Chelsea registered their first win of the Enzo Maresca era in style, beating Wolves 6-2 at the Molineux Stadium. Noni Madueke scored a hat-trick to help the club bounce back from their opening weekend defeat at home to Manchester City.
Nicolas Jackson gave Chelsea the lead in the second minute before Matheus Cunha leveled the score midway through the first half. Cole Palmer restored the away side’s advantage, but Wolves struck again in stoppage time. A second-half onslaught by the Blues saw them score four goals to win the game 6-2.
A slow motion replay on beIN SPORTS of Palmer’s goal, which gave the visitors the lead, indicated that it should not have stood. Palmer coolly lobbed the ball beyond Jose Sa after Jackson found him in the box. The ball was played to the striker from a goalkick, but replays showed that the ball was moving when Roberto Sanchez kicked it.
According to rules, the ball must be still in set-plays before play resumes. However, referee Darren England and his team missed the movement of the ball.
Video Assistant Referee John Brooks could not intervene as VAR cannot check for restarts within passages of play that lead to a goal. They did check for offside, but both Jackson and Palmer were onside, which resulted in the goal being allowed to stand.
“Chelsea’s Cole Palmer could be a target for Manchester United” – Carragher
Cole Palmer has been a revelation since signing for Chelsea from Manchester City last summer. The 22-year-old has scored 26 goals and provided 18 assists for the Blues.
Despite Palmer’s efforts, his team finished in sixth position last season. They missed out on qualifying for Europe’s elite competition for the second time in a row.
The West London club’s poor season led to former Liverpool defender and football pundit Jamie Carragher making a surprise claim. Speaking to The Overlap, Carragher said that he feels that Palmer could be in line for a shock move to Manchester United.
Carragher revealed that the young attacker is a Manchester United fan. He speculated that if Enzo Maresca fails to return the two-time European champions to winning ways, Palmer could be on the move.
“Something’s just come to me here. If Chelsea have another poor season, we were talking earlier about Manchester United having a real problem on that right wing,” said Carragher.
“He [Palmer] is a big Man United fan isn’t he? Would that not be something that United should visit maybe in 12 months if it doesn’t go well?” he asked.
“You know what, I think that could happen. Yeah, Cole Palmer to Man United,” Carragher concluded, which sent the alarm bells ringing.
Chelsea will make a trip to Switzerland next to face Servette in the second leg of the UEFA Conference League playoff.
