Chelsea could reap benefits if rivals play how Enzo Maresca thinks they will

Chelsea could reap the benefits if rival teams focus their efforts on marking Cole Palmer out of matches. Blues boss Enzo Maresca told the England international earlier this month that he should expect special attention from opposition defenders after his meteoric rise to the top of the game over the last year.

Chelsea snapped up Palmer from Manchester City in the summer of 2023 after agreeing to pay the Citizens an initial £40million in exchange for his services.

The attacker has since racked up an impressive 32 goals and 20 assists for the west London giants and was named PFA young player of the year and Premier League young player of the season at the end of the last campaign.

Maresca has noticed that other teams are targeting Palmer thanks to his performances in a Chelsea shirt.

And ahead of his side’s clash with Manchester United at the start of November, the 44-year-old explained: “After last season, for him it was the first season in terms of arriving at Chelsea, probably it was the opposite – they weren’t too worried about marking Cole.

“This year, they are now worried because of last year so he has to get used to it. The next step is going to be more difficult but he can do it.”

Palmer failed to find the back of the net against the Red Devils and drew another blank when Chelsea hosted Arsenal a week later.

But if teams are pulling out all the stops to halt the 22-year-old, Chelsea can take advantage of the tactic by hurting their rivals in other ways.

Pedro Neto took advantage of the space he was afforded against the Gunners to fire in an equaliser after Gabriel Martinelli had nudged the north Londoners ahead. And against United, Moises Caicedo was the goalscorer as the points were again shared.

Nicolas Jackson has popped up with six goals and three assists this term, while Blues winger Noni Madueke has terrorised defenders all season and bagged a hat-trick against Wolves in August.

Chelsea have shown they have plenty of creativity and firepower in front of goal and are proving to be one of the top sides in the Premier League this season.

They will be desperate to return to the Champions League after breaking into the top four and will be confident of kicking on as they prepare to return to Premier League action against Leicester on Saturday.

So if Palmer continues to be thwarted like he was against United and Arsenal, Maresca will be only too happy to unleash his other attacking players to get the results he wants.