Chelsea wasn’t so reliant on Cole Palmer this time. On a frustrating evening for the England star, his Chelsea teammates stepped up to share the goals in a 4-0 thrashing of last-place Southampton in the Premier League.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has offered a defence of Cole Palmer as he goes through a difficult spell while praising a “fantastic” option he has found for the false 9 role at Stamford Bridge.

Cole Palmer is without a goal in his last six Premier League matches but the 22-year-old attacker has promised he will be back to his best sooner rather than later

Moments later, Neto reminded him how it was done. Cucurella won the ball in midfield, his pass found Nkunku who held things up and fed the overlapping winger who put everything through it to beat Ramsdale with sheer power at his near post.

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca asked supporters to “trust the process” following a protest against the club’s owners that preceded their 4-0 win over Southampton. About 200 fans gathered outside Stamford Bridge with banners and smoke flares before kick-off to voice opposition to the running of the club during the nearly three years since the BlueCo consortium fronted by Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali acquired the club.

Latest Chelsea news and gossip as Paul Merson issues a message to Enzo Maresca ahead of a crucial run of Premier League matches