(Video): Cole Palmer scores first goal since September with calm finish after Malo Gusto assist | OneFootball

Chelsea lead 1-0 at Stamford Bridge!

It’s been a very dull opening 20 minutes, but from nowhere the Blues found a bit of quality to open up Everton and take the lead.

In reality it was a pretty simple goal – two straight passes cracked the Toffees team open. Wesley Fofana took the ball to the halfway line where he was able to play it into the feet of the inverting Malo Gusto.

Gusto then played another straight ball threaded between Everton full back and centre back to pick out Cole Palmer. The timing of the run and the pass were so perfect that it didn’t need to be anything special, just clever movement.

Palmer is only just back in the team and looked very rusty against Bournemouth last weekend, but his finish was anything but. It was the attacker at his very best, taking the ball in stride, stroking the ball past Jordan Pickford into the net and then celebrating a long awaited return to scoring form.

This is just what we needed to force Everton out of their deep block and hopefully open them up a little for our quick players to striker on the counter. Estevao Willian is lurking on the bench ready to pounce in the second half. Hopefully we get a little more Palmer magic before that change comes.

You can see the goal in the clips embedded here:

https://twitter.com/caixenzo/status/1999862781278085176

[Footage from Canal Plus]

[Footage from Sporty TV]

[Footage from Arena 3 Premium ]

In other news…

In the buildup to today’s game, Alejandro Garnacho talked about his role in the squad and the rotation that manager Enzo Maresca loves to indulge in.

Marc Cucurella has also been speaking ahead of the game, and has made it clear that everyone knows how big this game is for the Blues inside the building.