Cole Palmer comment prompts Channel 5 apology as Chelsea maestro hits back

Cole Palmer hit back at people who have been 'talking s***' about Chelsea after their unlikely Club World Cup win over Paris Saint-Germain. The playmaker was instrumental in Sunday's victory, scoring twice and setting up another as the Blues won 3-0 against the reigning European champions.

After an up-and-down domestic season, Chelsea stayed the course in the USA, coming through the group stages and knockout rounds of the revamped FIFA tournament. They defeated Benfica, Palmeiras and Fluminense en route to the final, but PSG still arrived at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium as the heavy favourites after a scintillating 2024/25 campaign under Luis Enrique.

It was therefore a shock when Chelsea came racing out of the blocks. They put the Parisians under pressure immediately, and although many expected the tide to eventually turn, Enzo Maresca's players simply did not relent.

Palmer was the first to strike, firing low to Gianluigi Donnarumma's right on 22 minutes, and he produced an almost identical finish on the half-hour mark to double the Londoners' advantage. Joao Pedro then added a third leading up to the interval, before Joao Neves saw red for pulling Marc Cucurella's hair and a brawl broke out at full-time, with Luis Enrique lashing out at Joao Pedro.

After the final whistle, Palmer told DAZN: "[Maresca] is building something special, something important. We've got a young team. Everyone has talked a lot of s*** about us all season but I feel like we're going in the right direction."

He added: "The gaffer put a great game plan out. He knew where the space was going to be, he knew how to free me up as much as possible and I just tried to repay him by scoring some goals.

"It's a great feeling [to win]. Even better because everyone doubted us before the game. We knew we had to go out there and fight like we did against a great team."

In his own interview, Maresca confirmed that he had drawn up a game plan to bring the best out of Palmer, who was Chelsea's principal attacking weapon against the French champions.

"Today we found a position for him where there was more space to attack," the Italian told DAZN. "Obviously, Cole played really well but the effort from all the players was fantastic. I have no words for the players. They all deserve this and it's a good moment."