Undoubtedly Chelsea’s player of the season last season, Cole Palmer has found good fortunes hard to come by the second half of this season. 

The talent and quality of the former City attacker is in no doubt but with increasing noise about his recent drought, many are beginning to raise questions about who/what is responsible for Palmer’s present woes.

Is Enzo Maresca’s system responsible for Palmer’s blip? 

After his revelation of a season under Mauricio Pochettino last ‘footballing’ year, many have pointed accusing fingers towards the direction Enzo Maresca for Palmer’s drop in attacking numbers. 

Last season under Mauricio Pochettino, Palmer was afforded the freedom to roam in-field from the right flank he often started from.

Drifting in-field onto his stronger left foot opened up shooting angles for the 22-year old, resulting in the former City man taking an average of 3.74 shots per game. 

Being a relatively unknown prospect last season further aided Palmer some leeway as opponents were not exactly sure of what threat he posed and paid little attention to him. 

In contrast to this season under Maresca, the former Leicester manager has a fixed base and recognisable structure in place with his preferred 4-2-3-1 base often morphing into a 3-2-5 against teams utilizing a back-4 and a 3-3-4/3-1-6 against teams with a back-5. 

Recognising the Italian’s preferred structure and how Chelsea wants to play has seen opposing managers pull up surprises when faced against the West London outfit.

Knowing Palmer now plays solely as a central player in Maresca’s 3-1-6 formation and in the 3-2-5, opposing managers often devise special plans to limit the effectiveness of the England international.

Man-marking Palmer aggressively and sometimes doubling down on him, also limits the danger posed by the Chelsea star-man. 

This season so far, Palmer has averaged 3.75 shots per game, equal to the figure he mustered at the end of last season, but the quality of the chances he’s been getting differs.

This is reflective in the expected goal ratio per 90 from the 2023/2024 season at 0.62 compared to this season’s tally of 0.56, albeit not by much.

Verdict:

Maresca’s slower approach to building attacks and being patient is a factor in Palmer’s drop in form but isn’t the sole reason.

It was always going to be difficult for Palmer to replicate last season’s form as teams now pay more attention to him in particular. 

It is just typical that the first penalty miss of his Chelsea career comes when his confidence is at its lowest.

Chelsea fans will hope he rediscovers his confidence soon, as the general overall play doesn’t suggest anything too concerning.