What’s Wrong With Cole Palmer After Going Seven Games Without A Goal?

Chelsea registered a much-needed win against Southampton on Tuesday, pushing the Blues back up to fourth place in the Premier League table. Enzo Maresca’s side was far too strong for the team stuck in bottom place with four goals scored by the home outfit in a comfortable 4-0 victory. None of those four goals, however, were scored by Cole Palmer.

Palmer has now gone seven games in all competitions without finding the back of the net. This might not be extraordinary for a standard player, but Palmer is one of the best, most reliable attacking figures in English soccer right now. This represents something of a drought for the 22-year-old.

Despite his recent form, Palmer still has 17 goals in just 27 Premier League appearances this season. He is Chelsea’s biggest difference-maker and has proved this over the last two campaigns since joining from Manchester City in the summer of 2024. Nonetheless, his recent slump is somewhat puzzling.

Against Southampton, Palmer tallied more Expected Goals (xG) than any other player on the pitch. His xG of 1.30 suggests he is still getting into good positions to score, but is still failing to convert. For context, Christopher Nkunku was closest to Palmer for xG with just 0.42. Nkunku, however, scored.

“He has to continue to work, continue to be happy, continue to laugh the way he does,” said Maresca when asked about Palmer’s underwhelming form over the last month or so. “It is normal to go through a moment where you struggle to score but it doesn’t matter. Just continue and you are going to score many goals.”

In general, Chelsea is facing a crossroads in its season. After an extremely encouraging first half of the 2024/25 campaign, the Blues have dropped off recently, winning three of their last 11 league matches. While Chelsea looked certain to finish in the top four, that outcome is no longer guaranteed.

Chelsea has fixtures against Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest between now and the end of the season. Maresca’s team has a challenging run-in and it will need Palmer to be in top form to get through this period with its position in the top four still in-hand.

Nicolas Jackson’s recent injury hasn’t helped the Blues. The Senegalese striker had been Chelsea’s first-choice centre forward. Now, Palmer is lacking the focal point ahead of him and this might be a factor in his recent slump. Nonetheless, Chelsea needs its best player to return to his best, and quickly.