Chelsea boss, Enzo Maresca, has spoken about Cole Palmer’s performance in their 2-1 Premier league defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday. It was Chelsea’s fifth defeat in nine league games and a missed opportunity to climb up to fourth in the league table.

The full transcript from Enzo Maresca as the Chelsea head coach reflected on his team's 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa with Marco Asensio scoring two second-half goals for the hosts at Villa Park

But a bigger sign of his lack of confidence right now came when he was played through one-on-one against Emiliano Martinez. Palmer hesitated, slipped and failed to get a decent shot off, something unthinkable in the first 18 months of his Chelsea career.

ASTON VILLA fought back to defeat Chelsea 2-1 in a thriller at Villa Park. Villa’s January loan signings Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford combined for BOTH goals as Unai Emery’s side

It was far from a poor performance from Chelsea against Aston Villa, but it definitely left much to be desired. They had ample chances to ensure they had a bigger cushion before the hosts found a way back through Marco Asensio's first goal and should really have got themselves back in front.