Cole Palmer directed criticism toward his Chelsea teammates, citing a lack of focus and failure in “managing moments correct” during their 3-1 loss to Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
Enzo Maresca’s men suffered defeat at the Allianz Arena in their return to Champions League football after more than two years, with Trevoh Chalobah’s own goal and two strikes from Harry Kane sealing Bayern’s victory. ..Continue Reading
Palmer netted Chelsea’s only goal in the opening half, finishing a slick exchange with Malo Gusto and placing the ball past Manuel Neuer.
Despite his effort—his second goal in four days following the draw at Brentford—it didn’t change the outcome.
Post-match, Palmer gave a blunt interview, pointing out the team’s lapses in focus and poor handling of crucial situations.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Palmer said: “Yeah [frustrating]. We deserved more. We started well, had early chances but when you make mistakes at the highest level it’s difficult.
“There was a lack of concentration, not managing the moments correct.
“We showed we can play against one of the best teams in the competition. We deserved more to be honest. The manager said to us before we can go toe-to-toe.
“It’s a good learning curve and to be back in the competition is nice. I don’t even know [what happened in the second half]. We’re not coming here to be a learning curve. We showed we want to compete.”
Palmer looked sharp throughout the match. He nearly added a second goal late on after receiving a clever pass from Andrey Santos and slotting past Neuer, but VAR disallowed it due to an offside earlier in the play.
He stood out in an otherwise inconsistent Chelsea display, with moments of fluid passing and attacking promise, though they rarely tested Neuer.
Reflecting on the team’s overall showing, Maresca said after the match: “I think overall the performance was quite good. We started very well for 20 minutes, creating chances.
“When we conceded the goal, we can avoid that kind of goal. We were in the game and scored.”
Chelsea’s next fixture is away to Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday. They’ll then face Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup before returning home to take on Brighton.
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