December 24th 2023.
Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer have been dealt a major blow after being booked in Chelsea's disappointing 2-1 defeat against Wolves on Christmas Eve. The bookings mean they will miss the Premier League meeting with Crystal Palace on Wednesday, which is a significant setback for Mauricio Pochettino and a struggling Chelsea side.
The Blues were already dealing with a long list of injuries prior to the game, with a number of key players missing out. This made the defeat even harder to take, as they had multiple chances to win the game but failed to capitalise. Most notably, Sterling went through on goal and had Palmer and Nicolas Jackson to his right and an open goal in front of them, but he tamely shot straight at Jose Sa.
Pochettino was understandably disappointed with the result, and said Chelsea can only blame themselves for not winning the game. He said: "We made mistakes. We need to blame ourselves. That is why we didn't win. We had the chances to score. We are our own enemy. Today, we lost the game. We feel very disappointed because I think we deserve much more. This competition wounds you when you are not clinical enough."
The only bright spark in the game was a header from Christopher Nkunku on his Premier League debut. While it wasn't enough to secure victory, Pochettino said it was an "important" goal and that he was pleased with his performance.
Mauricio Pochettino will now have to prepare for the game against Crystal Palace without Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer, but he could have Romeo Lavia available for selection after the defender was on the bench at Molineux.
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