Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has revealed that Cole Palmer has the freedom to express himself fully on the pitch, following another standout performance from the 23-year-old in Chelsea’s 2-0 win over LAFC in the FIFA Club World Cup.

Palmer, who was instrumental in Chelsea’s Conference League triumph over Real Betis, recently admitted he was “sick of going sideways and backwards” during that final in Wroclaw and simply decided to take matters into his own hands to create the goals that secured the trophy.

That post-match comment caught Maresca’s attention, and the Blues boss addressed it directly after Chelsea’s victory over LAFC.

“After the Conference League final he said that he was quite bored receiving the ball and so he decided to do something different,” Maresca said.

“The day after that interview I said to him, ‘But you can do that since the first minute. Why are you waiting so long? Why are you waiting? Why don’t you do the same after one minute?'”

Against LAFC, Palmer followed his manager’s advice to perfection, playing with flair and intent right from the start – a performance that earned further praise from Maresca.

“Today (versus LAFC) he was exactly doing what we asked him to do. We are happy when he does that because I said many times that Cole is our best player,” the Italian coach added.

Palmer’s continued development under Maresca appears to be central to Chelsea’s plans, with the young attacker now fully trusted to take creative control and influence games as he sees fit.