Maresca Challenges 'Bored' Palmer: "Prove Yourself on the Pitch!"

Enzo Maresca has urged Cole Palmer to embrace more accountability and proactivity to combat the "boredom" the Chelsea talent admitted experiencing during the UEFA Conference League final last month.

After Chelsea's comeback victory against Real Betis to secure the trophy, Palmer revealed that during the match, he grew "tired of receiving the ball and passing it backward and sideways".

He decided to change his approach in that game, but Maresca's concern was that Palmer needed to show greater initiative from the beginning to identify and implement this change earlier.

Evidence of this adjustment was visible as Chelsea began their FIFA Club World Cup journey with a win over LAFC in Atlanta on Monday. Palmer was central to Chelsea's offensive play and demonstrated excellent chemistry with Nicolas Jackson and, subsequently, first-time player Liam Delap.

"I spoke with Cole and expressed how much I appreciated his approach in terms of taking responsibility and initiative with the ball. He was even attempting to receive passes on our side and challenge defenders one-on-one," Maresca explained following the match.

"This is the version of Cole we anticipate seeing," the manager continued.

"Following the Conference League final, he mentioned feeling somewhat bored when receiving the ball, which prompted him to try something different. The day after that interview, I asked him, 'But why can't you do that from the very beginning? Why wait so long? Why not implement the same strategy after just one minute?'

"[Against LAFC], he was precisely executing what we requested of him. We're pleased when he performs like that because, as I've stated numerous times, Cole is our finest player, he's world-class, and we hope he continues to make the right decisions."