Chelsea’s loss to Sunderland showed why the Premier League title challenge is beyond the Blues, who must now focus on qualifying for the UEFA Champions League – Joe Cole

Alejandro Garnacho’s fourth-minute opener was canceled out before half-time by Wilson Isidore who equalized after a long throw from Nordi Mukiele, but substitute Kemsuddin Talbi beat Robert Sanchez in stoppage time to score the winning goal.

This means Chelsea, who beat Liverpool earlier this month, missed the chance to close the gap on leaders Arsenal to two points and currently sit eighth in the table with Sunday’s remaining Premier League games remaining.

Maresca is the only Premier League manager yet to select a player over the age of 30 this season, and the average age of his starting XI this season is just 24 years and 112 days, making him the youngest in the division.

“It’s strange,” Cole told TNT Sports when asked to rate Chelsea’s season. “But they are where I expected them to be, fighting to get back into the Champions League.

Sunderland came from behind to beat Chelsea on Saturday

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“Hopefully they can qualify more easily than last year when they got through. They won the Conference League but it’s a bit unusual for a club of Chelsea’s size to be in that competition.”

“It was a great game for the young players so I hope this will help them develop, but the Club World Cup was also a bit of an anomaly.

“Obviously it was great to win, but I’m still not sure where I’m going with this trophy.

“Our main goal this season is to qualify for the Champions League again, but to give the bottom teams a little more space.

“It could be a title challenge, but unless we win games like the one we played at home to Sunderland, it seems unlikely.

“It looks great on paper that the team is still very young and we have better players at 23 and 24 than we did when we were 20, but there’s a lot you can learn by having senior players around you.

“They’ve invested effectively in experimenting by signing young players and committing to young footballers, so we’ll see in two years’ time what the situation is.

“Given the amount of money spent so far and it being a five-year project, there should be a title challenge next year and a silver medal the following year.

“I think that’s fair…I’m not making unreasonable demands of them.”

Cole explains why Caicedo is ‘best midfielder in the country’

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Cole praises Estebao but urges patience

Estevao scored in Chelsea’s 5-1 win over Ajax in the Champions League last week, but was named on the bench when Maresca visited Sunderland.

The precocious Brazilian talent replaced Garnacho in the 58th minute as Chelsea chased a winner against their surprise package of the season.

Estevao had a momentary impact when he connected with Marc Cucurella’s low cross, but his shot went wide of Lutcharel Hertruida.

However, the youngster’s instability was evident in the closing stages, as the 18-year-old hit a dead end in the build-up to Talbi’s counter-attacking winner and then slotted a late corner kick harmlessly into the side netting.

Cole hopes the teenager, signed from Palmeiras for an estimated £29m, could link up with Cole Palmer once he returns from a lingering groin injury.

And while the TNT Sports expert believes Estevao has the ability to reach elite level, he insists Chelsea need to avoid putting too much pressure on him too early.

“He’s a very talented kid,” Cole continued. “All the right noises are coming out of the club.

“He seems like a really good guy and is popular in the dressing room. Chelsea are really lucky to have him. They’ve spent money and he’s delivered results.

‘Not good enough’ – Maresca furious after Sunderland surprise Chelsea

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“Chelsea fans can’t wait to see Estevao and Cole Palmer in the same team. He will be a great player.”

“As I said before, he gives me a Neymar vibe. Neymar could have been a Ballon d’Or winner in any other era, but unfortunately he was a contemporary of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.”

“The atmosphere he gives me is that he can be at the top in no time. He needs to be patient because he doesn’t have to play every minute of every game, but I think Enzo Maresca is the right manager for him.”

“His value is irrelevant now because he has a long-term contract with Chelsea, but if he starts performing like Cole Palmer, the likes of Real Madrid, PSG and Bayern Munich will start to look at him in the same way. I’m sure Palmer will attract attention when he’s healthy and flying.”

“He’s a player of the future, so it’s great for Chelsea to sign him.”

The last superstar to move from Chelsea to Real Madrid was Eden Hazard, who arrived in 2019 for a fee of over £150 million.

Hazard scored 110 goals in 352 games for Chelsea after joining from Lille in 2012 and was considered one of the best players in the world at the time.

Highlights: Chelsea beat Ajax, Estevao scores first UCL goal

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Asked if Estevao could repeat Hazard’s success at Stamford Bridge, Cole said: “Yes, I think he can reach that level.

“He’s younger than when Eden joined the club, so it might not be this year or next, but I expect him to be one of the best players in the world in the third, fourth and fifth years.

“There is a journey to go with him, where the club needs to go and he needs to continue as a player.”

West Ham need up to six new signings in January

West Ham United, another of Cole’s former clubs, remain mired in the relegation zone after losing 2-1 to Leeds United at Elland Road on Friday, as Nuno Espirito Santo’s winless start to the role extended to four games.

The Hammers have made their worst start to the league season with just four points from their opening nine games.

Nuno had to stop his side’s slide quickly to prevent them from slipping into the bottom three, with Cole highlighting the sale of talented midfielder Mohamed Kudus to Tottenham Hotspur as a key factor in the team’s decline.

“It’s going to be a tough time,” said Cole, who joined the Hammers as a trainee and played a total of 167 games.

West Ham have won just one league game this season.

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“West Ham fans need to be resilient. They’ve been stuck in a cycle of poor recruitment, but there’s no point in blaming (chairman) David Sullivan, (former technical director) Tim Steiten or the new managers.

“You can try to blame them all, but there was a long period of mismanagement.

“Success or failure ultimately lies at the feet of the club’s owners and I think it will be a difficult season for West Ham.

“It’s too early to say whether it will end in relegation or not, but based on the signs, things don’t look good.

“Nuno Espirito Santo was trying to find a way to get 15-16 points before Christmas, but the team doesn’t seem to have enough energy and has to go through a hellish January where they have to sign four, five or six players.

“Selling Mohamed Qudus last summer seems like a bad move.”