Chelsea booked their place in the fourth round of the EFL Cup with a win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday night and Cole Palmer was one of many players who impressed – two shots, two chances created, three fouls won, 92% pass completion per WhoScored.
The 21-year-old was handed his first start by Mauricio Pochettino after joining from Manchester City and assisted the winning the goal. Palmer collected the ball on the spin inside the box and fed Nicolas Jackson who made no mistake from close range.
Nizaar Kinsella of the London Evening Standard gave Palmer an 8/10 rating for his performance, Peter McVitie of Goal gave him 7/10, and Lloyd Canfield of The Sun gave him 8/10. Palmer has made four appearances for Chelsea this season, but his Brighton outing was his only start. That may change now.
Palmer impressed his manager
Pochettino said of Palmer’s full debut via Football365: “Cole is a very talented player, he was key in this victory. He’s still young, he still needs to settle in the club and the city, but we saw today how good he is.”
Not only was it Chelsea’s first win in any competition since the end of August, it was also their first goal scored in four games. The Blues lost their last two home games prior to the victory over Brighton, so Pochettino will surely hope this can breed a run of form.
Chelsea have favourable fourth-round tie
In the week commencing Monday, October 30, Chelsea will face Blackburn Rovers at home in the fourth round. They should fancy their chances against the struggling Championship outfit. And in the Premier League, Chelsea have a short trip to face Fulham on Monday, October 2.
EFL Cup fourth round draw
- Mansfield v Port Vale
- Ipswich v Fulham
- Manchester United v Newcastle
- Bournemouth v Liverpool
- Chelsea v Blackburn
- West Ham v Arsenal
- Everton v Burnley
- Exeter v Middlesbrough
Palmer showed exactly why Chelsea were so quick to spend £40m and supporters will be excited to see more of him on the pitch.
The England U21 international had a hand in eight goals from 13 starts at City before the switch and his full debut performance in a Chelsea shirt could hardly have gone better.
