Maresca hails Palmer brilliance in Chelsea’s Club World Cup triumph

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca praised Cole Palmer’s ability to rise to the occasion after the English attacking midfielder was named Club World Cup player of the tournament after their commanding 3-0 victory over Paris St Germain in Sunday’s final.

“These are the games we expect Cole Palmer to appear and once again he showed what he is made of,” Maresca said after Palmer scored twice and provided an assist to Joao Pedro in their title-winning performance against the Champions League winners.

Maresca revealed his tactical master plan had worked to perfection, with Chelsea pressing PSG high and exploiting direct plays behind their rivals’ defence to devastating effect at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

“The idea was go man-to-man because if you leave spaces to PSG they will kill you,” Maresca said.

“So we tried to be very aggressive and suffocate them early on and that intensity was crucial in the first 10 minutes due to the scorching heat that were really difficult conditions to play in as the game progressed.”

The Italian coach highlighted how his team had successfully targeted PSG's vulnerable flank, adding: “We had a lot of success exploring the left side of their defence, things worked perfectly for us due to the effort the players put.”

Maresca praised his players for deploying perfectly the game plan he had in mind, with their high-intensity approach proving decisive in the sweltering New Jersey conditions, saying that he is delighted to win a Club World Cup he thinks will be seen much differently in the future.

“I feel this competition [the Club World Cup] will be as important as or even more important than the Champions League.

“I was lucky enough to be part of a coaching staff [at Manchester City] that won the Champions League three years ago, but this competition features the best clubs in the world.

“That's why we value it as much as the Champions League, or perhaps even more. For us, it was a great triumph. Allowing Chelsea fans to wear that world champion patch on their shirts is a source of pride for us.” 

Reuters