Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca believes Cole Palmer’s recent goalless run is “a mental thing” ahead of the visit of Everton to Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Saturday.
Palmer has failed to find the net in his last 16 matches, following a record of 14 goals in his first 23 games of the season.
In that time, Maresca’s side have slipped from second down to sixth as pressure builds on the Chelsea boss. But, just two points behind Newcastle with five league games remaining, the Blues are still in with a shot of finishing in the top five and securing a spot in next season’s Champions League.
Chelsea are also favourites to lift the Europa Conference League and travel to Sweden next week for the first leg of their semi-final against Djurgarden.
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Palmer, still just 22, has become something of a talisman at Stamford Bridge and his manager insists the England international’s barren spell in front of goal is nothing more than a confidence issue.
“For sure it’s a mental thing, it’s not tactical or technical,” said Maresca.
“Cole is still the player who scored 14 goals in 20 games. The style is the same, the manager is the same, the club is the same. Nothing has changed around Cole. It’s just mentally in this moment.
“You can see he’s a little bit worried because he wants to help the team. You can see he’s struggling a bit on that. But he showed how happy he was after Fulham. It’s just a matter [of whether] we can win games. For sure he’s going to score goals.
“If you go back game by game, he had at least every game one or two chances, so it’s not about how the team is playing.”
