24 January 2024 , 07:37
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Michael Carrick has picked out Cole Palmer as a "real talent" after he scored twice in Chelsea's 6-1 thrashing of Middlesbrough.
The Boro boss saw his side hammered by the Blues in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, having gone into the game with a 1-0 lead. Palmer had missed three golden chances in that first leg as Chelsea fell to a shock defeat at the Riverside.
But he had his scoring boots on at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night, adding two goals to help the Blues to reach Wembley. First, he dispossessed Dan Barlaser on the edge of his own area before slotting past Boro keeper Thomas Glover.
Thirteen minutes from time he had his second, as he clinically finished from Conor Gallagher's cut-back. His performance drew high praise from Carrick, who tipped the Chelsea star to have a "great career" even as he rued his side's defeat.
"He is a real talent. Nice lad as well. Down to Earth and you can see when you come up against him he will go on to have a great career. It's not nice when you are on the end of it but we can appreciate and respect how good he is," Carrick told Radio 5 Live.
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"It's tough. It's hugely disappointing in the end because the boys have worked so hard to get here and in the first leg and be in a position where we come here and are right here. Six shots on target, six goals. It's pretty ruthless, pretty hard and pretty brutal.
"I know there are a couple of goals where we could have done better but I can't fault the boys for that. The effort and the way they stuck to it, I was really proud of them to be honest because that is not easy. I felt it was a bit brutal how ruthless they were.
Palmer scored twice as Chelsea thrashed Carrick's Middlesbrough side on Tuesday (PA)"It's tough and credit to them for sticking to it. It was a little bit of shellshock. We came here to play a certain way and we thought we were in it and then all of a sudden the writing is on the wall. We kept going and playing and big moments unravelled a little bit."
Carrick's opposite number Mauricio Pochettino is well aware of the talent he has at his disposal in Palmer. Pochettino brought the Englishman to Stamford Bridge in the summer and has hailed his verstatility in the forward line.
"He is a player with an amazing talent. It is a player that understands the game. He has the quality and the talent to see the situation and to read the game in another aspect," the Chelsea boss told Sky Sports.
"He can play from the right, striker or in behind the striker. We try to give him freedom because in this type of game he can find the best position to help the team. For me, [the best part] is when he presses and then the intuition to get the ball back.
"He is still young but he is doing fantastic for us. Today we were very clinical in front of goal. We missed that in the first leg and we were disappointed. Today we were really good and I think that is the difference.
"These types of games are a good experience for young players and it is about now growing and it will help us to compete. We are building a very good team. The mentality is good. We have plenty but we need time."