STAMFORD BRIDGE – Cole Palmer should have been off. It is not the first time that has been said this season.
By the time he eventually saw red for a late challenge on Conor Gallagher in Chelsea’s defeat to Spurs, Palmer was lucky to still be on the pitch for a reactive shove on Mateus Fernandes at the end of one of Chelsea’s most promising breaks. First, Micky van de Ven hauled down Moises Caicedo, advantage was played, and Palmer was then caught in a tussle with Fernandes, the Tottenham midfielder adding the insult of knocking the ball away with his hand.
There were shades of the win at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium, when he avoided one booking for dissent after kicking the ball away, before picking one up anyway for protesting a foul on Moises Caicedo.
If there are suggestions that Palmer has a discipline problem, they feel a little unfair. The dismissal against Spurs was the first of his career. Still, it is now twice in two games he has experienced not one, but two moments of needless head loss.
Cole Palmer is SENT OFF!
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 24, 2026pic.twitter.com/qArrUhFrf0
On Merseyside it earned a word in the ear from Jordan Henderson. When it comes to their relationship with Thomas Tuchel, they have been like chalk and cheese – one a shock inclusion in England’s World Cup squad, the other a shock omission.
Henderson was called up precisely because of his attitude and influence behind the scenes. Palmer irked Tuchel in the recent international break by withdrawing with a minor muscle injury and he accused him of “missing too many opportunities”.
Tuchel was already unconvinced. There was a time, pre-Joao Pedro, when Palmer worked miracles for Chelsea’s attack. Last season, that changed. He just about made it into double figures for goals, with half coming from penalties – the only method by which he has ever scored against Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City or Spurs. He registered one assist last term and the number of chances he was creating plummeted. It began difficult to see what he could offer in behind Harry Kane that England’s record goalscorer could not do himself.
Against Spurs there were mitigating factors. The Morgan Rogers experiment did not work. Geovany Quenda started brightly but tailed off. Chelsea were in implosion mode by the time Palmer saw red but it will have done nothing to improve his England prospects.
Tuchel has never shied away from unpopular decisions and it is one of the reasons he was given a new contract even before the World Cup. Overlooking Palmer was one of them.
Palmer and Phil Foden were both regarded as generational talents who were being left behind. At a time when England were crying out for creativity, it seemed unthinkable. There were concerns over Foden’s positioning but Tuchel was frank about Palmer’s form being the issue.
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For the national team, he failed to register a goal or assist in the three games he has played post-Southgate. He is partly a victim of circumstance in that he occupies England’s most competitive position – him, Foden and Eberechi Eze could not all go – and partly an inevitable casualty after a season below his usual standards.
Since Alonso has taken over, his returns have been better. The red card will be an issue for his domestic manager too, however, in a week when he insisted his players had improved their discipline from the Enzo Maresca days.
Chelsea had 11 players sent off last season. The excuse was usually inexperience. Palmer is now 24 and creeping into territory where he ought to know better.