Liam Rosenior was happy with Cole Palmer’s contribution in Chelsea’s 7-0 hammering of Port Vale in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.
Despite Chelsea’s dominance, Palmer was unable to get his name on the scoresheet before being taken off just after the hour mark.
Nevertheless, Rosenior was still pleased with the attacking midfielder, who nearly found the back of the net. His tap-in came off Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel in the end and went down as an own goal.
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Liam Rosenior impressed with Cole Palmer’s tracking back in Chelsea’s 7-0 thrashing of Port Vale
Rosenior was asked about his decision to name Palmer as captain for the FA Cup clash, with the 23-year-old not seen as a traditional leader.
With Reece James injured and Enzo Fernandez being punished for his recent interviews, Rosenior decided to hand Palmer the armband. And the Chelsea manager felt that the attacker led the team well as he tracked back and did the other fundamentals of football excellently.
Speaking to football.london and other outlets after the game, Rosenior said: “Like I’ve said, you lead in different ways. Cole is a player in big moments who can win you games. But if you watch the game today with Cole or with Joao, they’re tracking back, they’re chasing back into their own box.
Rosenior manager / head coach of Chelsea reacts
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“Pedro was making tackles in his own box. You have to go back to basics. I felt the players in terms of the fundamentals of the game today were very, very good and Cole led by example.”
Palmer was criticised for his performance in England’s 1-0 defeat to Japan during the international break. However, he has quickly put that display behind him with a bright run-out in the FA Cup.
Next up for Palmer and Chelsea is a massive Premier League clash against Manchester City.
Cole Palmer’s defensive stats vs Port Vale
In terms of actual defensive actions, Palmer did not make too many at Stamford Bridge. According to Sofascore, the England international made one in total, which was a clearance.
Palmer finished the match without making a single tackle, interception or block. Rosenior, though, was clearly happy with the energy that his No.10 showed as he tracked back.
As expected, Palmer made much more of an impact in the final third. While the former Manchester City star failed to score against Jon Brady’s side, he still managed to create one big chance and register two key passes.
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