Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has defended his decision to leave Cole Palmer off of his Conference League squad. The Blues boss shocked many by previously not selecting his best player for the competition.
Mareca also left Romeo Lavia and Wesley Fofana off of the list, but the moves were limiting the duo’s minutes. The midfielder and defender both missed significant time last season due to fairly serious injuries. Lavia’s hamstring issue even continued on to affect his playing time in recent weeks as well.
Palmer, however, has been relatively injury-free since the beginning of 2022. The young playmaker has also been the team’s star player since he joined last summer from Manchester City.
In fact, no other Premier League player, not even Erling Haaland, had more direct goal involvements than Palmer last season. The England international racked up 33 combined goals and assists in as many English top-flight games in the campaign.
Maresca ‘protecting’ Palmer by leaving him off of Conference League squad
Palmer’s immense contribution to Chelsea has led some to question whether or not the club is too reliant on the lone star. Maresca was asked specifically about this in a press conference on Wednesday. The coach denied the claims and also asserted that he has to protect Palmer by not forcing him to play Conference League games.
“No. It is not about reliance,” stated Maresca. “We played some games without Cole, but sure, and for us, Cole is something extra that you need. We also need to think a bit to protect some players. They need that. There is a reason behind it, and I think Cole needs to be protected.”
The coach’s comments could be a slight dig at the Conference League. After all, the tournament is the third-tiered European competition, and UEFA only created the tournament in 2021. The Conference League generally features clubs from lower-ranked top-flight leagues in the continent.
Because of this, Chelsea is…
Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/maresca-says-chelsea-has-to-protect-palmer-by-limiting-games/
Author : Chris Moore
Publish date : 2024-10-02 16:16:58
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