Cole Palmer showed against Newcastle why he's Chelsea's most important player
Cole Palmer has become Chelsea’s go-to man in a crisis.
Yet again, Palmer delivered at Stamford Bridge with a goal and an assist which took his statistics to 19 goal involvements this season. Palmer, 21, nicknamed Cold Palmer for his ice cold mentality and trademark celebration of rubbing his arms to keep warm, did it all in front of England boss Gareth Southgate.
The Chelsea forward has become Mauricio Pochettino’s most important player and an absolute must for England’s Euros squad this summer. It was a big result for Chelsea rounded off by a brilliant late clincher from Mykhailo Mudryk but another bout of travel sickness for Eddie Howe’s Newcastle.
The Toon Army have now failed to keep a clean sheet in 11 away games and have lost seven of their last nine matches on the road.
That sort of form is not good enough for where Newcastle want to go and leaves them in tenth place - one place and a point above Chelsea who have a game in hand - and their whole season now comes down to another away trip on Saturday.
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Newcastle must go to Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter final knowing defeat will end their campaign and last remaining hope of silverware. They lost Anthony Gordon at Stamford Bridge as he hobbled off injured in the first half on a night when he was trying to impress Southgate who names his last squad ahead of the Euros on Thursday.
It was always going to be a tall order to get in at this late stage and Gordon must be fearing his last chance has gone which is a bitter blow considering his form. But the truth is that Palmer has jumped ahead of the likes of Gordon for a place alongside the likes of Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Marcus Rashford and the rest.
It takes something special to shine in a difficult season for your club but that is exactly what Palmer has done and that is what makes him stand out for the rest. The stakes have been raised for Chelsea boss Pochettino after indifferent results and even his own fans calling for him to be replaced by Jose Mourinho after the draw at Brentford.
This time Chelsea’s joint owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali were in the stands and, after their £1billion investment, they must be enjoying £42.5m Palmer’s value for money. Chelsea were ahead after just six minutes. Palmer started the move by spraying the ball wide to Malo Gusto and the right back’s cross was only half cleared by Newcastle defender Sven Botman.
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Palmer also played a part in Nicolas Jackson's opener (Getty Images)Palmer smashed a shot towards goal but instinctively Jackson flicked the ball into the corner and beyond keeper Martin Dubravka. Chelsea have now not lost in the seven games in which Jackson has scored. Newcastle levelled after 42 minutes. Bruno Guimaraes won the ball in midfield, found Alexander Isak and the Newcastle striker showed his true quality with a brilliant curling shot into the far corner.
But even when things are not going well, it is Palmer who can change a game in their favour. Moises Caicedo combined with Enzo Fernandez and then Palmer’s low shot flew through Botman’s legs and into the bottom corner.
Chelsea got a third after 76 minutes. Jackson raced down the left, Conor Gallagher nudged it on and Mudryk turned on the turbo jets before nutmegging Fabian Schar, rounding Dubravka and then slotting into the net.
Newcastle got a late consolation with substitute Jacob Murphy smashing a screamer into the net from 20 yards in the 90th minute but Chelsea held their nerve for a much needed win.
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