Cole Palmer praised one Chelsea teammate after Saturday’s five-goal thriller against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
Chelsea are now on a three-game winning streak in the Premier League after a 3-2 victory away to Forest.
The Blues raced into an early lead through Mykhailo Mudryk’s opener. However, Forest found themselves in front courtesy of goals from Willy Boly and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
It took a late show from Mauricio Pochettino’s side to take all three points. Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson were on the scoresheet inside three second-half minutes to make it 3-2 to the visitors.
Cole Palmer hails Chelsea player
Cole Palmer, who grabbed his 10th league assist of the season versus Forest, was full of praise for a Chelsea teammate in a post-match interview.
He mentioned the quality and importance of Blues captain Reece James, who marked his return from a five-month injury layout by assisting Jackson’s winning goal.
When discussing James straight after the Forest win, Palmer told Sky Sports: “Everyone knows how good he is. He’s our captain. Even when he’s not been playing he’s been leading off the pitch so to have him back on the pitch is even better.”
Reece James back with a bang
James hadn’t played any competitive football since early December before Saturday, but that didn’t stop him strolling onto the pitch as a substitute like he’d never been away.
The 24-year-old right-back produced a trademark cross to assist the winner.
He only came on the pitch in the 79th minute with Chelsea losing 2-1. If you fast-forward to the 82nd minute, the Blues turned the game on its head to lead it.
WhoScored data gave James a 7.13 match rating for his stunning cameo performance.
He made 10 passes with a 100 per cent passing accuracy. There was also one tackle and the one stellar assist.
When fit, The Chelsea Chronicle does still rate James as the best of the bunch when it comes to the world’s right-backs. Let’s hope this is the start of a new era for him with far less frequent injuries.
