Gary Neville waxed lyrical about Cole Palmer as Liverpool suffered a title comedown against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The Reds were crowned champions against Tottenham last weekend and deservedly enjoyed their title celebrations.
But Arne Slot’s men still have games to play before they will get their hands on the Premier League and the first of those came against Chelsea, who is chasing down a place in next season’s Champions League. The home side respectfully gave Liverpool a guard of honor before kickoff.
The game couldn’t have got off to a much worse start for the visiting side though, when Enzo Fernandez prodded home inside three minutes after good work from Palmer and Pedro Neto.
It was England star Palmer who received the plaudits from Neville on Sky Sports for his role in the build up. He spun away from Curtis Jones to collect a pass from Romeo Lavia, leaving the Liverpool midfielder on the ground after slipping.
Speaking on commentary, he said: “That little bit of play, that movement, is wonderful. Fair play to Enzo for the composure but Cole Palmer is so important to this goal.
“I can’t tell you how good in words how good that was. Curtis Jones slips and you think it is unlucky but that is what happens when you get done by an excellent piece of skill.”
There was more to come from the Chelsea star, who caused Liverpool all sorts of problems over the course of the afternoon. And Neville highlighted his importance with a comparison to Mohamed Salah, who dropped below his usual top standards.
(Image: Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
The ex-Manchester United captain added: “He has been the outstanding player on the pitch, he is a real talent. It is very rare when I watch Mohamed Salah that he isn’t the best player out there but today it is Cole Palmer. He has been brilliant, the best player on the pitch by an absolute street. A joy to watch.”
Palmer then got himself on the scoresheet in the last minute of added time as he scored past Alisson from the penalty spot. Neville’s comments come after colleague and Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher raised the prospect of his former club potentially moving for Palmer.
Chelsea snapped up the 22-year-old in a $80 million deal from Manchester City two years ago and he would likely command at least double that now.
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“It has been suggested that Liverpool should build for the title defence by breaking the bank for Alexander Isak,” Carragher wrote for The Telegraph. “It surprises me that no one has argued that Cole Palmer should be on the new champions’ radar.
“Far-fetched? Too expensive? Most likely. Liverpool “going big” for footballers who are already established on mammoth and long contracts elsewhere is not their strategy, so if you read headlines saying “Jamie Carragher says Liverpool should buy Palmer”, you are not reading this correctly.
“But predators will be circling and keeping tabs on what is going on at Stamford Bridge. In the first half of this season, Palmer was neck and neck with Mohamed Salah as the best player in the league. His numbers have dropped in the last couple of months, but he is still creating chances.”
