After scoring a hat-trick against Wolves, Cole Palmer enjoyed every moment after the match to hug the ball and celebrate the impressive scoring record he had just achieved.
With this hat-trick, the English striker has done it 4 times. He is the Chelsea player with the most hat-tricks in history, surpassing legends like Didier Drogba or Frank Lampard (both with 3 hat-tricks).
Palmer's confidence and excitement in the match against Wolves is what Chelsea has been looking for for many months. Inguinal, thigh and toe injuries have caused Palmer's number of matches for Chelsea this season to decrease significantly.
When he returned to the field, the 23-year-old star also did not have his best form. After scoring a hat-trick, Palmer was withdrawn, Chelsea understood that they needed to protect their precious gem even better to race through the tense stage at the end of the season.
After scoring consecutive goals at Molineux stadium, in addition to his familiar celebration gesture, Palmer also covered his ears with his hand, implying ignoring the gossip and discussions in the media in recent days when he was not in good form.
Just like his student, Liam Rosenior also has an attitude of disregard for negative rumors about Palmer and affirms the importance of the English star in the current Chelsea squad.
Cole Palmer has scored 3 goals, he is part of the team's playing style today. We always know Palmer is a world-class player. However, in recent years, he has been overworked too much, with few breaks. Once he is in his best form, it is clear that Palmer cannot be stopped. I am very happy to work with him".
Last season when Palmer was absent, Chelsea was very struggling in attack. This season there is a reverse trend, when the English striker is absent, The Blues are still doing well. Enzo Fernandez has found excitement in the striker role.
Reece James has unexpected plays in midfield. In addition, the smart use of set pieces has helped Chelsea compensate for Palmer's lack of creativity when performing open balls.
Palmer is still an important player, but Chelsea is gradually becoming less dependent on this striker, which is a very positive sign.
Although Palmer's role is not vital to Chelsea, without the English striker, The Blues will find it very difficult to be confident in creating breakthroughs in every match.
It is difficult to find anyone who can claim to score a hat-trick against Wolves even though the opponent is only the team ranked last in the standings.
As Chelsea plays more diversely, there are also more attacking spearheads, which is a good sign for Cole Palmer as he will be less "cared for" than before, and have more space to develop his skills.
Previously, Cole Palmer was the only player to play freely in Chelsea's formation. Now, that freedom is given to more players. In the 3 goals Palmer scored against Wolves, there were 2 successful penalties.
In the remaining situation, Enzo Fernandez dribbled the ball to the wing, Marc Cucurella pushed up to support and Palmer finished in the penalty area. After the match, Liam Rosenior himself also emphasized that that was the way Chelsea wanted to play.
Although he only played 61 minutes in last weekend's match, Palmer's statistics are very good if you look at the contribution to the overall play. The English striker ranked 3rd in the recent match in terms of participation in attacking situations.
Although sometimes having to play deep in some situations because his teammates are more free to attack, Palmer's contribution has not decreased, which is a very positive sign for Rosenior.
After the match, Rosenior said he did not want Palmer's role to change. In theory, that role may remain the same, but the diversity of his teammates around him will make a difference.
Now, his teammates are ready to share the burden with Palmer to create greater overall strength. Palmer is still an important star but now he will join in Rosenior's new playing style.
Being able to rest and less pressure, that is the luxury that Palmer previously did not have at Chelsea. Now with Rosenior, that has come and it is expected to help the artistic feet of this talented striker always maintain excitement in the upcoming journey.
