Southgate should prepare Palmer excuses early as Chelsea and Pochettino rescued again by brilliance

The Cole Palmer England Euros Clamour might as well kick off now. Gareth Southgate is in for a world of pain if this Chelsea rescue act continues.
You can almost *taste* the Cole Palmer Euros Clamour already. It is tangible.
England scrape a narrow win in their group opener against Serbia before a drab draw against Denmark in the second game. Henry Winter writes with impotent fury about the need to release the handbrake. Gareth Southgate offers a mealy-mouthed, snarky explanation in a press conference, citing vague factors such as ‘form’, ‘reputation’ and ‘experience’, the captain’s armband still dripping with Jordan Henderson’s sweat after the Newcastle loanee’s first start for club or country in six months.
Palmer watches it all from the sidelines, the cool, calm and collected solution to each and every problem, his reputation enhanced by a five-minute substitute cameo in eventual knockout-stage exit.
He should at least arrive at the tournament with a swelling body of evidence that he can single-handedly inspire an obviously phenomenally gifted but ultimately somehow limited team, that he can drag an aimless group in a positive direction, that he can rise above the mediocrity.
Chelsea were playing fairly well against Fulham. Not brilliant, but equally not at all poor. It was an uncomfortably mid-table match between attacking hosts trying to take the initiative, and defensive visitors generally happy to let them before countering with greater purpose and intent.

Some of Chelsea’s approach play was delightful but the opening half in particular was summed up by one passage of play: a lovely Enzo Fernandez ball to help create a move which soon broke down when the Argentinean half-committed to a 50/50 on the edge of the Fulham area against the crunching Joao Palhinha, who emerged with the ball while Fernandez lay crumpled. Chelsea were pretty until they got too close and sustained a few punches to the face.
Armando Broja, who otherwise spent the entire game wearing at least one defender as a backpack at all times, actually turned to face the Fulham goal on approximately one occasion, drifting into a wonderful position to meet a Fernandez cross which he flashed wide with a header. Nicolas Jackson really might not be all that bad, you know.
With Harry Wilson forcing a routine save from Djordje Petrovic in Fulham’s biggest chance, there emerged a deadlock which did not look likely to be broken.
It called for a moment of genius or idiocy, some glorious attacking invention or a calamitous defensive mistake. Like Raul Jimenez tackling someone with his arse again. Something. Anything.
The difference was Palmer. Drifting inside from the right and shaping to shoot, the 21-year-old laid a trap that Stamford Bridge as a whole – but most importantly Fulham’s defence – fell into. The reverse pass to Raheem Sterling was sublime, as was the forward’s touch to bait a foul from Issa Diop.
Palmer converted the penalty, his fifth of the season without missing. It is an obvious but no less effective way of underlining his class under pressure and desire to shoulder a burden and responsibility few others in this squad can. They have now put Chelsea 2-1 up against Burnley, 1-0 up against Arsenal and 1-0 up against Fulham, while equalising against Spurs and Manchester City. Some people scoff at the supposed stat-padding nature of penalties but the material impact Palmer’s perfection from the spot has had on Chelsea’s season is huge.
A team effort was needed to consolidate the goal as Fulham plugged away in the second half, Petrovic making a couple of smart saves and Jimenez neatly summing up his dreadful decision making by trying to lob the Chelsea keeper from his own half and barely dragging the ball off the ground as a furious Willian protested. But these three points, lifting the Blues into the top half because that is a notable achievement after spending £427billion, were built on the foundation of Palmer’s prowess.
Harry Kane is as unlikely to relinquish international penalty-taking duties as Southgate is to alter his tournament blueprint and find a space for Palmer in his starting line-up, of course. But the England manager might as well prepare his excuses now because the Chelsea forward’s bandwagon might be unstoppable come the summer.
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