According to British media, Cole Palmer was initially named in the starting lineup, but then suffered a groin injury at the start. That forced coach Enzo Maresca to adjust personnel and send other players to replace them. Cole Palmer just sat on the bench to watch his teammates play.
In the past 4-5 days, Cole Palmer has not been at his best. In the match against West Ham, he had some problems warming up and we didn't want to risk him starting from the start, because it could make the situation worse. We will see how much of an injury he is, said coach Enzo Maresca.
Palmer is not playing, coach Enzo Maresca has named Estevao as his replacement. The Brazilian player played well, continuously making tricky dribbles, making the opponent's defense less difficult. Estevao assisted Enzo Fernandez to score Chelsea's third goal.
At 18 years and 120 days, Estevao is the youngest player to score or assist for Chelsea in the Premier League. Estevao's performance was further noticed because he had previously accidentally lost the ball, helping Lucas Paqueta score in the 6th minute, giving West Ham a 1-0 lead.
Chelsea have had their first win of the season. In round 1, they drew 0-0 with Crystal Palace at home. According to Enzo Maresca, Chelsea have proven that they are a team that does not depend on Cole Palmer at all.
Certainly with Cole Palmer, we are a much stronger team, he said. But I think we proved that last year, in the 2-3 months he wasn't at 100%, we made it into the Top 4 in an unexpected way."
