Enzo Maresca insists Cole Palmer’s slump is NOT his fault… as Chelsea boss blames ‘mental’ issue for star’s 16-game goal drought

Enzo Maresca says Cole Palmer’s 16-game scoring slump is not his fault, with Chelsea’s head coach insisting it is a ‘mental’ issue rather than anything ‘tactical’ or ‘technical’.

Maresca highlighted the importance of qualifying for the Champions League in his Everton preview, admitting it will determine how much they can spend in this summer’s window.

Saturday is seen as a must-win match with Palmer looking to finally find the goal again, with the 22-year-old scoring four times in this very fixture last season when Chelsea won 6-0 at Stamford Bridge under Mauricio Pochettino.

Maresca suggested on Friday that the problem is all in Palmer’s head as he said: ‘For sure, it’s mental. I don’t think it’s tactical, I don’t think it’s technical, because Cole is still the same player that scored this season with us – 14 goals in the Premier League in 20 games. Cole is the same one.

‘The style of football we play is the same one. The manager is the same one. The club is the same one. So nothing changes around Cole and Cole doesn’t change. It’s just mentally in this moment.

‘We try always to set up our game to put our best player in a condition to be dangerous. We have done since we started. We are doing that every game.

Palmer has not scored a goal since Chelsea’s 2-2 draw against Bournemouth in January

‘If you go back game by game, he had at least every game one or two chances. It’s not about how the team is playing. Again, it’s the same one. If you want to see it as the team playing a different way, you’ve seen it that way, but the reality is not that. 

‘The reality is that Cole is the same, the style of play is the same, the manager is the same, the club is the same. It’s just football that, in this moment, he is missing the goal. No more than that.’

As well as Palmer, Nicolas Jackson has gone 13 games without a goal. Maresca was asked if Chelsea securing Champions League will have a big influence on transfer targets this summer and he said: ‘Absolutely, yes.’