Panenka’s penalty was not the best of Cole Palmer’s performance against Spurs on Sunday, although it was sumptuous and audacious and was struck with such skill and delicacy that it was still floating in the air when Fraser Forster came up again. his feet on one side of the Spurs goal to watch the ball complete its ethereal journey.
Yes, it was a moment, executed when the result was still up for grabs, that felt like a celebration of expression and joy, but the highlight of Palmer’s reel at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would have to be the sequence he unleashed in the 73rd minute of Chelsea’s 4-3 victory that began when Pedro Neto slipped a simple pass down the line.
Palmer had his back to goal deep in the Spurs half and when he turned, Micky van de Ven moved towards him as if to close him down. Van de Ven then had second thoughts, as any sensible defender would, and made way for Destiny Udogie, who took over Palmer’s duties.
Palmer processed the possibilities. He moved the ball back as if to backheel it, which unbalanced Udogie for a split second and in that split second, Palmer reversed the direction of the ball, pushed it past the Spurs left back and headed in the direction to the corner flag.
It looked like that might be a dead end and Palmer doesn’t like dead ends, so he turned sharply towards his own goal and then quickly cut in, leaving Udogie floating in the water, wobbling in his wake.
It was, and this is the highest praise because it was one of the moments of the 2022 World Cup, reminiscent of Lionel Messi’s devastating play that destroyed Josko Gvardiol in Argentina’s quarterfinal victory over Croatia.
Cole Palmer continued his impressive form for Chelsea after scoring twice against Spurs.
The Blues star produced a stunning panenka to help seal Chelsea’s 4-3 win on Sunday.
There were shades of Lionel Messi throughout Palmer’s impressive display in north London.
That doesn’t make Palmer the new Messi, but it was still beautiful to behold. It still made the soul sing to see someone with that kind of ambition and that kind of ability and that kind of willingness to do something that doesn’t fit. Even a hint of Messi is a honey flavor.
With Udogie fired, Van de Ven had to intervene. It didn’t go particularly well. Palmer turned it one way and then the other as he slalomed towards the Spurs box. Pape Sarr thought about trying to tackle him, but thought better of it. Yves Bissouma came over to try to help. That made it Palmer against four defenders.
Palmer had drawn so many players towards him that when his attempt to put Nicolas Jackson in on goal was deflected by Van de Ven’s outstretched boot, it was no surprise when the ball fell to a team-mate in space. Enzo Fernández did the rest with a good left-footed shot and Chelsea took the lead and won the game.
He is a special player. He is the closest thing we have to Messi in English football. He reminds some of Dennis Bergkamp because of his elusive nature. Maybe Michael Laudrup is a better comparison than both. Palmer walks past players like Laudrup used to do, effortlessly and gracefully.
But like all special players, he is unlike anyone who has been there before. He is creating his own style. And perhaps it is the magnitude of his ambition that draws us to him, his refusal to be constrained by the straitjacket of modern English football.
We do not live in a time of individualism in football. We live in an era of systems, where discipline is king and the maverick is on the brink of extinction and wonderful players like Jack Grealish are reduced to being responsible.
Pep Guardiola, the City manager, is a genius, but if he had been managing Rebel Without a Cause, he would have made sure Jim Stark was home at 9 o’clock every night, and not playing ‘chicken’ next to the Observatory Griffith. .
At Etihad, Grealish is an upstanding citizen first and an artist second. Fun is something Premier League players last had about 15 years ago.
Palmer made a turn reminiscent of Lionel Messi’s play that destroyed Josko Gvardiol
The England international now has 17 involvements in goals in 15 Premier League games.
Meanwhile, Manchester City maverick Jack Grealish has struggled in Pep Guardiola’s system
Guardiola’s City teams are beautiful to watch, but what we are seeing is the beauty of Guardiola, not that of his players. It is a beauty that he has created, a systemic beauty, a purring machine, like all the parts of a powerful engine.
Palmer has the courage and will to exist outside the machine. That’s probably why he wanted to leave City and Guardiola let him leave. Perhaps it was Guardiola’s biggest mistake. Maybe he simply realized that he couldn’t bend Palmer to his will.
Palmer’s talent has survived training. They haven’t taken it away. It has not been homogenized. It is a great credit to Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca that he is giving Palmer the platform to thrive and it is a great credit to Palmer that he is taking his opportunity.
He plays with impudence, mischief, carefreeness and languor which is a fascinating mix. It’s like a child on the playground, who continues to play for fun, who hasn’t let himself be worn down by pressure and expectations. He is the great treasure of our game and we are lucky to be able to see him at a time when his talent is flourishing.
The Hojlund celebration
He’s only done it a couple of times, but I already find Rasmus Hoijlund’s Gladiator-inspired thumbs-up-thumbs-down celebration quite irritating.
After all, he has only scored two league goals for Manchester United this season. He is not exactly lethal in front of goal.
He also plays for the biggest club in the country and is part of the reason they languish in 13th place in the table.
If I were him, I’d stop reacting to the occasional goal as if I had a record like Alan Shearer’s and focus on scoring a little more often. Otherwise, you might find yourself in Rubén Amorim’s office one day, staring at a downward-facing finger.
Rasmus Hojlund Has a New Gladiator-Inspired Thumbs-Up and Thumbs-Down Celebration
My SPOTY vote…
I’m not a huge fan of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in its current form, but if I were willing to vote I wouldn’t have to think too much about it.
My nod would go to Joe Root, who scored a career-best 262 against Pakistan in Multan in October and, in the process, overtook Sir Alastair Cook to become England’s highest run-scorer in Indian cricket. proof.
The idea that a cricketer who may yet become the most prolific batsman the world has ever known and who is as decent and all-round a man as one could wish to meet has never even cracked the top three in the Award voting is difficult to accept. grasp.