Chelsea are just a few days away from reigniting their feud against Arsenal in the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-finals.
Liam Rosenior’s second game in charge saw the Blues fall to a 3-2 defeat against their arch-rivals, and despite an impressive fightback put them in a difficult situation ahead of the second leg.
Alejandro Garnacho’s brace off the bench kept Chelsea in the tie, although they were clearly suffering from missing their creative spark in the starting side.
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Cole Palmer has been injured for the majority of Rosenior’s reign so far, although his quality was clear when he provided two assists off the bench against Napoli in the Champions League.
Eden Hazard celebrates after Chelsea vs Arsenal in Europa League final
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Eden Hazard picks Cole Palmer as better than Bukayo Saka
The boss will be hopeful he can feature in the second leg of the semi-final, where he will be battling for attention with fellow England star Bukayo Saka.
The duo have frequently been compared with each other, as well as Phil Foden, as the best young attackers in the Premier League.
Chelsea legend Eden Hazard has had his say on the matter, choosing Palmer over Saka when asked to pick between the two.
The Belgian also selected Palmer over Lamine Yamal, who recently finished in the top two for the prize of the Ballon d’Or.
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Chelsea players big fans of record-breaking Palmer
Palmer’s two assists off the bench vs Napoli matched a club record in the competition. Only Nicolas Anelka has also delivered this as a substitute.
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Both assists came for Joao Pedro goals, and the Brazilian described Palmer as a ‘special’ player after the game.
Club captain Reece James was also full of praise for Palmer, with it clear how much the Blues have missed him when he has been unavailable.
There will be consideration from Liam Rosenior to leave him out of the starting side to face West Ham at the weekend, in order to protect him for their trip to the Emirates.
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