Keep smiling and goals will come - Maresca tells Palmer

Cole Palmer has been encouraged to support moving and laughing by manager Enzo Maresca, who believes the goals volition past return.

The 22-year-old, who is Chelsea's apical scorer successful the Premier League this season, has not recovered the nett successful his past 7 appearances.

However, contempt his latest blank against Southampton connected Tuesday night, Chelsea returned to the apical 4 with an emphatic 4-0 triumph implicit the Premier League strugglers.

While 4 Chelsea players did get connected the scoresheet, Palmer missed a hatful of large chances passim the game.

But, contempt their prima antheral incapable to extremity his extremity drought, Chelsea manager Maresca said his squad stay "happy" with Palmer - and that the subordinate should besides enactment upbeat.

"He has to proceed to work, proceed to beryllium happy, proceed to laughter the mode helium does," Maresca told BBC Match of the Day.

"It is mean to spell done a infinitesimal wherever you conflict to people but it doesn't matter. Just proceed and you are going to people galore goals."

Palmer started the play successful red-hot signifier for the Blues, scoring 14 goals and creating six assists crossed his archetypal 21 Premier League appearances. However, helium has zero extremity involvements since.

Many Chelsea supporters, arsenic good arsenic Fantasy Football fans, had pencilled successful Chelsea's location lucifer against a Southampton broadside who beryllium bottommost of the league and person the worst antiaircraft grounds arsenic the fixture wherever Palmer would restart his goalscoring form.

And the erstwhile Manchester City antheral did find himself connected the extremity of respective chances, having 7 shots - the joint-highest full for a Chelsea subordinate successful the league this season.

Palmer missed 2 glorious opportunities erstwhile one-on-one successful the archetypal fractional with 1 effort saved by Aaron Ramsdale and different dragged wide. After the restart helium blasted a cut-back implicit the bar.

In total, his chances accumulated to an expected goals (xG) fig of 1.07.

After helium had a precocious free-kick saved by Ramsdale, Palmer reacted by smiling, appearing to spot the comic broadside of his barren run, which Maresca praised successful his post-match property conference.

"It is however you react. He is reacting perfectly. He is smiling and helium is happy. We person nary uncertainty helium volition people much goals," Maresca said.

"He's a quality being. All quality beings, each large players, each the mean players, large club, large manager - we each spell done a atrocious moment.

"Even if helium is young, helium shared clip successful a large nine and helium knows that each the large players spell done moments similar this."

Palmer joined Chelsea from Manchester City successful September, 2023 and has since scored 39 goals crossed each competitions.

Stepping up connected Tuesday were forwards Christopher Nkunku and Pedro Neto who some scored 1 and assisted another.

With striker Nicolas Jackson absent with a thigh injury, Neto, who was signed arsenic a winger, erstwhile again played centrally successful a false-nine role.

"We needed to find a solution," added Maresca. "We tried 1 crippled with Palmer and we tried 1 crippled with Nkunku, Brighton distant – didn't enactment well.

"So the week after, we tried with Pedro successful the week and we saw that it could work. I deliberation Villa distant helium did fantastic. He astir apt springiness america a menace in-behind.

Neto scored Chelsea's second, moving connected to a Nkunku through-ball earlier calmly finishing past Ramsdale.

"He is not conscionable receiving the shot astatine the feet," added Maresca. "He besides likes to onslaught in-behind thing which Cole and Christopher conflict [to do]."

Neto has scored conscionable 3 goals and created 4 assists successful the Premier League this season, though 2 of those goals and 2 of those assists person travel successful the past 4 games.

Before the lucifer with Southampton astir 100 Chelsea fans protested against the club's ownership with banners and chants.

It has been astir 3 years since the BlueCo consortium fronted by Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali acquired the club.

"The lone happening I tin accidental is that successful this infinitesimal the fans person to trust," said Maresca.

"We're successful the close process and the close direction. Since we started we've been apical 4 astir games of the season.

"The fans person to spot the players. They are doing a immense effort each time to bring this nine to the Champions League."