Enzo Maresca reveals what he told Cole Palmer after Chelsea's win over Southampton

Table of Contents

.

Chelsea have had a big drop-off in performance over the summer break and came into tonight's Bridge game having lost their last three matches in all competitions.

The top four got the better of Ivan Juric's sorry Saints in a comprehensive win in front of a enthusiastic home crowd.

Headed the opening goal of the game in the 24th minute and Pedro Neto and Levi Colwill both took advantage of the visitors' poor defensive play to make it three before the halfway mark.

Chelsea extended their lead with 12 minutes of regular time left as Marc Cucurella slotted home from close range for his third league goal of the season – and struggling Southampton had no response.

Palmer, who's often Chelsea's go-to player since joining from Manchester City, has had a rare run of games without scoring lately and was left visibly gutted as referee Thomas Bramall blew his whistle to signal the final whistle in west London.

The stats show Palmer's goalless in his last seven games for the club, and Maresca was spotted chatting to him on the field, with the Italian coach putting a reassuring arm around the young English player.

Asked what he said to Palmer, Maresca said to TNT Sports: "It's as simple as that. You've got a panel of former players here who've all been top-level players and every one of them has gone through some tough times."

‘It’s just part of the game. Cole Palmer’s form will go up and down, like any other player. You can’t expect him to be at the same level every season or every game. It’s just normal fluctuations in form.’

‘He's a bloke, he's missing out on a few things and now it's about how we respond. So I was telling him that. Everything's as it should be. He's happy, he's right as rain.’

The Chelsea head coach added: 'I've said already that he's been fortunate in his career, even though he's young, because he's shared dressing rooms with top players.

‘He knows that any top-notch athletes go through tough times.’

‘It's all about how you handle it. Stay chill, keep going, keep smiling. Stay relaxed, be cheerful, enjoy the footy. That's all you've got to worry about.’

Maresca was able to give some game time to some of Chelsea's exciting young talent as the clock ran down at Stamford Bridge, with Mathis Amougou, Tyrique George, Shim Mheuka and Josh Acheampong all introduced in the second half.

‘There were probably too many young players at the end, but it’s good to see them play well,’ Maresca said.

‘It was also the game a bit that we can give young blokes a chance to get some minutes.’

‘But for certain, Chelsea’s academy has always been a good one so we already have plenty of talented players like Levi [Colwill] who are already there and in the future we can expect more.’

The Italian was asked if Chelsea's young players would get more opportunities over the next few weeks. He replied: 'Yes, especially because we have the Europa Conference League and then we've got Leicester coming up in two days.'

‘And for us, our main goal is to get this club back to the level where it belongs, which is competing in the Champions League.’

Maresca is still confident that Chelsea can finish in the top four, but he knows his team needs to be prepared right through until the last day of the season.

Quizzed on Chelsea's top-four hopes, Maresca said: 'If we win games then we'll be in the mix. If we lose games...

‘It'll be a rollercoaster ride and it's all about how we handle it. We've got to be prepared.’

.

.