They say you make your own luck and perhaps, Liam Rosenior’s impressive first week as Chelsea manager saw the Blues gaffer get away with one on Saturday against Brentford.
The full-time scoreline read 2-0 to Chelsea but anyone with an ounce of footballing knowledge will tell you that Chelsea, on another day, could have lost this by two or three. Brentford were excellent.
Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer got the goals, one in each half. Both Chelsea goals came through mistakes and intense Chelsea pressing, with the latter a penalty scored by the England star on Saturday afternoon.
But Brentford, on another day, could have scored five with some ease. Aaron Hickey came close, Kevin Schade missed a one-on-one as Robert Sanchez atoned for the errors he made against Arsenal last time.
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Chelsea 2-0 Brentford graphic with Cole Palmer
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Even Igor Thiago, the man rivalling Erling Haaland for the Premier League golden boot, planted a header wide when expected to score. Chelsea were lucky to win and Palmer’s frustration was quite evident.
What Cole Palmer did at full-time against Brentford
Palmer was largely anonymous after returning to the side following a minor injury picked up in the defeat to Fulham. That was until he curled a penalty into the corner of the net with inch-perfect precision.
Cole Palmer v Brentford
Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
But instead of doing his normal ‘Cold Palmer’ celebration, the celebrations from Palmer were largely muted as he appeared to point to his head. A strange reaction, perhaps one of underlying frustration.
Perhaps, at Chelsea’s display, perhaps given his latest injury. Having been booked on 92 minutes, the Daily Mail’s Kieran Gill reports that Palmer instantly made his way down the tunnel at full-time.
Gill reports: “Palmer’s body language is carrying a negative feel. He hardly celebrated scoring. He walked down the tunnel at full-time. Other than his goal from the penalty, he struggled to have a positive impact.
“That frustration is perhaps with himself, for he knows what he can do. Rosenior told us he was proud of what he did out of possession as much as anything, particularly towards the end here,” Gill continued.
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Liam Rosenior or Enzo Maresca
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Liam Rosenior needs to nurse Cole Palmer back to his best
Chelsea remain in all four competitions, and are fighting on many fronts. The Blues need to beat Arsenal to have a chance of extra-time or progression to Wembley in the Carabao Cup at the start of February.
The Champions League resumes on Wednesday against Pafos, with Chelsea still able to finish in the top eight. They take on Rosenior’s old side, Hull in the FA Cup, while sitting sixth in the Premier League.
There is plenty to play for between now and the end of the season for Chelsea and Rosenior. But if the former Strasbourg man is to stand any chance of silverware or a top-four finish, he needs Palmer firing.
After a season of struggles with injury, the temptation would be to play Palmer regularly having missed him so much. But Rosenior must be careful and nurse Palmer back to his brilliant Chelsea best.
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