Enzo Maresca stated he challenged Cole Palmer to be extra artistic and “take initiative” after the Chelsea talisman’s complaints after their Europa Convention League last win.
Maresca’s staff kicked off their Membership World Cup marketing campaign with a 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC on Monday, with targets from Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez sealing the victory.
Certainly, the Blues’ victory over the MLS outfit was the primary aggressive assembly between golf equipment from England and america.
Regardless of not getting on the scoresheet, Palmer performed a pivotal function in Chelsea’s second purpose, slipping in debutant Liam Delap, who crossed for Fernandez to tuck house.
This was Chelsea’s first recreation since beating Actual Betis 4-1 final month, which noticed them turn into the primary facet in historical past to win every of the European Cup/Champions League, UEFA Cup/Europa League, Cup Winners’ Cup, and the Convention League.
However after the match in Wroclaw, Palmer hinted at frustration with Chelsea’s strategy by claiming he took a private choice to attempt to make one thing occur within the last third.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) June 16, 2025
The 23-year-old claimed he was “sick of going backwards or sideways”, with Maresca revealing he addressed Palmer’s feedback instantly after their win over Betis.
“I had a dialog with Cole [today] and I stated to him that I actually like the way in which he was when it comes to taking accountability, taking the initiative on the ball,” stated the Chelsea boss.
“He was making an attempt even on our facet to obtain the ball, making an attempt to go one versus one in opposition to the participant. That is the Cole that we anticipate.
“After the Convention League last he stated that he was fairly bored receiving the ball and so he determined to do one thing totally different.
“The day after that interview, I stated to him, I stated, ‘however you are able to do that because the first minute. Why are you ready so lengthy? Why are you ready? Why don’t you do the identical after one minute?’
“At the moment he was precisely doing what we requested him to do. We’re joyful when he does that as a result of I stated many occasions that Cole is our greatest participant, he’s a prime participant and hopefully he can proceed to do the best issues.”
Palmer had seemingly taken these feedback on board in opposition to LAFC, posting extra pictures (six) than any of his team-mates on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
He additionally performed extra passes within the last third (32), whereas solely Pedro Neto (5) had extra profitable dribbles than Palmer (two, degree with Nicolas Jackson).
