Enzo Maresca sends message to Cole Palmer after Chelsea star fails to score for 18th game running: "It is the same thing..."
- Barnaby Lane
- 5 hours ago
- 2 min read
Chelsea put one foot firmly in the Europa Conference League final on Thursday night, delivering a commanding 4–1 win over Swedish side Djurgårdens at the 3Arena in Stockholm.
Playing in their first-ever European semi-final, Djurgårdens fell behind just 12 minutes in when Jadon Sancho netted his fourth goal of the season with the help of some poor defending from Marcus Danielson.
Noni Madueke doubled Chelsea’s lead shortly before half-time, and a second-half brace from Nicolas Jackson sealed the deal. Jackson's first came after a defensive mix-up, while his second was a stunning left-footed strike into the top corner.
Teenage substitute Isak Alexander Alemayehu Mulugeta grabbed a late consolation for the hosts, sparking brief celebrations in the home crowd, but it did little to take the shine off an emphatic Chelsea victory, with the Blues now within touching distance of the final.
It was a strong all-round performance from Maresca's side – particularly Jackson, who has now scored three goals in his last two games after going goalless since mid-December. However, Cole Palmer continued to struggle in front of goal.
Despite registering an assist after coming on as a second-half substitute, the England international once again looked short of confidence, misplacing passes, failing to beat defenders, and – most notably – extending his goalless run to 18 games in all competitions.
After the match, Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca expressed his support for Palmer, hoping the forward can find inspiration from Jackson’s recent turnaround.
“Nico scored against Everton and it’s all about confidence,” said Maresca. “You see now that he looks like a different player from weeks ago. Hopefully the same thing is going to happen with Cole. It’s just a matter of breaking that moment and going again.”
Reflecting on earlier struggles, Maresca added: “The game against Legia Warsaw at home, we started with Nicolas and Cole from the beginning and both struggled. Now you can see Nico looks a different player, because he scored against Everton. Now he has the confidence again and we know how good Nico is for us.”
“It is the same thing with Cole and hopefully we can also have him scoring goals and getting assists very soon,” he said.
Maresca hails "perfect" Reggie Walsh
One standout moment of the night– aside from Jackson’s performance – was the senior debut of 16-year-old Reggie Walsh, who became the third-youngest player ever to represent Chelsea, and the youngest since 1967.
Speaking after the game, Maresca praised the teenager: “To be honest, it’s already a long time that I have felt excited to give him his debut chance because he’s so good. He’s very young, but in the way we want to play, in our style, he’s perfect.”
Chelsea will now turn their focus to the return leg at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, May 8, with a place in the final firmly within reach.
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