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Glenn Hoddle drops his Cole Palmer verdict after Chelsea’s 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace.
Even Cole Palmer couldn’t inspire his Chelsea side to find a way past Crystal Palace in their opening match of the 2025/26 season.
Chelsea had to settle for a point following a 0-0 draw in the Premier League at home to Palace on Sunday.
The two London rivals had plenty of attempts at goal across 90 minutes, but both lacked the end product to break the deadlock.
Chelsea’s player ratings against Palace highlighted a mixed bag at Stamford Bridge.
Enzo Maresca’s side begin their league schedule with four consecutive London derbies.
Next, they make the short trip to West Ham on Friday night.
Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images
Glenn Hoddle mentions quiet Cole Palmer
Glenn Hoddle was disappointed by what he saw from Chelsea in their draw against Palace.
In particular, he highlighted that Blues attacking midfielder Cole Palmer, 23, had very little influence until the closing stages.
Hoddle said via the Premier League’s official website (4:01pm, 17 August): “Chelsea never got going.
Palace were the better team in the first half, Chelsea huffed and puffed in the second but Palmer, who’s the player you really want on the ball, never got on to it until the last ten minutes. Palace will be absolutely delighted.”
As the statistics below highlight, Palmer really struggled to really influence the game against Palace.
Minutes played
|
Total shots
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Shots on target
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Chances created
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Accurate passes
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Successful dribbles
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Accurate crosses
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Match rating
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90
|
4
|
0/4 (0%)
|
1
|
26/33 (79%)
|
0/1 (0%)
|
0/4 (0%)
|
6.5
|
Cole Palmer statistics during Chelsea vs Crystal Palace via Former
MORE CHELSEA STORIES
Pat Nevin is predicting a big season from Palmer, tipping him to link up superbly well with Chelsea’s strikers. Unfortunately, the left-footed playmaker couldn’t provide that spark against an organised opposition this weekend.
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Worrying Cole Palmer statistic
We’ve seen Palmer do some excellent things in 2025, especially in cup finals, to help win both the Club World Cup and Conference League. His Premier League form is a concern, though.
Remarkably, the Chelsea star hasn’t scored a Premier League goal from open play since January.
If the Blues are to be successful this season, Palmer will surely need to be central to it.
He scored 37 Premier League goals across his first two years as a Chelsea player, so we’re confident that he’ll soon be back in the goals.
