Cole Palmer, Please Come Back

    

Just seven days ago I wrote about the incredible impact 21-year-old midfielder Cole Palmer is having on Chelsea Football Club. He’s scored 23 goals with 13 assists in just 38 appearances, he’s the first Chelsea player to be in the running for the Golden Boot since Didier Drogba won it in 2010, he’s the heart and soul of this team. With a continued run in the FA Cup and strong showings in league play, all was looking well with Palmer on the field. Yet, within merely a week of composing my previous article, the hopes of every Chelsea fan have once more been scrambled. 

    Let’s begin on Saturday. It’s the semi-finals of the FA Cup, 80,902 screaming fans packed the stands, the lights of the historic Wembley Stadium shining down on what has been a highly anticipated match

between Premier League powerhouse Manchester City and Premier League joke Chelsea Football Club. Being at the semi-finals is a concept no one saw coming for Chelsea. It wasn’t an easy ride to get there. However, none of that mattered anymore because at this moment the club had defied all odds, prevailed against formidable circumstances, and fought for their right to be here. At the same time, this was somewhat of an uneven match-up, but a back-and-forth battle to a 4-4 tie in November followed by a 1-1 draw in early February filled the blues with hope. Coming off of the 6-0 demolishing of Everton and the comeback win against Manchester United nothing was going to stop them, nothing was going to stop Cole Palmer. At this point, you’re probably bored reading all of these statistics and annoyed I haven’t shared the outcome yet. Don’t worry because that’s exactly how it felt to watch the actual game. Boring. Annoying. And disappointing. In true Chelsea fashion, open opportunities were missed, defenders were broken down and all faith was lost as a single shot from Bernardo Silva found its way into the back of the net in the 84th minute. It was over. Chelsea’s FA Cup dreams shattered. This, however, would not be the lowest point for the club. 

    Skip to Monday morning. In a post-practice press conference manager Mauricio Pochettino says that Palmer is questionable for Tuesday's match against Premier League front-runners Arsenal. A collective cry could be heard around the world as Chelsea fans cringed at the news. Without Palmer, we didn’t stand a chance. Sure enough, come Tuesday afternoon the starting lineup saw a Palmer-sized hole in it. And not four minutes in did the world truly see how much of a disaster this Chelsea side is. Four minutes is all it took for Arsenal to get onto the score sheet. Goalkeeper Đorđe Petrović did all he could to keep the ball out of the net but by the end of the match, it was just him versus 11 Arsenal players as everyone else had seemingly given up. 5-0 was the final score. The worst loss Chelsea has ever faced at the hands of Arsenal. Truly embarrassing. 

    Pochettino claims that his team isn’t “Palmer Football Club” like many people have been calling it but after Tuesday's result, it’s pretty clear that Cole Palmer is the biggest force this club has. Most Blues know better than to raise their hopes; this is just another tally added to the list. Cole, please get better quick, we really need you out there.