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

Enzo Maresca lifted the lid on his chat with Cole Palmer after Chelsea returned to winning ways with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Southampton. Chelsea have experienced a drastic dip in form over the winter period and entered tonight’s Stamford Bridge contest on the back of three straight defeats in all competitions.

The struggling Saints were happy enough to roll over at Stamford Bridge to get the Blues back in the Champions League places after a miserable run of form

Merson told Sportskeeda: “Chelsea are struggling so badly at the moment. I look at them and they are missing Nicolas Jackson quite badly. Without him, I don’t see a real pattern of play. Jackson’s absence is also affecting Cole Palmer, who has to drop deeper now.”

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca says the club will sit down to discuss Cole Palmer's future at the end of the season.

Chelsea put a run of three straight defeats behind them with a 4-0 thrashing of Southampton. Goals from Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto, Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella ensured Enzo Maresca’s side took what always looked an ideal opportunity to return to winning ways.

Enzo Maresca's side brush aside awful Saints to stop the rot at Stamford Bridge and move back into fourth place in the Premier League table.