Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has cautioned his players against totally relying on the genius of Cole Palmer to carry them through their tough run of fixtures, Soccernet.football reports.
This season, Palmer has picked up from where he left off last term, displaying the same scintillating form we witnessed during his debut campaign at Stamford Bridge.
The 22-year-old has scored six goals and provided five assists in just seven Premier League games ahead of Sunday’s clash with Liverpool, establishing himself as one of the most in-form players in the league.
However, Maresca challenged the rest of the Chelsea squad to raise their levels and support Palmer, urging them not to let him dominate the spotlight.
“If we think that Cole is going to solve all our problems, it’s a big mistake,” Maresca said as reported by 90Mins.
“We put all the pressure on his shoulders and that is wrong. Also because we have Cole but we have many players that are doing well; Noni [Madueke], Pedro [Neto], Nicolas [Jackson], Christo [Nkunku], Enzo [Fernandez]. It’s not just about Cole, it’s about all the squad.”
Chelsea currently sit fourth on the Premier League table, just four points behind leaders Liverpool. However, Maresca dismissed the idea that this match could play a significant role in determining the title at the end of the season.
“I don’t see in this moment Chelsea being close to these kind of clubs [Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal], for many reasons,” he explained.
“But for sure we work every day to be close to [Liverpool], knowing it requires us to work together day by day, time to approach and go close.
“The only way to try to be close is just to be focused on the things we need to improve. To think where we can to be in four games, it’s a bit difficult. The only thing I can say is that we want to try to do our best on Sunday.
“I consider the City game our best this season, for many reasons. First of all because I know City, and second because we really played a good game, didn’t concede many chances.
“We had many chances before and after they scored. Game after game we are improving different things, but that game was a good game.”