Cole Palmer comments shows the big difference between him and Enzo Maresca | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has spent the build up to tonight’s massive game against Manchester United trying to take the pressure off his star player Cole Palmer, insisting that the attacker doesn’t need to score or assist to help his team.

That comes after a long dry spell which Palmer was only able to break with a penalty against Liverpool a couple of weeks ago. Speaking to the club’s official website, Palmer was very open about his struggles this season.

Palmer on his struggles for Chelsea this season

Cole Palmer looks to the skies in frustration as Chelsea blow it against Newcastle. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

“It’s been a learning curve. I feel in the first half of the season, I picked off from where I was last season,” Palmer said.

“Then I had a little patch. Obviously, that bothered me because when you go from scoring every week, scoring hat-tricks, and then go to a patch when things aren’t happening for you, you think about what’s going on. But I spoke to the manager and people here, and they said it was normal.”

Palmer demands more from Blues teammates

Palmer’s form has mirrored that of his team, not coincidentally. And while Maresca has tried to play down the importance of making the Champions League places as an indicator of how things had gone, Palmer was more straightforward, saying his team “need” to win.

“We had a great start, then a dip, but I feel we have found our feet again. For everyone – the manager, the players, the supporters – we want to make the Champions League. So we need to win these next two games.

“We need to play the way we did against the big teams that have come here. You could see against Liverpool that we were hungry and ready. We need to show the same again and hopefully we can be alright.”