Jamie Carragher praised Cole Palmer for having ‘football arrogance’ after the youngster scored Chelsea‘s decisive equaliser against Man City on Sunday.
Palmer was featuring against his former club for the first time since sealing his £42.5million summer transfer to Stamford Bridge from Man City in search of more regular first-team opportunities.
The 21-year-old struggled for consistent gametime at City after rising through the ranks at the Etihad before eventually being promoted into Pep Guardiola‘s senior team.
Palmer has since become an integral part of Mauricio Pochettino‘s Chelsea squad and held his nerve to pull the hosts level in stoppage time from the penalty spot.
Blues striker Armando Broja was fouled in the box by a clumsy challenge from Ruben Dias and Palmer grabbed the ball to take the decisive spot-kick.
Cole Palmer rescued a draw for Chelsea against Man City in an eight-goal thriller
Palmer scored from the penalty spot to snatch a point for Chelsea against his former side
Palmer remained composed to smash the stoppage time penalty past City goalkeeper Ederson
He smashed the ball past a diving Ederson and observed a muted celebration as Stamford Bridge erupted after the hosts guaranteed a point for themselves against the league leaders.
Carragher was full of praise for Palmer’s calmness as he finished confidently, telling Sky Sports: ‘What a penalty under that pressure against a keeper who knows him so well and he finds that top corner.
‘The arrogance that lad has got, football arrogance, you’re not saving that. Whole world will feel like they are watching him, friends and family probably City fans, 4-4 feels right, nobody should be a loser in this game.’
The Liverpool legend continued to marvel over Palmer’s performance and labelled the rising star as being the ‘main man’ in Chelsea’s star-studded squad.
‘The thing that stands out for me and I get frustrated by this a lot is players play for big football clubs and don’t really play, they will say I’ve won the league three times, Champions League, but we all know they are a squad player.
‘I admire him from moving on to Chelsea, he will feel better in these last weeks at Chelsea than what he ever has done at City no matter what medal he has picked up.
‘You know as a player when you deserve a medal and when on outside looking in it doesn’t feel great. He could be at Chelsea next two or three years and win an FA Cup and feel like his body of work here is a lot better than what he did at City.
‘That happens to often, nonsense for me and so many players say they won this, won that. All know as a player when you have a major part in a team and he feels like the main man in this Chelsea team.’
Jamie Carragher marvelled over Palmer’s performance and labelled him as Chelsea’s ‘main man’
Palmer is a current star for England’s Under 21 team and played a crucial part in the Young Lions team that won the European Championship in the summer.
Now, Carragher believes his latest performances for Chelsea make him a serious contender to be included in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the upcoming Euros despite still waiting for a first senior cap.
‘He looks to me the player that makes that late surge to get to a tournament in the summer and you think there is a great chance he will end up in that Euros squad,’ he said.
Palmer admitted he enjoyed playing against some of his former City team-mates at Stamford Bridge
Palmer enjoyed a moment with City midfielder Kalvin Phillips (right) after the match
The winger cut a calm figure in his post-match press conference after the game as he was handed the man of the match award by Chelsea team-mate Raheem Sterling.
Palmer described playing against his former side as a ‘very strange’ experience and revealed his admiration for City.
‘Very strange to play against City. I’ve got the utmost respect for the club I spent 15 years at. Another great game. I know many City fans. That’s the game.
‘I was excited before the game to see some familiar faces.’
