‘Genius’ Palmer ‘made the difference’ against Real Betis

It was fitting that Chelsea won their first trophy under the ownership of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital through the magic of their most significant signing – Cole Palmer.

Among the £1.7bn worth of talent brought in, albeit with sizeable player sales balancing the books, they have unearthed several gems.

None, however, have been as important as Palmer, a £37.5m signing from Manchester City.

After a dismal first half in Wednesday’s Conference League final against Real Betis, during which 33-year-old midfield playmaker Isco dazzled, Palmer came to the fore.

He outshone even the Spain international – 10 years his senior – to spark a comeback and a 4-1 win.

“Cole Palmer is an absolute genius,” former Chelsea winger Joe Cole said on TNT Sports. “We don’t produce these players. They don’t fall off trees.

“He took the game by the scruff of the neck and there are not many players in world football that can do what he does.”

Trailing to Abde Ezzalzouli’s early goal, the second half became the Palmer show.

He danced around Ezzalzouli before his inswinging cross was met by Enzo Fernandez to make it 1-1, before spinning Jesus Rodriguez to cross for Nicolas Jackson to chest home the second goal.

“Cole Palmer has delivered and that’s the difference,” former Blues goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer said on greatin sports Radio 5 Live. “Palmer is a young player, but has an incredible amount of maturity. He led this side and dictated that second half.”

West Ham forward Michail Antonio added on TNT Sports: “The game was lost until Cole Palmer decided to turn up. He got on the ball, kept asking for it, demanding it.

“Two unbelievable balls, two unbelievable goals. What a player.”

After a stellar first season at Stamford Bridge, during which he scored 22 Premier League goals, Palmer has endured a trickier second campaign.

He has scored just once since 14 January, a 90th-minute penalty in the 3-1 win over Liverpool at the start of May.

But he reminded everyone of his raw ability against Real Betis. And his 18-game goal drought will benefit him in the long run, according to head coach Enzo Maresca.

“The bad moment, the bad run he had during this season is going to make him a better player, no doubt,” Maresca said.

“We all know he’s a top player. We need to help him to be in the right position, the right moment.

“He is a quality player. In the last third, he can decide a game with a goal or assist.”

No one needed this moment more than Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson.

Before the match, even Maresca said Jackson owed a “debt” to his team-mates after getting sent off in the 2-0 defeat at Newcastle on 11 May, a red card that could well have cost Chelsea qualification for the Champions League.

After the match, Maresca said “this is the Nico that the team needs”.

He is among those who have struggled to convince the Stamford Bridge fanbase – and the club are looking to sign a striker, with Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap among their targets.

However, in that regard, the Senegal international is just like the head coach and the owners, who have all banked credit by winning a trophy.

For Maresca, this was his chance to show the club could build a winning mentality after a season during which he has faced criticism for his style of football and a run of poor results over the winter.

For the US consortium, their ownership was tarnished by 1,201 days without silverware but the moment captain Reece James lifted the Conference League trophy, the first in his captaincy, they earned valuable breathing room.

Boehly was the first to go and celebrate with the team, followed reluctantly by influential Clearlake Capital duo Behdad Eghbali and Jose Feliciano.

Boehly and Clearlake have not always seen eye-to-eye this season but this is a period of relative stability after the club decided they would stick with Maresca regardless of the result of their last two matches of the season.

Chelsea beat Nottingham Forest to qualify for the Champions League and won against Betis to add silverware.

But Chelsea didn’t sell out their allocation in Poland, for what was the final of European club football’s third-tier competition, and fans will quickly move on if it is not backed up with both progress and further success next season.

Maresca told TNT after the match: “I feel good – but also the fans, they deserve that. They have been waiting a few years for that so they deserve it.

“The club have invested a lot of money in the last two, three years so they are also waiting for results. Hopefully this can be a starting point. From tonight, from this season, building something important.”

Substitute Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall said: “There’s a lot more to come from me. Getting a taste of silverware makes you more hungry.”