Tosin Adarabioyo and Cole Palmer were both on the scoresheet as Chelsea ran out 7-0 winners over Port Vale to book their place in the FA Cup semi-finals
Tosin Adarabioyo and Cole Palmer were both on target for Chelsea to book their place in the FA Cup semi-final
Tosin Adarabioyo claims it’s business as usual for Cole Palmer at Chelsea – even if he left England’s recent international camp with something to prove.
Palmer struggled to stake his claim for a World Cup spot – let alone a starting Three Lions role – during friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.
But he was back in the groove and scoring for the Blues on Saturday as he captained Chelsea to a morale-boosting 7-0 demolition of Port Vale to reach the FA Cup semi-finals.
Tosin said when asked if Palmer is now putting extra pressure on himself: “It’s just football. People go through different spots of form, I wouldn’t say he’s putting extra pressure on himself.
“If you know Cole, you know he’s a relaxed guy, but he’s very ambitious and he wants to do the best and that’s what he’s striving for.”
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Even though Palmer’s season has been heavily disrupted by a problematic groin issue, he’s still hit double figures for goals (10) in all competitions.
Fellow ex-Manchester City star Tosin insists the Chelsea dressing room has never lost faith in their indispensable playmaker.
He continued: “It’s been quite a tough season for him. I think that’s just been due to injuries but you know that when he hits his level, I think he’s one of the best players in the Premier League.”We have full confidence in him and I’m sure he has full confidence in himself. He leads by example, you see by his performances that he is one of our leaders and he’s one of our best players, so it was nice to see him handed the armband. He’s a top player, he knows that he can always improve but he is fantastic.”
Cole Palmer scored and captained Chelsea in their 7-0 win over Port Vale
Following a fortnight of off-field turmoil, goalscorer Tosin was delighted to not only get back to winning ways but take an important step towards a potential trophy.
Joao Pedro, Andrey Santos, Estevao Willian and Alejandro Garnacho were also on the scoresheet as Liam Rosenior recorded his first victory in five matches to ease the pressure upon his shoulders.
When asked if the FA Cup was among the team’s top objectives at the start of the campaign, Tosin said: “Definitely, it’s a huge trophy, so when you’re in it, you’re in it to win it, and that’s definitely what we’re trying to do.
“That was the objective before the game today, to make sure we get ourselves to Wembley and we’re very pleased to do so.”
Crucially, Saturday’s one-sided beatdown against their League One counterparts was also an opportunity for the Blues to divert attention back to the football.
During the international break, Enzo Fernandez, who has now served one of his club-imposed two-game ban, and Marc Cucurella were in the spotlight following a series of controversial comments.
Fernandez was accused of flirting with a transfer to Real Madrid while Cucurella spoke out against the club’s youth-heavy transfer policy.
Tosin refused to be drawn on the ordeal but stressed the importance of returning to winning ways, stating: “We’re not talking about that [Fernandez debacle] right now, man.
“It was nice obviously to come back and get that result, it was very, very important, especially at home and to score seven goals and also keep a clean sheet is top.”