Cole Palmer says Chelsea had ‘courage’ to play against Newcastle

Chelsea forward Cole Palmer complimented his team’s “courage” following their 3-2 Premier League victory over Newcastle United on Monday night.

Palmer was Chelsea’s key man at Stamford Bridge, setting up the first goal and scoring the second to bring his league goal total to 19 (11 goals and eight assists) in his rookie season.

Palmer’s sixth-minute shot was expertly deflected into the bottom corner by Senegalese striker Nicolas Jackson, and after Alexander Isak levelled just before half-time, the 21-year-old Englishman restored Chelsea’s advantage after the interval with a superb finish.

Mykhailo Mudryk scored the third to wrap up all three points for the Blues despite a late goal by Jacob Murphy.

“We had the courage to play which is what we need as a young team,” Palmer said after the game. “We are going to make mistakes, so it’s about going on to the next one and the next one.

“We’ve had some difficult results recently, the cup final versus Liverpool, the game against Wolves [a 4-2 home defeat] – so to get points is vital for us. I think we showed a bit of passion and courage. Winning those second balls and not getting bullied.

“When they scored we thought we knew we had to defend better than before so we could get those three points and take a step in the right direction. It’s about taking it game by game and having good performances.

“If we win football matches, the fans will be happy and we want to do that for them. It’s about taking it game by game and seeing how high we can finish.”

Despite the win, Chelsea still stay 11th on the table.