Chelsea have won all 4 of their most recent home matches in the Premier League, which is not surprising even though their form is not convincing. Moreover, The Blues' opponents are all teams at the bottom of the table. Surprisingly, Cole Palmer has not scored in any of his games.
In the 1-0 win over Leicester at Stamford Bridge, Palmer was close to scoring. However, his penalty was blocked by Mads Hermansen. This was one of five shots from the England international, extending Palmer's streak of efforts to 29 shots without scoring in the Premier League.
It is undeniable that number is higher than any other player in the Premier League at this stage. Palmer has now extended his goalless streak to 7 matches for a total of 683 minutes. There is much speculation about why a former player with great energy suddenly had difficulty scoring. Not to mention that the England international has not had any assists during this time.
Nicolas Jackson's absence from Chelsea's last four Premier League games since being injured is seen as the most likely explanation for Palmer's decline. The last time he scored was in mid-January against Bournemouth.
" Palmer makes Jackson and Jackson makes Palmer," Paul Merson told Sky Sports.
However, Jackson's replacement Pedro Neto actually ran more than any other player in the 28th round of the Premier League. The problem for Palmer seems to be more of a finishing problem than finding the right position.
Palmer's expected goals over the short period of in goal difference are 3.48 xG, among the top 10 players with the most chances in the tournament. The other 9 players on that list all scored at least 2 goals.
However, coach Enzo Maresca does not seem to care about Palmer's form. Instead, he took health problems as a factor affecting his performance against Leicester.
"Cole Palmer won't train on Saturday. On Saturday night, he was not well, but this morning (Sunday) he woke up and told me: "I want to play because I want to help the team participate in the Champions League".
In the past 48 hours, he has been very bad with a fever and felt uncomfortable. But this morning (Sunday) he asked to play and this shows that the players want to take the team to where they belong" - Maresca said after the win over Leicester.
Against Leicester, Palmer missed a penalty for the first time since becoming a professional player. Accordingly, Palmer has taken 17 penalty kicks and successfully completed all 17. In addition, Palmer's record of 12 consecutive successful penalties in the Premier League has also officially stopped.
