Enzo Maresca says Cole Palmer was sick for two days but asked to play against Leicester City before failing to score from the penalty spot for the first time in his career in the Premier League on Sunday.
Palmer’s early spot kick was brilliantly saved by Foxes goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, ending the England international’s perfect record of 12 successful penalties for the club.
The former Manchester City midfielder was shown working out with Chelsea’s squad in a gym and embracing team-mate Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall while laughing on Saturday, but Maresca described the 22-year-old as “completely out in the last two days”.
“Fever,” Maresca said, via The Athletic, after Chelsea beat his former club 1-0 through Marc Cucurella’s 60th-minute strike from distance at Stamford Bridge.
“Is it something I can say in English? Diarrhoea. [On Saturday], he didn’t train and during the night he didn’t feel well. This morning, he woke up and he asked me, ‘I want to be on the pitch because I want to help this team, this club to [qualify for the] Champions League’.”
💪😁 pic.twitter.com/h0pR2S6hcM
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 8, 2025
Cole Palmer illness: ‘He didn’t train’
Palmer is Chelsea’s talisman but was surprisingly substituted after the break as their 2023/24 Player of the Season went a ninth game without a goal.
Maresca said Palmer had headed straight down the tunnel to use the toilet but swiftly returned. “In the last 48 hours, he didn’t train with the fever and this bad feeling,” said the Italian.
“This morning, he asked to play the game, and this shows how these players want to bring the club where it belongs to.”
Cole Palmer’s perfect Premier League record from the spot comes to an end against Leicester! ❌ pic.twitter.com/SaM8ZzRGdE
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 9, 2025
Chelsea Champions League chase
Chelsea’s win sent them above Manchester City to fourth in the table – the final position that will guarantee Champions League football next season.
Fifth place looks likely to be enough to qualify because of competition organisers UEFA’s coefficient rankings, which award extra places to nations based on the combined performances of clubs from each country in Europe over the season.
Chelsea are currently in the round of 16 of the Conference League, but Maresca has routinely been asked whether he has been told to qualify for the Champions League since taking over last July.
The Blues last competed in the competition in 2022/23, losing to Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. They were champions in 2011/12 and 2020/21.
