‘Enzo Maresca to blame for Cole Palmer failure as Chelsea struggles continue’
Enzo Maresca has to be blamed for Cole Palmer’s nosedive in form as Chelsea continue to struggle for fluency on the pitch.
The Blues have won just four of their last eight matches across all competitions, even facing a shock defeat to Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League, albeit scraping through on aggregate.
Maresca, who is under severe pressure at Chelsea, has also overseen frustrating league draws against Brentford and Ipswich Town, which have left his team fighting for Champions League qualification.
After recent form, the Blues had dropped out of the top-five spots in the Premier League table, coinciding with Palmer’s huge drop in goal contributions, but the win over Everton seems to have settled some nerves.
Despite notching 14 goals and eight assists across all competitions this season, the 22-year-old has just two assists in his last 17 appearances, leaving Chelsea stagnant and unable to move forward.
While some supporters want Palmer to take responsibility for his own actions on the pitch, there is no doubt that Maresca is the one to blame, with many choosing to blame his frustrating tactics.
Enzo Maresca to blame as Cole Palmer’s struggles continue
The Italian likes to play out from the back, a system which has found Robert Sanchez hounded for his mistakes by Chelsea fans, being caught out by opposition attackers.
It also slows the play down far too much, meaning Palmer sees far too little of the ball at his feet, and usually ends up walking around the middle of the park waiting for something to do.
Against the Toffees on Saturday, 26 April, the England international was not even able to unleash a single strike at Jordan Pickford, and only created a couple of chances despite his team’s dominance.
The Palmer that supporters saw before looks to have completely vanished, and while players experience dips in form every so often, he has shown no signs of getting back to his best as Maresca continues with his frustrating football.
Chelsea manager could be on borrowed time at Stamford Bridge
It has already been suggested that Maresca is being given more leeway than Pochettino at Stamford Bridge, when the Argentine could not even make it a year in charge.
While the Blues could still finish the season with silverware via the Europa Conference League and secure Champions League football as well, supporters are growing massively impatient with the playing style.
| Manager | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % |
| Enzo Maresca | 50 | 29 | 9 | 12 | 58.0 |
Without Champions League football, though, which remains a possibility following the team’s most recent run of results, there is the chance that Chelsea could lose Palmer amongst other key stars.
That would, undoubtedly, seal Maresca’s time in charge, but that would not really come as much of a surprise given the reaction to his appointment after Leicester City had only just achieved promotion.
Todd Boehly‘s running of the club has left a lot to be desired so far, with many now pointing their finger at the American owner, and that could just speed up the process when it comes to finding a new manager.
Some fans might be in favour of this, though. A new manager could mean bringing Palmer back to life at Stamford Bridge, and as long as he’s happy, fears of a big-money exit will quieten down.