Why Cole Palmer is struggling and how Enzo Maresca can help Chelsea’s star find his form with three tactical tweaks

COLE PALMER’S form has dropped off a cliff in recent weeks.

So far this season he has 20 goals and assists in all competitions for Chelsea, but has failed to score since January 14 and has not assisted since December 1.

RexEnzo Maresca’s tactics are preventing his best player, Cole Palmer, from thriving[/caption]

GettyWe have looked at three ways Maresca can get Palmer back to his best[/caption]

Palmer, 22, even missed a penalty for the first time in his senior career when his spot kick was saved in the Blues’ 1-0 win over Leicester last weekend.

His previously perfect record of 15 spot-kicks for club and country was KO’d by Mads Hermansen and to make his embarrassment even worse, manager Enzo Maresca then revealed he was suffering from stomach cramps.

It’s a far cry from a year ago, when he was unstoppable in his breakthrough season at Chelsea following a £42.5m transfer from Manchester City.

He flourished under Mauricio Pochettino, with 25 goals and 15 assists in 46 appearances, winning the club’s Player of the Season award and also being named PFA Fans’ Player of the Year. 

So how can tactical gur Maresca switch things up to make Palmer the player he was just a few months ago?

Tactics expert Chris Beaumont of We Scout Strikers has three solutions that could unlock the Palmer puzzle.

Speed it up

Last season, when Palmer really broke out and became a dominant attacking force, the England star played for the most part as a right-sided winger. 

However, he was very much more of a threat when he came inside and played in the channels or even the central areas.

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So far this season Maresca has used Palmer more as an orthodox No.10.

Maresca favours a slow build-up style with a very structured system with players understanding the passing patterns he wants. 

There is very little freedom in the system as the coach favours control over individuality. 

This means Chelsea have struggled when they have found it difficult to progress the ball through the middle and into the areas where Palmer would have ideally been positioned. 

As such Palmer has started to drop deeper and deeper to get on the ball.

By coming deep to get on the ball, you are immediately taking Palmer out of the positions and the areas in which he can cause the most threat. 

Here we see Chelsea’s slow build up forcing Palmer to drop deep to get the ball

The system Maresca favours sees Chelsea form a box midfield as they attack with the right-back – or left-back – typically tucking inside to the midfield. 

This is designed to give Chelsea control over the centre of the pitch.

The problem for Chelsea is the the opposition are able to close down ball progression by pressing tight to the two players at the base of the midfield.

They then close down gaps the advanced midfielders can take up. 

Here Palmer drops even deeper and is so deep that he is pressed by the Brighton forwards taking him far away from his best zones

The solution to prevent Palmer from feeling he has to keep dropping into deeper areas is to improve the ball progression from deeper areas.

Maresca has to release the restrictions on his team and allow them to play more quickly if he is to get Palmer back to his best.

At the moment everything from Chelsea is too slow and predictable. 

The players need more freedom to get on the ball and play forward quickly in order to affect the opposition.

Spread the game out

Palmer is playing as a more central attacking midfielder for Chelsea this season but still typically comes to the right into the channels when his side are in possession. 

While Palmer is very, very good when it comes to finding pockets of space he can occupy in order to receive the ball, he has been less effective in doing so in recent weeks.

One of the biggest issues he has faced is teams becoming more aware of his danger.

Consequently, they are taking away the spaces in their own defensive thirds where Palmer would have previously got on the ball and created most of his threat. 

With Chelsea looking to overload the midfield with a box shape, the opposition respond by defending tight in the centre and leaving more space in the wide areas.

With the opposition defending more effectively in the central areas of the pitch there is a real need for Chelsea to take advantage of the spaces elsewhere. 

Here there are no spaces centrally so we see Palmer constantly having to come out from the attacking positions

With Palmer now playing more centrally the spaces Chelsea have to exploit are in the wide areas. 

If Chelsea become more effective in getting the ball into the wide areas and having players who can attack their opponent 1v1 then they will create more penetration and space centrally.

If the likes of Palmer cannot find space centrally, and given he is one of the best attackers in the squad, then Chelsea need to create him the space. 

The issue they currently have is because possession-hungry Maresca wants his wingers receiving the ball wide.

But where they could look to be aggressive and to attack the opposition fullback, instead they are turning back and looking to play back or into the centre of the pitch.

If Maresca wants to create more space centrally in the final third for the likes of Palmer then he needs to unlock the wingers. 

Here Palmer has no space centrally to receive the ball but there are spaces in the wide areas for Chelsea to exploit, but they are too slow to find them

If the wide attackers are more likely to attack 1v1 then the opposition will have to release defenders out wide to double up and provide cover.

This will immediately create more space centrally for Palmer.

Give Palmer more freedom

It is natural when a young player starts to see his form slip for them to start to look for ways to force the game more. 

When Palmer was playing well at the start of the season the game looked easy for him and he always seemed to have time and space on the ball to create and make things happen. 

Now, we are seeing far more examples of Palmer taking possession and almost trying to force the game around him by playing too quickly instead of playing with composure.

To an extent Palmer is also finding it more difficult to create space for himself and find shooting angles because Chelsea are lacking a genuine striker with Nicolas Jackson out injured. 

Here we see Palmer, again dropping deeper looking to force the play with a cross into an easily defended area

Palmer and Jackson have an excellent understanding and partnership.

The forward’s runs and power create space in the defensive line for Palmer to exploit, often to devastating effect in the first-half of the season. 

But with Christopher Nkunku being played centrally, out of position, in Jackson’s absence the spaces simply have not been the same.

As Palmer is willing to stand up and take responsibility for the attacking structure and play in the final third we often see him isolated on the ball and trying to beat players.

Instead he should have been looking for more options around him to combine.

Palmer has the ball wide with little space centrally for the attacking players but cannot create a clear cut chance with two defenders on him and the box fully defended

This is more of a coaching point than a tactical point and it touches on the fact Maresca is a more tactically focused than one who has a close personal relationship with his players. 

Palmer needs to go back to playing with more freedom on the ball as opposed to trying to force things to happen.

Conclusion

Chelsea are on the brink of falling out of the Champions League places in the Premier League.

For them to achieve their sporting ambitions this season they need to become more effective again in the final third.

This means they need to get back to creating the structure around Palmer to allow him to thrive. 

If he can go back to finding and creating goals as the season draws to a close then there is every chance Chelsea will finish in the top five and possibly land a trophy to go with it.

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