The consistent inconsistencies of Chelsea Football Club came to the fore once again last night.
Mauricio Pochettino's side bounced back from their disappointing draw at Brentford last week to claim all three points against Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge.
It wasn't the Blues' best performance of the season, as some questionable moments allowed the Toon back into the game at points, but a number of stars put in a good showing during the 3-2 victory.
One of those was Cole Palmer, whose brilliant displays on the night saved the blushes of one of his less-than-impressive colleagues.
Cole Palmer's game in numbers
The former Manchester City prospect put in another barnstorming performance for the Stamford Bridge faithful last night. While a few other players, such as Mykhailo Mudryk and Nicolas Jackson, deserve some praise, the Englishman was named Sky Sports Player of the Match, and rightly so.
The 21-year-old was involved in practically everything good about the Pensioners' display, spearheading attacks, playing key passes, and even making a number of important tackles.
GOAL's Matt O'Connor-Simpson was so impressed with the Wythenshawe-born ace that he awarded him a 9/10 on the night, describing the youngster as 'sensational' and claiming that 'Chelsea would be lost without him.'
It might sound hyperbolic, but his statistics from the night show just how important he was to the win. In his 86 minutes of action, he scored one goal, provided one assist, took 49 touches, played three key passes, took two shots on target, succeeded in two of his dribbles, made one interception, and even made three tackles.
Minutes
86'
Goals
1
Assists
1
Touches
49
Key Passes
3
Shots on Target
2
Dribbles (Successful)
4 (2)
Interception
1
Tackles
3
Overall, without Palmer, Chelsea wouldn't have won the game and had that happened, another of the club's star attackers would have received a lot more criticism for his performance on the night.
Raheem Sterling's game in numbers
Yes, the Blues star who was saved by Palmer's brilliance against Newcastle was Raheem Sterling.
The 82-capped Englishman was named in the starting lineup after being dropped for the game at the Gtech Community Stadium, and it's fair to say he didn't do his chances of starting against Leicester City on Sunday any good.
It might sound harsh, but it's an opinion shared by O'Connor-Simpson, who awarded the former City ace a 4/10 on the night. He criticised him for a 'petulant foul', being 'pretty wasteful in the final third', and argued that he needs to 'start stepping up more regularly as a senior member of this young team.'
The 29-year-old's stats from the game don't make for pretty reading, either. In his 71 minutes of action, he took just 15 touches, completed seven passes, completed zero long balls or crosses, missed one big chance, won none of his six dues, lost the ball five times, committed one foul, and was dribbled past three times.
Minutes
71'
Touches
15
Accurate Passes
7/10 (70%)
Crosses
0
Long Balls
0
Big Chances Missed
1
Duels (Won)
6 (0)
Lost Possession
5
Fouls
1
Dribbled Past
3
In all, it was a horror performance by the experienced professional, and were it not for his younger teammate on the opposite wing, he'd be getting a lot more criticism for it.
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At the end of the day, Chelsea have a real chance of reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup on Sunday, and after last night, Pochettino should be starting anyone else on the left flank.
