Cole Palmer made a brilliant start to the season for Chelsea, but the England star’s form has dipped under Xabi Alonso – so is Palmer simply struggling for form, or have we already seen his peak?

In his first two league games of the season, Palmer had two goals and an assist. But after 10, he has only managed three goals and three assists. At Sunderland, he was a passenger other than a penalty claim

It is not the first example of Palmer largely going under the radar this season. Xabi Alonso continues to start Palmer, but there are sections of the support that believe Palmer should be dropped by the gaffer.

Cole Palmer’s form is declining after first season at Chelsea

Palmer’s first season at Chelsea was mind-blowing. In the Premier League, under soon-to-be Manchester United manager Mauricio Pochettino, Palmer had a hand in 33 goals in 33 games for Chelsea in 2023-24.

Since then, it has been a steady decline. His return of 15 goals and eight assists in the second season was still superb Premier League form, but it was 10 fewer goal involvements despite playing four more times.

Last season saw Palmer manage just 10 goals and only one assist, with injury playing havoc. This season is a step up from 2024-25 slightly, but it is still miles away from his first campaign under Pochettino.

Opponents are beginning to learn how to cope with Cole Palmer

Obviously, injury doesn’t help Palmer, and while the former Man City star is fit again, it might be that the playmaker still has the injury in the back of his mind. Alan Shearer described it as a “horrible position”.

Palmer had to continue playing despite the injury in his groin. Palmer even claimed he was unable to shoot. But it goes beyond injury; opponents are limiting his space – he is yet to come up with a solution.

Featured comment

jameslloyd14.jl

Got to be Palmer out of those, mainly because I wouldn’t have had that high expectations of the others

Join the conversation →

Enzo Maresca once said: “Most of the teams try to mark him man-to-man, so it’s difficult for him.” Even against Sunderland on the weekend, only 21 of his passes into the final third actually went into the box.

Plenty of fans were frustrated with other players, on our Talking Points poll above. Palmer got a fifth of the vote, which says a lot – even if “expectations are higher for him”. Now, he’s failing to meet them.

Featured comment

aaditya.krishnamurthy

Cole Palmer has been so inconsistent this season, especially after being a reliable threat for them – maybe expectations are higher for him but he’s shown what he can do so I’ll hold him to a standard

Join the conversation →

Clubs are limiting the space Palmer is afforded to operate, and when he does get the chance to run free with the ball, Chelsea are often playing against a low block. Blame can even be attached to Xabi Alonso.

Why Xabi Alonso and Enzo Maresca affected Cole Palmer’s form

Maresca would often allow Joao Pedro to drift from his role up top. It meant when Palmer got the ball, he had no one to feed up front, no one to bounce the ball off, or no one running in behind to get an assist.

Maresca also claimed Pedro would never be a striker who scores 20 goals. Obviously, that was wrong, but it showed just how Maresca had Pedro playing. With Pedro injured, Chelsea are playing with no striker.

Featured comment

jonathan.gorrie

Palmer hasn’t really kicked on has he? Hard to think he’s ever going to hit the level we saw under Poch again

Join the conversation →

Without a striker dictating the centre-backs and providing him with space, or running in behind and giving him the chance to be creative with a through ball, Palmer gets stifled, and defenders capitalise.

Chelsea have sold the player that got the best out of Palmer

Paul Merson once said that Palmer missed Nicolas Jackson after he left in the summer of 2025 to go on loan to Bayern Munich. Jackson is now thriving at Aston Villa, scoring nine goals in 14 appearances.

Having a last-man striker helps Palmer, as the stats above prove. Jackson plays on the last man; he runs in behind and having that option to find helps Palmer create chances or play one-twos to score himself.

Palmer’s best form in a Chelsea shirt came when Jackson was at the club, after his move from Villarreal. Since Jackson has left, Palmer has managed four assists in 36 Premier League games; that is damning.

All in all, Palmer is still one of Chelsea’s best players, but his form has steadily declined over the last two years. Injury has hindered Palmer’s momentum, but crucially, he needs a striker running in behind.