Cole Palmer involved in super-rare event at Chelsea after Aston Villa ‘howler’
Pau Torres was accused of committing a “howler” by Alan Smith as Cole Palmer was given a rare indirect free kick inside the penalty area for Chelsea against Aston Villa.
Enzo Maresca’s side enjoyed an excellent first-half on home soil on Sunday, with Nicolas Jackson continuing his excellent start to the season to put the hosts 1-0 up early on.
The lead was doubled with less than ten minutes to go until half-time, when Enzo Fernandez netted his second goal in as many Premier League games, after missing out on European action in midweek.
It was a deserved lead for Chelsea, with Villa struggling to trouble Robert Sanchez in goal, with the exception of one Ollie Sanchez effort.
Things could have been even better for the Blues as well, when they were awarded an indirect free-kick just six yards from the visitor’s goal 22 minutes in, to the excitement of Smith.
A Palmer shot was parried by Emi Martinez and fell at the feet of Torres who, unsure what to do, simply tapped the ball which was then picked up by the Aston Villa keeper.
Discussing the incident live on Sky Sports, commentator Bill Leslie (1.54pm) reacted by saying: “Well, well well!”
Former Arsenal striker Smith added: “So often, you know, these aren’t given because the keeper gets the benefit of the doubt. They make an almighty hash of it don’t they, Villa here?
“Nobody takes charge. Pau Torres really has got to clear his lines there. At that point he can’t afford to just be shepherding it back to the keeper, what a howler.”
Elaborating on that opening for Chelsea, the pundit added: “It’s a great chance, you don’t see this situation much do you?”
Emi Martinez and Pau Torres panicked by Chelsea
Football Insider Opinion
Ultimately, Villa were able to clear away that free-kick inside the area, but that is unlikely to have brought much satisfaction for their supporters given the way the first-half played out.
The opening 45 proved another tough afternoon for Unai Emery’s side, who showed little signs of ending their poor run of recent form, with Martinez looking nothing like his usual confident self before going off injured at half time.
By contrast, while it is an opportunity they would have wanted to take, the fact they didn’t should not concern Chelsea all that much.
Maresca’s side continue to look in fine fettle, and were in a dominant mood from the start on Sunday (1st December), remaining well on track to retain their place in the top four in the table.
With the likes of Jackson also maintaining the sort of individual level that has generated a belief he has stepped things up from last season, making himself almost undroppable, there will be a huge amount of confidence around Stamford Bridge.
Palmer may have been kept off the scoresheet early despite the unusual opportunity inside the box but did pick up an assist for Fernandez’s goal after an excellent passing move, and he rectified that late on with a trademark stunner to make the score 3-0.
In other news, Arsenal fans have delivered a clear verdict on Chelsea loanee Raheem Sterling.
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