Cole Palmer back on goal trail for Chelsea – with drought and critics acting as motivation

Cole Palmer ended his 12-game goal drought in Chelsea’s 3-1 win over Premier League Champions Liverpool on Sunday.

Blues boss Enzo Maresca is hoping the England international’s strike will spark a goalscoring run to help the west London club secure a Champions League spot.

The top five will qualify for Europe’s elite competition.

Palmer netted in second-half added time from the penalty spot to seal the victory. He was also unlucky with an attempt that came back off the inside of the right post.

“We saw Cole day by day and he was scoring goals, happy and enjoying his sessions,” said Maresca.

“When he doesn’t score goals, he’s not happy – because he wants to help the team and the club reach something important.

“He’s very happy because he scored and we won but I don’t see any difference from the Cole of two months ago.

“He scored 14 goals for us in 20 Premier League games. We have three more games and hopefully he can help us towards the end.

“It’s very important. If we want to finish in the top five, we need Cole and Nicolas Jackson to score goals.

“Hopefully they can score some more goals. Cole can do things nobody expects. When he has the ball, I expect anything. He can do anything.”

Palmer’s strike was his first goal for the Blues since January 14.

“Sh** happens, you know what I mean?” Palmer told Sky Sports. “I went three months without scoring but it gives me more motivation, more fight to do well.

“Social media nowadays is full of idiots, full of trolls, I don’t pay any attention to that. To score today, I’m happy with that. I’ve got to keep improving and finding new levels.

“[It would be hard] for anyone. Getting chances and not scoring… you’re letting your team down at the end of the day.

“I feel like I’m mentally strong anyway so whatever people say, it doesn’t bother me. I’ve had it all my life growing up. I feel pride in helping the team and if I’m not doing that, I’m not happy.

“Today, I felt like myself. I felt confident, I was trying things, first time passes, playing forward, playing free.”

PICTURE: ALAMY