When top teams clash, emotions can run high, and it can become even more heated when an important and hard-earned lead is given up so easily. The Chelsea vs. Arsenal game ended in frustration for Chelsea as they conceded two late goals, the second of which led to an embarrassing incident involving Palmer. Cole Palmer was initially considered an injury scare, but he later returned to the match and scored a goal.
Cole Palmer, who signed for Chelsea this summer for £42.5 million from Manchester City, claimed to have had a good relationship with Mauricio Pochettino since his arrival. Hence, it came as a surprise when he appeared to have thrown a bottle at his manager, but he has recently clarified the situation.
Why did Cole Palmer throw a bottle at Mauricio Pochettino?
Cole Palmer signed for Chelsea this summer for $42.5 million from Manchester City after his short spell at the club. Palmer’s transfer from the Premier League champions during the transfer window was quite surprising, especially as he appeared to be on track for a more significant role under Pep Guardiola. He even managed to score in both their European Super Cup and Community Shield matches at the beginning of the season.
The new Chelsea signing scored his second goal for Chelsea on Saturday, converting from the penalty spot against Arsenal. With Mykhailo Mudryk’s speculative shot finding the net to make it 2-0 after halftime, Palmer and his teammates seemed to be comfortably heading towards a valuable three points.
However, the situation took a turn for the worse. A poor clearance by Robert Sanchez gave Declan Rice an opportunity to pull one back. Then, with just six minutes remaining and right after Palmer had been substituted for Reece James, Leandro Trossard leveled the score. To make matters worse for the frustrated Pochettino, he had to endure being struck by a thrown water bottle.
Cole Palmer has explained that what happened was completely an accident and that it was never his intention to hit his boss with a bottle. He further explained that he has a great relationship with Mauricio Pochettino.
Cole Palmer apologizes to Mauricio Pochettino
The match concluded in disappointment for Chelsea, with two late goals being conceded and the second one resulting in an embarrassing incident involving Palmer.
But the new Chelsea signee has cleared the air, essentially stating that the incident involving hitting Mauricio Pochettino with a bottle was completely an accident and never intended
“When they scored their second goal, I was getting a drink. I went to throw the bottle away, as you do but didn’t look. I just saw it loop dead slow and hit the gaffer. I said sorry to him and apologised properly after the game. Hopefully, he won’t drop me for that!
“We get on well. I try to show him every day in training what I can do. Work hard and just try to repay him because he puts a lot of faith in us,” said Cole Palmer.
He went further to reflect on the frustration that resulted from their draw against Arsenal, saying,
“We were at home in front of our own fans, so we weren’t going to show them too much respect. We know that they’re good, but we’re good as well. We played well. There are still a lot of areas we can improve in, but we’re going in the right direction. It’s starting to click, as you can see from the results in the past four games, but there’s much more to come, and we need to keep going.
“We’re obviously very disappointed not to get the three points, but they’re a very good side, one of the best teams in the league, and we went toe-to-toe with them. I thought we played very well, but we could have got so much more. It’s gutting not to get the three points after being 2-0 up”.
The burning question remains: will the Chelsea boss let this incident slip from his memory and grant another opportunity to the incredibly talented Palmer, who has undeniably showcased his worth as a player for the Blues? In the upcoming clash against Brentford, fans will get the answer to whether Palmer will maintain his valued starting position or be forced to the bench.
