Chelsea's Madueke: 'Palmer is cold; I am fire'
Chelsea forward Noni Madueke heaped praise on teammate Cole Palmer following their 6-2 win over Wolves on Sunday.
Madueke scored a second half hat trick, with Palmer providing assists for all three of his goals at Molineux as Chelsea kick started their season.
“He is cold and I am fire, so it mixes well. He has always got the ability to play the right pass at the right time, so it’s brilliant,” Madueke told Premier League Productions.
“Today means a lot. Really just being clever and waiting for the right moment. The system allows us to probe and probe and probe and keep possession high up [the pitch].
“Maybe in the first half it was a bit more end-to-end but we gained control in the second half. First [goal] was bit lucky, second one was just Cole Palmer, two brilliant weighted passes I just had to step on to score.
“I’m made up for the hat trick but more made up that we won the game.”
The 22-year-old was also complimentary of new manager Enzo Maresca.
“I think it’s obvious. Everyone saw what he did at Leicester last year [getting promoted]. He’s mad about his approach, about the little details.
“I think you see that, even in the first game versus City, there were some nice patterns of play we probably just couldn’t finish but today we were clinical. It’s a great day for him I’m happy he’s got his first Premier League win for Chelsea.”
Palmer also scored a goal of his own to put Chelsea 2-1 ahead just before half time, before Wolves to equalised moments later.
However, the second half was the Madueke and Palmer show.
Palmer was voted the PFA Young Player of the Year earlier this month following a successful debut season at Stamford Bridge, where he contributed 27 goals and 15 assists in all competitions following a £40 million ($52m) move from Manchester City last August.
Seeing two of his star players perform so well will have pleased Maresca following an eventful start to his tenure, with questions raised about the club’s transfer activity and a 2-0 defeat to City in their opening Premier League game of the season.
New Chelsea signing João Félix also scored in the win over Wolves to start his second spell at the club.
Felix joined Chelsea on a seven-year deal from Atlético Madrid after spending six months on loan with the London club last season.
