Cole Palmer’s biggest issue with playing under Enzo Maresca is happening at Man City

One of the biggest gripes Blues supporters had with the Italian was to do with how lethargic their attacks were. It seemed at times the focus was solely on gaining control of the game through possession.

Enzo Maresca’s tedious style of play is already hitting Manchester City

This often involved plenty of backwards passes from their otherwise talented players, and the same is currently happening at the Etihad.

Of the top five players who have completed the most backwards passes, three of them play for City. These are Rayan Cherki, Phil Foden and Antoine Semenyo.

This will surely bring frustration to those attacking players when things are not going as well. It already happened to one of them at Stamford Bridge.

Cole Palmer was not a fan of Enzo Maresca’s style

Tedious attacking play occurred in the Conference League final against Real Betis, and with Chelsea trailing it took the genius of Cole Palmer to turn the game around single-handedly.

He stated after the game that he took it upon himself to drag the Blues back into the game, seemingly ignoring what they had been instructed to do.

He said: “We just picked up the intensity, and it was a really good performance in the second half. I was just sick of getting the ball and going backwards and sideways, so I thought if I get the ball I’m just going to go, and it worked.”

Some sections of the Chelsea fanbase never fully bought into Maresca’s style of play, however they have instantly been won over by Xabi Alonso.

The Blues are the top scorers by some way following the first three Premier League games of the season, and he has got Palmer firing on all cylinders too.

The England international has four goals in all competitions so far in this campaign, and will be looking to add to that tally with the visit of Hull City.

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