HAT-TRICK hero Cole Palmer heaped praise on Liam Rosenior after Chelsea’s 3-1 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux made it a fourth Premier League victory in four games under the new boss.
Palmer converted two penalties – both after Joao Pedro had been fouled – before completing his treble just 38 minute in from Marc Cucurella’s pass.
Tolu Arokodare scored in the 54th minute but Chelsea comfortably saw the game out and are one point behind fourth-place Manchester United.
Palmer almost doubled his Premier League tally for the season after going into the game with four goals.
The only games Rosenior has lost since he replaced Enzo Maresca are the two legs of the EFL Cup semi-final to Arsenal.
“Life under Liam is amazing, he gives us all confidence,” Palmer said. “He lets us be ourselves and play freely. So I’m sure when I’m back properly fit, you’ll see the best of me.
“He and all the staff give us confidence on the training pitch, and with the strategies in the way we play. I’m really liking it.
“It’s enjoyable – everyone’s got confidence from him, he’s a top manager.
“The way he gives confidence to everyone, he doesn’t mind changing the team, using us all. He speaks to all of us and lets us be ourselves. He gives us good game plans, so everyone likes him, and hopefully it continues.”
Rosenior has been managing Palmer’s minutes after the England attacker missed almost three months of the season with a groin problem.
“Cole loves playing football. I love watching,” Rosenior said. “Not just him – the whole team.
“When they’re in the mood and when they do the right thing and their mentality is right, they’re an outstanding group of players. And Cole is definitely someone that we want on the pitch more often than not. And hopefully he can stay fit now.”
Rosenior added: “First half was everything you want in an away performance at this level. Our pressing was very good, our patterns with the ball was outstanding. We put ourselves in a really really strong position.
“Second half, we want more. Our standards dropped. It’s difficult because the conditions weren’t great. It was a difficult day for both teams in terms of the pitch, in terms of the rain. Over all, very very happy with an away three points.
“We kept the ball and made passes and were able to take up attacking positions. And once we did, we looked a very, very good team. Obviously delighted for Cole. There’s been a lot of talk around him, about how happy he is – he looked happy with his three goals. But we could have scored more in the first half and we need to keep improving.
“There’s a lot of positives. But I want us to keep focusing on what we can improve. We’ve got a difficult game on Tuesday against a strong Leeds team.”
