Cole Palmer made his first start since September in Chelsea’s 0-0 draw with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday.
However, the attacking midfielder was unable to make an impact in the game and was eventually replaced as Enzo Maresca tries to manage his minutes.
Joao Pedro was the man who came on for him, but he could not influence the match either.
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Liam Delap, Joao Pedro and Marc Guiu did not convince at all in the 0-0 draw with Bournemouth
Following Delap’s latest injury setback, Pedro is likely to start playing up front again.
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Andoni Iraola praises Bournemouth defenders for how they engaged Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro
Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola was very pleased with how the team’s centre-backs dealt with Palmer and then Pedro.
According to the Spaniard, they were brave and really engaged them, which he was delighted about.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Iraola told the Daily Echo: “We had difficult duels. Our full-backs I think have dealt quite well with their wingers. Our centre-backs, they’ve been brave enough to sometimes jump to Palmer, to Joao Pedro.”
Iraola also discussed Chelsea’s counter-attacking threat, admitting that it was something that he feared during the game.
However, Chelsea offered very little going forward and did not give the Bournemouth boss much to worry about.
Cole Palmer’s and Joao Pedro’s attacking numbers vs Bournemouth
Maresca was quite pleased with Palmer and how he has got on in his first start since Chelsea’s 2-1 loss to Manchester United.
Looking at his numbers, though, he did not carry too much of an attacking threat, while the same can also be said of Pedro.
Between the two of them, they only managed to register one shot. Palmer also managed to make just one key pass, while Pedro failed to record one at all.
Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro silenced by Bournemouth…
Where do you think Pedro's best position is?
| Player | Minutes | xG | Key passes | Shots | Dribbles (successful) |
| Cole Palmer | 58 | 0.07 | 1 | 1 | 3 (2) |
| Joao Pedro | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (0) |
Chelsea fans will be backing Palmer to reach the top level again. He is an exceptional player who has just returned from injury.
However, there will be concerns surrounding Pedro, who has not answered Chelsea’s centre-forward problem despite showing so much promise at the Club World Cup.
With Delap set for a spell on the sidelines, the Blues need him to step up and show the kind of form that he displayed in the US.
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