Chelsea star Cole Palmer left the pitch during Saturday’s game against Aston Villa, furious at manager Enzo Maresca’s decision to send him off. The England international was sent off after being replaced by Estevao Willian in the 74th minute with the score 1-1 at Stamford Bridge.
Palmer exchanged words with Blues assistant Willie Caballero as head coach Enzo Maresca watched from the stands due to a touchline ban. The Blues forward was deemed ready to play the full 90 minutes by Maresca before kick-off, but was sent off with around 15 minutes of normal time remaining.
The 23-year-old has suffered a number of injuries this season, but made his comeback against Unai Emery’s side.
Palmer suffered a groin injury in September. Another setback occurred in November when he broke a toe, causing him to miss two more games.
In the weeks since, Palmer has worked his way back to full fitness and played 79 minutes in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Newcastle earlier this month.
However, despite playing a significant part of the game against Villa, Palmer was substituted in the second half, a decision he clearly disagreed with.
“I think he’s ready to fight for 90 minutes,” Maresca said before the match. “That’s right. The player’s progress is 45, an hour, 70.”
“I think he already played an hour against Everton. He played over 70 games against Newcastle, so I think he’s made progress.”
Joao Pedro put the Blues ahead at half-time. However, Ollie Watkins’ double in the second half put Chelsea back on track, and Villa achieved a club-record 11 consecutive wins.
Chelsea are currently fifth in the table, level on points with Manchester United, with both teams having accumulated 29 points from 18 games.
Meanwhile, Villa remain in third place, three points behind league leaders Arsenal.
After the match, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp praised Watkins’ game-changing performance.
“That was one of the great impacts of a sub in the history of the Premier League.[Watkins]completely changed the atmosphere of the game. He was just unbelievable.”
