Cole Palmer ‘absolutely furious’ with ‘desperate’ Nico Jackson over Chelsea incident
Cole Palmer’s emotions spilt over on the pitch as the Chelsea star was left kicking the post in anger at Nicolas Jackson against Fluminense.
Enzo Maresca‘s side breezed through to the final of the Club World Cup on Tuesday, 8 July, with Joao Pedro’s superb brace enough to sweep aside the Brazilian side at the MetLife Stadium.
With Liam Delap suspended after picking up his second yellow card against Palmeiras, the new signing, Pedro, was given his chance to shine, even with Jackson returning from his two-game ban.
Having replaced the Man of the Match on the hour mark, there was still enough time for the Senegalese international to cause some mayhem as the Blues saw out the 2-0 win to reach the final.
The Blues were minutes from the full-time whistle, and with Fluminense pushing up the pitch in search of a miracle, two of Maresca’s threats were in behind the defence.
Nicolas Jackson fluffs Chelsea chance
With the opposition keeper closing the angle Jackson passed up the chance to square to Palmer to tap into an empty net and instead blasted into the side netting, leaving his star teammate remonstrating with him from inside the goal.
Speaking live on DAZN (8 July, 9:45pm), Rich Wolfenden said: “Well, Cole Palmer is absolutely furious and is having a word with the Chelsea substitute.
“The chance was there for Jackson, but the better chance was there for Palmer”.
Pundit Michael Brown suggested the under-fire forward wanted was feeling the pressure of Pedro’s performance in his stead, asking: “Is this a player realising that he needs something? Feeling the heat?
“It certainly looked like a desperate finish. It’s a shame… He thinks he needs to score, and Cole Palmer went and kicked the post and told him.”
Enzo Maresca’s side celebrate Club World Cup final spot
Football Insider verdict
Maresca’s side have gone above and beyond at the Club World Cup, and even despite their shock defeat to Flamengo in the group stage, the Blues have taken on every challenge.
Now, they have a chance to lift more silverware after winning the Europa Conference League last season, but even with all the positives, one player is causing a headache for the Premier League giants.
Maresca was told to send Jackson home following his stupid red card against Flamengo, putting the icing on the cake of an awful performance, but the manager looks set to give the striker more chances.
Football Insider understands that Jackson still has a future at Chelsea despite several new strikers being signed and the player’s outbursts on the pitch, much to the surprise of many supporters.
With the age of the squad only getting younger, Maresca will be expecting the 24-year-old to step up and take control of his emotions on the pitch, being a good role model for the other forwards.
Of course, there is still plenty of time for the player to mature, but it could be too late to change fans’ minds on the pros and cons of keeping him at Stamford Bridge for the foreseeable future.