The stats behind Chelsea legend Frank Leboeuf’s brutal Cole Palmer claim
Frank Leboeuf has accused Cole Palmer of ‘disappearing’ in Chelsea’s goalless draw with Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The optimism from the summer’s Club World Cup triumph soon evaporated as the Blues were frustrated by the Eagles at Stamford Bridge, with just a point on the board from the opening weekend of the Premier League campaign.
Chelsea dominated 72% of the ball on Sunday, but only managed to get three of their 19 shots on target, compared to four shots on target from 11 attempts for Palace — who were denied a winning goal by VAR.
Too often, Enzo Maresca’s side were passive in their play, eventually reduced to speculative efforts from distance as they were shut out by an excellent Crystal Palace defensive effort.
Cole Palmer’s disappointing Crystal Palace showing
Speaking to ESPN FC, former Chelsea defender Leboeuf criticised a number of the Blues’ attacking players for Sunday’s performance — including Cole Palmer, who ‘disappeared’ against Palace, according to the Frenchman.
Indeed, Palmer put in a very subdued and visibly frustrated performance in this London derby.
The England international failed to hit the target with all four of his attempted shots, which totalled just 0.17 expected goals combined (FotMob).
Palmer also created just one chance to the tune of 0.03 expected assists, while he was successful with only one dribble and zero of his four attempted crosses.
It was a disappointing showing from Palmer, especially given he notched two goals and an assist to decide the Club World Cup final against PSG in his last competitive outing.
Pedro and Gittens contribute to underwhelming Chelsea performance
Football Insider verdict
Palmer wasn’t the only Chelsea forward to come under fire from Leboeuf following Sunday’s clash, with new signings Joao Pedro and Jamie Gittens also singled out.
“Joao Pedro came into the club, easy peasy, scoring goals [at the Club World Cup], friendly games scoring goals. Today, we didn’t see him,” said Leboeuf.
He continued: “I saw Gittens coming in for 50 minutes against Bayer Leverkusen, and say ‘woah, world-class’. Today, nothing.”
To Leboeuf’s point, Pedro and Gittens missed the target with four combined shots on Sunday, and while the latter created two chances, they only amounted to 0.07 xA.
| Chelsea stats vs Crystal Palace | |
| Possession | 72% |
| Shots | 19 |
| Shots on target | 3 |
| Expected goals | 1.60 |
There is much optimism around Stamford Bridge given the trophy-laden few months they’ve enjoyed.
However, performances like Sunday prove they still have a very long way to go if they’re to be considered serious title contenders alongside the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal.
Next up for the Blues is another London derby as they travel to fierce rivals West Ham on Friday evening.