Garnacho missed a great chance to double the Blues’ lead.
Palmer continues to struggle for Chelsea
Cole Palmer and a fairly generic group of Chelsea players look disappointed.
Cole Palmer and a fairly generic group of Chelsea players look disappointed. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
One person who simply hasn’t been involved is Cole Palmer. Apart from one shot which flew over, we struggle to remember a single active contribution either in or out of possession.
The attacking midfielder has not looked fit since returning from his groin injury, and even now he’s racked up plenty of minutes doesn’t seem to be getting any closer to fitness.
That’s what’s really worrying. We were able to write off his bad form earlier in the season as just down to the injuries. Since his return, we’ve been able to put it down to a lack of match fitness.
Now we’re out of excuses. Our star player, right now, should not be in the team. We’d look better with Andrey Santos brought on to play in midfield, with Enzo Fernandez pushed forward. Fans online are all saying the same thing – it’s not sustainable.
We’re not sure what new manager Liam Rosenior can do – he’s approaching the first real crisis as Chelsea boss.
In other news…
Chelsea took the lead in this game through Joao Pedro, who took advantage of a bad clearance and slammed in a left footed finish high into the net.
Liam Rosenior’s team felt they could have had a penalty early in this game, after Joao Pedro’s heel was clipped by Michael Kayode.
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Reece James with a Chelsea logo.
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Cole Palmer trains, with Reece James also present.