We’re lastly coming to the top of the worldwide break, with Chelsea set to face off in opposition to Liverpool this Sunday. The 2 Premier League conferences between the perimeters final season resulted in a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, after which a 4-1 loss at Anfield.
Chelsea haven’t crushed Liverpool in any competitors since 2021, once they gained 1-0 at Anfield below Thomas Tuchel. Nonetheless, either side have undergone change this summer season, with new managers taking the reins, and new types being applied.
Liverpool presently sit first within the league after seven video games performed, having gained six occasions, and misplaced as soon as. They’ve averaged 60.3% possession, the third highest within the division, have scored 13 objectives, and have solely conceded twice.
In the meantime, Enzo Maresca‘s Chelsea sit fourth within the Premier League, having gained 4, drawn two, and misplaced one. They’ve averaged 55.7% possession, the sixth highest within the division, have scored 16 objectives, and have shipped eight.
The Blues will want their star man within the temper to interrupt down Liverpool’s sturdy defensive unit this weekend, as their important supply for objectives is, after all, Cole Palmer, who has made 9 appearances to this point this season, scoring six objectives and offering 5 assists.
Cole Palmer’s meteoric rise
The 22-year-old got here via Manchester Metropolis’s academy, enjoying 64 occasions for varied age teams (U18 & U21), scoring 42 objectives and offering 19 assists at that stage. He then went on to make 41 appearances for the senior facet, scoring six objectives and offering two assists.
However in the beginning of the 2023/24 marketing campaign, is the place it acquired attention-grabbing as Palmer revealed in an interview that he by no means supposed to go away Metropolis. Palmer acknowledged he “wished to go on mortgage” however they did not enable it, which led to his eventual sale to Chelsea that summer season for a payment of round £40m plus £2.5m add-ons.
“My factor was to by no means go away Metropolis. That was not my intention. I wished to go on mortgage for a 12 months, come again and be prepared for the primary group. However they mentioned I could not go on mortgage, both keep otherwise you get bought.”
In his first season on the Bridge, Palmer produced an impressive marketing campaign, making 45 appearances, scoring 25 objectives, and offering 15 assists. His wonderful kind then led to him successful the Premier League’s Younger Participant of the Season, Chelsea’s Participant of the Season, and England Males’s Participant of the 12 months.
The England worldwide has began this season in the identical wealthy vein of kind, taking his Chelsea complete now to 54 video games performed, 31 objectives scored, and 20 assists.
Many had been anxious Maresca’s extra tactically inflexible system would restrict Palmer’s creativity, however as a substitute, it has additional enhanced it, and the problem now can be to proceed to impose himself in the identical approach on video games and lead Chelsea to main honours, with that first step being qualification to the Champions League.
However Chelsea could have gotten rid of an ideal participant to assist Palmer, somebody who may have helped take him to the subsequent stage, and that man was bought in 2023 by the membership.
Kai Havertz’s numbers after leaving Chelsea
In the identical summer season Chelsea signed Palmer, in addition they bought Kai Havertz to Arsenal for a payment of round £65m. In his time for the Blues, the German made 139 appearances, scoring 32 occasions and supplying 12 assists.
A lot of the difficulty surrounding Havertz’s time at Chelsea was the shortcoming to search out him a constant function within the group. Underneath totally different managers, the German was utilized in other ways, enjoying as an attacking midfielder, as a striker, and as a winger at occasions.
In fact, there was nonetheless loads of success for Havertz on the membership, scoring the one aim within the Champions League closing to win the sport 1-0 and safe Chelsea’s second main European title, which is able to all the time stay an enormous a part of their historical past.
The 25-year-old has rediscovered himself at Arsenal below Mikel Arteta, making 61 appearances, scoring 21 objectives and offering eight assists.
Arteta appears to have moulded him into the proper quantity 9, with the power to assist the press, maintain up the ball, hyperlink play, and assault the field.
Havertz (22/23) vs Havertz (24/25 to this point) |
||
---|---|---|
Stats (per 90 minutes) |
22/23 |
24/25 |
Objectives |
0.28 |
0.62 |
Assists |
0.03 |
0.09 |
xG |
0.40 |
0.52 |
xAG |
0.16 |
0.12 |
Progressive Carries |
2.15 |
2.00 |
Progressive Passes |
3.28 |
3.11 |
Shot Whole |
2.61 |
3.45 |
Objectives/Shot |
0.09 |
0.15 |
Key Passes |
1.41 |
0.67 |
Shot-Creating Actions |
2.49 |
2.67 |
Aerials Gained |
2.71 |
3.78 |
Stats taken from FBref |
Tuchel as soon as in contrast Havertz to Dennis Bergkamp, stating he can play within the “half positions” dropping into hyperlink play, and enjoying “free” from the quantity 9 place with a purpose to create overloads on one facet, to then arrive within the field.
And you may see from the metrics above how Arsenal started to maximise these property of Havertz, not tasking him with progressing play, the place his numbers had been higher at Chelsea, however as a substitute permitting him to float as a quantity 9, create for himself and others, get extra pictures off, and assault balls into the field along with his hefty 6 foot 4 body that aids his trigger in successful 3.78 aerials per 90.
Palmer would profit from having a selfless runner like Havertz up entrance who can drag defenders away along with his runs, create little pockets of house for Palmer to obtain, and likewise assault balls into the field, notably from these crosses that the England star can play so completely, with left-footed inswingers from the correct facet.
Chelsea have appeared so as to add peak to their attacking line with hyperlinks to Victor Osimhen and Samu Omorodion within the earlier summer season switch window, as that may have allowed the Blues’ star man to totally utilise his artistic toolset, with inswinging crosses, alongside his intricate via balls, and, after all, his devastating left-foot pictures.

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