Maresca urged Palmer to ´take initiative´ for Chelsea after Conference League final comments

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Enzo Maresca said he challenged Cole Palmer to be more creative and “take initiative” after the Chelsea talisman’s complaints after their Europa Conference League final win.

Maresca’s team kicked off their Club World Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over Los Angeles FC on Monday, with goals from Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez sealing the victory.

Indeed, the Blues’ victory over the MLS outfit was the first competitive meeting between clubs from England and the United States.

Despite not getting on the scoresheet, Palmer played a pivotal role in Chelsea’s second goal, slipping in debutant Liam Delap, who crossed for Fernandez to tuck home.

This was Chelsea’s first game since beating Real Betis 4-1 last month, which saw them become the first side in history to win each of the European Cup/Champions League, UEFA Cup/Europa League, Cup Winners’ Cup, and the Conference League.

But after the match in Wroclaw, Palmer hinted at frustration with Chelsea’s approach by claiming he took a personal decision to try and make something happen in the final third.

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The 23-year-old claimed he was “sick of going backwards or sideways”, with Maresca revealing he addressed Palmer’s comments directly after their win over Betis.

“I had a conversation with Cole [today] and I said to him that I really like the way he was in terms of taking responsibility, taking the initiative on the ball,” said the Chelsea boss.

“He was trying even on our side to receive the ball, trying to go one versus one against the player. This is the Cole that we expect.

“After the Conference League final he said that he was quite bored receiving the ball and so he decided to do something different.

“The day after that interview, I said to him, I said, ‘but you can do that since the first minute. Why are you waiting so long? Why are you waiting? Why don’t you do the same after one minute?’

“Today he was exactly doing what we asked him to do. We are happy when he does that because I said many times that Cole is our best player, he is a top player and hopefully he can continue to do the right things.”

Palmer had seemingly taken those comments on board against LAFC, posting more shots (six) than any of his team-mates at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

He also played more passes in the final third (32), while only Pedro Neto (five) had more successful dribbles than Palmer (two, level with Nicolas Jackson).