Thanks to the quirk of red card suspensions in domestic competitions, Cole Palmer will serve his one-match suspension in Chelsea’s Carabao Cup clash with Liverpool in midweek, ensuring he won’t miss a single Premier League fixture.
Chelsea face Manchester United next Saturday and need a resounding response to this weekend’s dismal defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. Palmer may have received the first red card of his senior career, but he wasn’t even Chelsea’s worst player in a toothless 2-0 defeat to the club’s hated London rivals.
Substitute goalkeeper Mike Penders hit the visitors in front with a disastrous own goal in the 77th minute, shortly before Palmer collected his second, entirely unnecessary, yellow card. The Chelsea creative stalwart had already been penalized for crossing Mateus Fernandes – an act which could have warranted a red card on another day – making his decision to stand on Conor Gallagher’s ankle all the more reckless.
The quirk of the calendar and the FA handbook have spared Palmer any Premier League absence, but he will not feature in Chelsea’s next match: a daunting trip to Anfield.
Xabi Alonso will face his childhood friend and former youth team colleague when Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool host the Carabao Cup fourth round on Wednesday night. Chelsea have not won a match at Anfield in front of their fans since 2018, when Eden Hazard inspired a Maurizio Sarri-led Blues side to a Carabao Cup third round triumph. Unfortunately for Alonso, he will not be able to call up Chelsea’s number 10 this week.
Chelsea schedule
- Wednesday October 28: Liverpool (A)—No Palmer
- Saturday October 31: Man Utd (H)—Palmer available
Palmer breaks silence on red card
Palmer took to social media the following morning to apologize to Chelsea fans who were completely unfamiliar with the feeling of losing to Spurs. “Not good enough for me,” he wrote on Instagram. “Live and learn. My apologies. On to the next one.”
Alonso, who became the first Chelsea manager since Antonio Conte to lose a home game to Tottenham, refrained from lashing out at his playmaker. “I have to check the action to speak with Cole, but it’s certainly a lesson to learn for the future,” offered the manager immediately after the match.
“I think Cole, when he’s focused on the game, when he’s enjoying it, and today after the 1-0, it’s a moment to stay calm, a moment to stay mature and for everyone.”
It was Chelsea’s 11th red card in all competitions since the start of last season, not including the one addressed to former manager Enzo Maresca. Alonso had already identified poor discipline as an area requiring improvement before the red mist melted Palmer’s cold exterior.
“I think if you are focused on what you have to do, you are prepared for what happens,” Alonso warned. “Normally you don’t make a lot of mistakes and you don’t overreact to certain situations. For me, that’s a fundamental part of the game: having that emotional control, dealing with all that. Momentum comes, (but) we stay calm, I don’t lose my mind, and I don’t get stupid yellow cards, I don’t take stupid penalties. You have to prepare for football to have better control of that.”
Add us as your favorite source on GoogleFollow
Gn sports
