Pep Guardiola talked up Cole Palmer for the PFA Player of the Year award and claimed the Chelsea ace forced an exit out of Manchester City.
Palmer faces his former City for the third time at Wembley today as Chelsea aim to thwart City’s quest to become the first club to win consecutive domestic Doubles.
Level with Erling Haaland, the 20 Premier League goals to his name has vindicated Palmer’s decision to make the £42million switch to Stamford Bridge.
And the 21-year-old is set to do battle with Phil Foden for individual gongs as well as Haaland for the Golden Boot.
‘Cole has been the decisive player, maybe of the season, in many aspects,’ Guardiola said. ‘He was asking for two seasons to leave and I said stay.
Pep Guardiola revealed Cole Palmer had been asking to leave Manchester City for two seasons
![Guardiola lumped praise on Palmer who has been in flying form for Chelsea so far this season](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/19/15/83856327-13328249-image-a-13_1713536136828.jpg)
Guardiola lumped praise on Palmer who has been in flying form for Chelsea so far this season
![The Spaniard added that he felt he 'had not given Palmer the minutes that he had deserved'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/19/15/83856205-13328249-image-a-14_1713536138774.jpg)
The Spaniard added that he felt he ‘had not given Palmer the minutes that he had deserved’
Your browser does not support iframes.
‘He said he wanted to leave. What could we do? I said stay because Riyad [Mahrez] is gone but for two seasons he wanted to leave.
‘He’s an exceptional player. I didn’t give the minutes that maybe he deserved and now he has at Chelsea. I understand completely.
‘He’s a shy guy with a lot of potential. It is what it is. He’s playing fantastic so what can I say, the decision has been made for many reasons.’
Haaland is a doubt for the semi-final after coming off before extra-time of Wednesday’s Champions League penalty defeat by Real Madrid.
Guardiola has told his players to respond to that heartache. ‘I prefer to play this than stay at home and think of next league game,’ he said.
‘Maybe they are the toughest opponents we can face right now, with all respect to United and Coventry of course, but a really tough opponent.
‘There’s no time, we go there and try to compete at our best. Don’t feel sorry that we’re out, it’s the highest level and these kind of situations happen. Sometimes you lose games. There is no better fact in being a top, top club when you accept that with normality.’
![Palmer is joint-top of the Premier League's leading-scorers standings this season with 20 goals](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/19/15/83856203-13328249-image-a-15_1713536404911.jpg)
Palmer is joint-top of the Premier League’s leading-scorers standings this season with 20 goals
![On Monday, he scored four goals and his second hat-trick of the season in City's win vs Everton](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/19/15/83856211-13328249-image-a-16_1713536407472.jpg)
On Monday, he scored four goals and his second hat-trick of the season in City’s win vs Everton
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino was robust in his defence of Guardiola when discussing whether City had made a mistake in selling Palmer.
He said: ‘Manchester City kept winning. It’s the circumstances. Pep had players like (Phil) Foden, (Jack) Grealish and Bernardo Silva. If you are not able to live with that, if you want to play, come on, the club needs to make a decision.
‘I understand completely the situation and he (Palmer) found here a good place for him to play consistently. We are not playing for the things that Manchester City are playing for.’
Pochettino also reminded Palmer that he is not exempt from putting in the hard yards, explaining that luxury players like Eden Hazard no longer exist.
‘It is difficult to say, “Oh, you need to run more” because he’s doing his job perfectly in an offensive situation,’ Pochettino added. ‘But it is true we are a coaching staff that demand more. Football has changed.
![Chelsea boss Pep Guardiola](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/19/22/83873173-13328249-image-a-6_1713562165176.jpg)
Chelsea boss Pep Guardiola
‘If you see Real Madrid or Manchester City — with or without the ball, you need to run. If they don’t run, they don’t play. If they don’t make the effort, the team doesn’t win.’
Chelsea fan group We Are The Shed are set to unveil a special display for Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final with a banner reading: ‘Our blood is blue and we would leave you never.’
It is a line from the fan favourite song ‘Blue Day’, which was released by Madness frontman Suggs ahead of Chelsea’s 1997 FA Cup triumph.
The banner will be accompanied by a blue and white chequered display, drop-down banners with the old-school chant of ‘We are the famous, the famous Chelsea’ and gigantic flags depicting retro kits and badges from throughout the club’s history.
Source From: Premier League News, Fixtures and Results | Mail Online
Source link
- Sonic Review – The World #1 App Allows You To Launch Your Own AI Streaming Platform Preloaded With Over 100 Million Artists, Playlists, Podcasts, Genres, Audiobooks & Radio Channel And Tap Into 600 Million Paid Members!
- Voixr Review – The #1 Emotional-Based-Human-Like Voice Cloning AI Powered App Cloning and Speaking In 1,800+ Voices With 144 Native Languages Instantly Without Recording or Any Tech Skills!
- SiteRobot AI Review – The #1 AI-Powered App Let Us Build Complete Websites + Contents Instantly By Using Just Your Keyword!
- Quillaio Review – Get Your Website Ranking In Page 1 With The Most Powerful AI Engine And Hand Free Optimization Of Your Contents!
- MailDaddy Review – The New Email Marketing Software Helps You Send Unlimited Emails To Unlimited Subscribers By Getting 99.96% Inbox Delivery With Assurance To Get More Opens, Clicks, And Sales!
Recent Comments