The key tactical tweak Enzo Maresca made to make Cole Palmer even more deadly | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has had a good start to his Chelsea managerial career so far this season and there has been a lot of positive differences from last season.

Mauricio Pochettino had a poor time as Chelsea boss, although it should be acknowledged that the results and performances did start to get a bit better towards the end of last season. However, it became clear that Pochettino and Chelsea were not the most perfect fit, and two ended up parting ways at the end of last season.

EXCLUSIVE! Surprise Chelsea player impressing training ground staff, but not for his quality….

That all feels like a distant memory now though since Maresca came in as new head coach this summer. Many Chelsea fans had real reservations about hiring the Italian as he had very little experience, especially in top flight football. Some Chelsea fans might even still have some of those reservations, but seemingly most are warming to Maresca.

Cole Palmer tactical tweak

As detailed by The Sun today, Maresca moved Cole Palmer to a more central position this season, whereas he was playing wide on the right for Pochettino last season. And this switch has seen Palmer become even more deadly.

Palmer got 22 goals and 11 assists in his first 33 Premier League appearances last season and did so with 65 touches per 90 minutes of action.

But under Maresca so far this season, he has done even better.

Palmer has already racked up six goals and five assists from 596 minutes spanning seven games – at an average of just 57 touches per 90 minutes.

The numbers work out as a goal involvement every 54 minutes in 2024-25 compared to every 79 minutes in 2023-24.

You can see below how his position has become more central and a bit deeper too, which has been the key difference in his stats getting even better.

It’s certainly been a positive so far for Palmer and Chelsea, and allows him a much more free role.