“That’s the reason…” – Palmer explains how pre-match plans led to pass of the season | OneFootball

Cole Palmer ended yesterday’s game with just a goal to his name, but the role he played in the opening score for his team was just as important – and even more impressive than the finish to make it 2-1 after half time.

With Chelsea sat in their own box, Palmer picked up the ball in his own team’s defensive third, turned, and played a long ball over the top which cut out several Newcastle defenders and set up Pedro Neto perfectly to run the length of the pitch and square it for Nicolas Jackson to score.

What was impressive was not just the perfect execution of the pass, which had to be played on the turn and at a perfect angle to bissect two Newcastle midfielders, but also the vision to see it. Palmer seemed to know what he was going to do before the ball even came to him – and as it turned out, that was exactly the case.

Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson celebrate together. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Palmer talks though perfect pass which got his team ahead

In quotes on the club’s official website, Palmer revealed that he had actually planned out this sort of move before the game, meaning the moment he picked up the ball he was already thinking about Neto starting his run:

“I just try to do what the manager says, depending what the game plan is. We knew they’d play a high line again, so that’s the reason I played the pass,” Palmer explained.

“Me and Pedro spoke before the game, and obviously I know how fast he is, and I thought every time I’m facing forward down the side I’ll be able to play that pass in behind. So when he got on his bike I just tried to play it into his path.”

It shows how much preparation and planning goes into these things. Palmer is seen as a spontaneous, creative player, but even he is paying attention to the meticulous game plans of Enzo Maresca, and it’s paying off.