Enzo Maresca sends warning about 'big Cole Palmer mistake' before Liverpool vs Chelsea

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has warned against his players becoming too reliant on Cole Palmer.

The 22-year-old has come racing out of the blocks this season, racking up 11 goal involvements (six goals, five assists) in his first seven Premier League matches. Only Erling Haaland scored more than Chelsea’s talisman in the league last term.

Thankfully for Maresca, a selection of his other attackers are also producing results in front of goal. Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson have both netted four times, Christopher Nkunku has been prolific from the bench, and Jadon Sancho has looked lively since arriving on loan from Manchester United.

With that in mind, the Chelsea boss believes that placing too much expectation on Palmer’s shoulders would not be wise. “If we think that Cole is going to solve all our problems, it’s a big mistake,” insisted the Italian.

“We put all the pressure on his shoulders and that is wrong. Also because we have Cole but we have many players that are doing well; Noni, Pedro [Neto], Nicolas, Christo [Nkunku], Enzo [Fernandez]. It’s not just about Cole, it’s about all the squad.”

The Blues have made a barnstorming start to life under Maresca, with a run of only one defeat in their opening seven league games leaving them fourth in the table.

Fans will get the chance to find out how good they really are during a trip to Anfield this Sunday. Arne Slot’s Reds are top of the pile and have only conceded two goals in seven games, leaving Palmer and co. with their work cut out to try and breach the back-line.

Despite Chelsea appearing to have come on leaps and bounds since recent spells under Frank Lampard, Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino, Maresca does not yet believe they are on a level playing field with England’s title challengers.

“I don’t see in this moment Chelsea being close to these kind of clubs, for many reasons,” he said. “But for sure we work every day to be close to them, knowing it requires us to work together day by day, time to approach and go close.

“The only way to try to be close is just to be focussed on the things we need to improve. The only thing I can say is that we want to try to do our best Sunday.”