Reece James has expressed his admiration for Cole Palmer, hailing him as one of the world’s elite players. However, Palmer himself remains modest about his achievements.
In a thrilling encounter at Nottingham Forest, The Blues emerged victorious on Saturday afternoon. They seized an initial advantage, experienced a setback but ultimately secured a 3-2 victory at the City Ground.
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While Palmer didn’t score, his exceptional assist set up Mykhailo Mudryk’s first goal of the match.
James, too, contributed with an assist after joining the game from the bench, marking his return to the Premier League following a hiatus due to a hamstring injury since December.
The defender was ecstatic to rejoin the fray and reserved high praise for Palmer, who has had an impressive debut season with Chelsea, scoring 21 goals in the Premier League.
‘It’s been a long wait for me so I’m happy to come back into the team,’ James told Sky Sports. ‘We learn every day, we’re still young but we are improving and we’re coming strong at the end of the season.
‘Cole Palmer is one of the best in the world, I think personally. At [Manchester] City he didn’t play as much as he would like but he has come here and taken the chance with both hands.
‘Slowly but surely we are finding our feet and reaching a level.’
Presented with quite a huge claim about his talents, Palmer wasn’t convinced, he said: ‘I wouldn’t go that far! But it’s nice to hear.
‘It’s all new to me. This is my first season playing properly in the league. It was a very important win and now we focus on the next one.’
Chelsea’s triumph in Nottingham has positioned them in seventh place, level on points with Newcastle who are in sixth, with only goal difference separating the two.
This victory marks Chelsea’s third consecutive win, adding momentum to their campaign for a spot in European competition.
On their late bid for a Europa League spot, Mauricio Pochettino said: ‘I hope yes, but there are still two big games.’
