"Completely shocked us all" - Gary Neville heaps praise on Chelsea superstar for his impact at the club
Manchester United legend Gary Neville lauded Chelsea star Cole Palmer ahead of the Blues' 2-1 defeat against Liverpool on Sunday (October 20). Enzo Maresca's side were pretty impressive in the Premier League clash against the Reds at Anfield but still ended up on the losing side.
Ahead of the game, Neville singled out Palmer for praise. The 49-year-old pundit compared him to Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah, claiming that no one expected the Egyptian to become the star he is today when he joined the Reds.
The former Manchester United full-back insisted that Cole Palmer's numbers since his switch to Stamford Bridge have been extraordinary. Neville said, as quoted by Sky Sports Premier League on X:
"Palmer has a habit of making everything look really easy. There's a player to look out for Cole Palmer today in Salah when Salah first came to Liverpool, none of us expected that he would do what he did in his first two seasons. Let alone go and do it and be a superstar for the next five, six, 7, 8 years."
He added:
"You know, Cole Palmer has really shocked us all with his numbers. His assists and his goal ratio is off the scale. Can he go and do it now for five, six, seven, eight years?"
Before the game, Neville further claimed that Anfield would pose a big test for Palmer on October 20 and named Liverpool's stadium the toughest place for a creative footballer. However, he insisted that the Chelsea star makes everything look easy. The Manchester United legend said:
"And I always that think this place, for a creative player to find space, to be able to play at, I think as I said before, this is the toughest place to try and get if yoy like some time on the ball. But Cole Palmer has a habit of making everything look really easy."
"So comfortable in possession, and it will be interesting to see how he deals with it out here today because it seems like a fantastic test for him against Konate, van Dijk and also all those Liverpool players he'll find himself in the game against," Neville concluded.
Cole Palmer did not find much joy against Liverpool at Anfield, as Chelsea suffered a 2-1 defeat. However, he has been the Blues' best player by some distance since joining the club in 2023.
Palmer joined Chelsea from Manchester City in the summer of 2023 in a deal reportedly worth £42.5 million. He has so far scored 31 goals and provided 20 assists in 55 appearances for the London giants.
Arne Slot heaps praise on Liverpool star for containing Chelsea's key player Cole Palmer
Liverpool manager Arne Slot praised Curtis Jones for keeping Cole Palmer quiet as the Reds secured a 2-1 win against Chelsea on Sunday. Jones was handed a surprise start in the middle of the park and played a decisive role in helping his side secure all three points.
Jones won a penalty in the first half which was converted by Mohamed Salah. The 23-year-old came up with the winner in the 51st minute after Nicolas Jackson scored Chelsea's equalizer in the 48th minute.
Following the game, Arne Slot lavished praise on Curtis Jones for his overall performance and the way he kept Cole Palmer at bay. The Liverpool manager said, as quoted by Metro:
“He was very good. Very good individual performance. I think the whole team worked very hard. Curtis had a difficult job, he had to control Cole Palmer, which is not easy because this player has some quality."
Slot added:
"It’s a team effort but Curtis was mostly responsible for that. He did that really well and he added some really important moments to it. He was two times involved in penalties and score the goal so he was, in both parts of the pitch, very important for us."
With their victory against Chelsea, Liverpool have moved back to the top of the Premier League table, whereas the Blues find themselves in sixth place.