DAMMING stats show Chelsea would be in the relegation zone if it wasn’t for Cole Palmer.
The 21-year-old has been the Blues’ bright spark during a dismal season for the club.
Palmer has scored 20 Premier League goals and is in the running to win the Golden Boot.
He has also registered nine assists, meaning he has had a hand in 47.5 per cent of Chelsea’s league goals so far.
In comparison, Nicolas Jackson has netted ten, Raheem Sterling six, Mykhailo Mudryk four and Noni Madueke three.
England star Palmer missed the trip to title challengers Arsenal through illness as manager Mauricio Pochettino called on his other stars to step up.
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Ahead of the game, the boss said: “It is a good challenge. I would be motivated to go there and show that this is Chelsea Football Club, not Cole Palmer Football Club.”
But perhaps the “Palmer FC” allegations are true as the shambolic Blues were demolished 5-0 by the Gunners.
Pochettino accused his players of “giving up” and a sign held up by a young supporter read: “I don’t want your shirt. I want you to fight for ours.”
Chelsea also set an unwanted record, having now conceded 57 league goals this season.
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It is the most the club have let in during a campaign since the formation of the Prem in 1992/93.
Looking at the stats with Palmer in the starting XI, Chelsea have won ten, drew six and lost 11 games.
In the eight without him, they have won three, drawn two and lost three.
The former Manchester City wonderkid is responsible for 32.8 per cent of Chelsea goals.
And he has won 13 points for the West Londoners – only Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke and Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins have salvaged their team more often with big goals.
With Palmer’s eye for the back of the net and creativity, Chelsea average net 2.2 strikes per game when he is in the side.
But that number drops significantly to 1.3 when he isn’t playing.
The win ratio also plummets from 45.5 per cent down to 37.5 per cent.
Points per match suffer too, going from 1.57 to an underwhelming 1.38 without their star.
And taking Palmer’s 29 goal contributions out the team, Chelsea would be in the relegation zone with 20 fewer points.
They would have just 27 points on the board and sit 18th in the table – ahead of just Burnley and Sheffield United.
The only improvement without Palmer is Pochettino’s men concede just 1.1 goals every 90 minutes compared to the 1.9 they ship when he plays.
In the real table, Chelsea sit ninth – three points behind Manchester United and Newcastle in the race for a European spot.
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But they face an uphill battle to qualify with a horror run-in to the end of the season.
They face Aston Villa (A), Tottenham (H), West Ham (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Brighton (A) and Bournemouth (H).
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
