Soccer-Maresca hails Palmer's big-game brilliance after Club World Cup triumph
EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Reuters) -Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca praised Cole Palmer's ability to rise to the occasion after the English attacking midfielder was named Club World Cup player of the tournament following their commanding 3-0 victory over Paris St Germain in Sunday's final.
"These are the games we expect Cole Palmer to appear and once again he showed what he is made of," Maresca told a press conference after Palmer scored twice and provided an assist to Joao Pedro in their title-winning performance against the Champions League winners.
Maresca revealed his tactical masterplan had worked to perfection, with Chelsea pressing PSG high and exploiting direct plays behind their rivals' defense to devastating effect.
"The idea was go man-to-man because if you leave spaces to PSG they will kill you, so we tried to be very aggressive and suffocate them early on and that intensity was crucial in the first 10 minutes due to the scorching heat, that was really difficult conditions to play as the game progresses," Maresca explained.
The Italian coach highlighted how his team had successfully targeted PSG's vulnerable flank, adding: "We had a lot of success exploring the left side of their defence, things worked perfectly for us due to the effort the players put."
Maresca praised his players for deploying perfectly the gameplan he had in mind, with their high-intensity approach proving decisive in the sweltering New Jersey conditions, saying that he is delighted to win a Club World Cup he thinks will be seen much differently in the future.
"I feel that this competition [the Club World Cup] will be as important as or even more important than the Champions League," Maresca said.
"I was lucky enough to be part of a coaching staff [at Manchester City] that won the Champions League three years ago, but this competition [the Club World Cup] features the best clubs in the world. That's why we value it as much as the Champions League, or perhaps even more. For us, it was a great triumph. Allowing Chelsea fans to wear that world champion patch on their shirts is a source of pride for us."
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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