Cole Palmer has had his say on Chelsea’s FA Cup win against Port Vale
Cole Palmer said it had been a “long time coming” after he was handed the Chelsea captaincy for the first time against Port Vale on Saturday.
With Reece James out with a hamstring injury and club vice-captain Enzo Fernandez suspended internally for flirting with Real Madrid, the England international led the Blues as they cleared a path to Wembley by demolishing the League One strugglers 7-0 at Stamford Bridge.
The result brought a degree of calm back to Stamford Bridge following four straight defeats and Fernandez’s indiscretions during the international break.
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The tie was done by half-time following early goals from Jorrel Hato and Joao Pedro before Palmer forced a Vale own-goal before the break. Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos and Estevao piled in after the interval as Chelsea racked up their tally, then Alejandro Garnacho twisted the knife with a stoppage-time penalty.
“Long time coming,” said Palmer of the decision by Liam Rosenior to make him skipper for the day. “It was a proud moment being captain. I enjoyed it and it was a good afternoon.
“We needed to win. It was a difficult four games but to get to a semi-final at Wembley was very important.”
Avoiding cup humiliation against the team bottom of the third tier brought huge relief for Rosenior after what he had called the most difficult 10 days of his career before the international break.
Chelsea suffered their joint-heaviest aggregate European loss as Paris St Germain humbled them 8-2 whilst back-to-back Premier League defeats against Newcastle and Everton damaged their chances of returning to the Champions League.
The atmosphere in west London was bitter the last time the team played at home – a 3-0 loss to PSG – and Rosenior took no chances against Vale in sending out something close to his strongest available XI.
There was also the pleasing sight of seven different goalscorers as the Blues set up a Wembley date at the end of April.
“It’s nice to see everyone getting involved (with the goals) and laughing, joking and smiling after the game,” said Palmer.
“I think it will give everyone a lift. Playing, winning and scoring goals is good for everyone. Getting back to that winning feeling was nice and hopefully we can take that on to Manchester City (in the league).”
