Chelsea fans all say same thing about Cole Palmer’s return in defeat vs Leeds: ‘I’m sorry, but…’
Chelsea succumbed to a 3-1 defeat away at Leeds United on Wednesday night.
The Blues went into half-time facing a two-goal deficit, as goals from Jaka Bijol and Ao Tanaka put the Blues in dreamland at the break.
Pedro Neto then halved the deficit, but the result was put beyond doubt in the 72nd minute, when Dominic Calvert-Lewin capitalised on an error from Robert Sanchez.
Daniel Farke was facing the sack at Leeds if his team didn’t secure a favourable result, but they have now climbed out of the relegation zone with the three points.
Cole Palmer made his highly-anticipated return for the Blues at Elland Road, and his cameo in the second half provided plenty of discussion for the Chelsea faithful.
Chelsea fans bemoan Cole Palmer miss in Leeds defeat
Palmer had been nearing a return for Chelsea prior to their win away at Burnley on 22 November, but he then suffered a freak fracture to his toe that set his recovery back once again.
The England international missed last week’s clashes with Barcelona and Arsenal as a result, but he recovered in time to make an appearance from the bench at Elland Road in midweek.
Palmer was introduced by Enzo Maresca in the 61st minute, but he promptly missed a huge chance to level the game.
The ball was cut back to him from the left wing, but he could only turn his effort wide from 12 yards on his left foot.
Chelsea fans were quick to criticise him for the miss on X, and it made matters worse when Calvert-Lewin’s goal effectively ended the game just minutes later.
- @CFCWajid: “What a moment that would have been for Palmer.”
- @MackinoN256: “The blame will be on Palmer if Chelsea lose this game, how can he miss that clear chance when the pass was on his strong foot.”
- @Denno876er: “Palmer had the whole far post wide open bro.”
Cole Palmer faces a battle to make the World Cup squad
Palmer’s prolonged absence for Chelsea has also meant that he has played little part for his country in recent months.
The 23-year-old has still played just one game since Thomas Tuchel was named manager, and that came way back in June in the 1-0 victory over Andorra.
Since then, the likes of Eberechi Eze and Morgan Rogers have excellent for the Three Lions, and the level of options that Tuchel has to play in the number 10 role is staggering.
Palmer’s quality is undeniable, but there are currently several players who are likely to be ahead of him in the queue to get on the plane to North America.
The only way that he will be able to change that is by producing goals and assists, and if that is to happen, then he must finish significantly better than he did during the defeat to Leeds.