Chelsea star Cole Palmer has taken to social media to poke fun at teammate Christopher Nkunku after their 5-1 Premier League win over Southampton on Wednesday (December 4).
The 27-year-old looked sure to score his second of the game after some lovely footwork in the Southampton box, getting his shot away while surrounded by opposition defenders.
Palmer, 22, had other ideas, however, jumping on Nkunku’s tricking shot to ensure the ball ended up in the back of the net, scoring their fourth goal.
Axel Disasi opened the scoring with a close-range header after just seven minutes before Joe Aribo equalised soon after.
Nkunku restored Chelsea’s lead thanks to a defensive mishap and soon after Noni Madueke scored their third with a well-placed finish.
Jack Stephens’ moment of madness gave referee Tony Harrington no choice, with the Southampton captain receiving a straight red for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair.
Jadon Sancho rounded off the scoring with his first goal for the club, sending them into second place, seven points behind league leaders Liverpool, in the race for the Premier League title.
Cole Palmer and Christopher Nkunku lead the way as Chelsea beat struggling Southampton
The England international has managed to carry his remarkable form from the 2023-24 campaign into this season, scoring nine goals and providing six assists in 14 Premier League games, all of which have been starts.
Maresca has only deployed Palmer in the league, with the attacking midfielder yielding a total of 1211 minutes of action.
Nkunku, on the other hand, has found league starts hard to come by. His start against Southampton was just his second in 13 appearances.
The Frenchman remains a vital part of Maresca’s squad, however, scoring 12 goals in 21 appearances across all competitions, yielding a total of 882 minutes across all competitions.
Both Palmer and Nkunku saw the funny side of the goal situation, with the star man taking to Instagram to share his reasoning for stealing his teammate’s goal.
In the caption, Palmer apologises, saying: “Top win. Top support. Sorry @c_nkunku but my FPL managers needed me.”
Chelsea face Ange Postecoglu’s inconsistent Tottenham on Sunday (December 8) as they aim to remain within touching distance of Liverpool.
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