Cole Palmer given special role and four more things spotted in Chelsea training

Enzo Maresca has been putting his players through their paces ahead of Chelsea’s clash against Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga champions will host the Blues at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night as the new Champions League campaign gets underway.

Chelsea will be determined to return to winning ways after a heartbreaking result against Brentford at the weekend. The Club World Cup champions conceded an equaliser in the dying embers of stoppage time, dropping two crucial points.

Meanwhile, Bayern enjoyed a 5-0 win over Hamburg as they extended their perfect start to the season. The German giants have won each of their first five games across all competitions, scoring 19 goals.

While they may fancy their chances on home turf, the west London outfit have recently welcomed back Cole Palmer from the treatment room. So, with that being said, football.london has picked out five moments you may have missed in training ahead of Chelsea’s clash against Bayern.

Palmer given special role

Cole Palmer was the heart of the action at Cobham. The Chelsea star, who marked his return from injury with a goal against Brentford at the weekend, was the only player seen wearing a bright pink bib, while everybody else either wore yellow or went without.

This suggests that Palmer was the designated ‘magic man’, a role that grants someone the freedom to play on the team in possession during a drill or small-sided game. By introducing this rule in training, players are encouraged to pass and move while also preparing themselves for transitions and turnovers.

With Levi Colwill out, the Blues have been caught on the break a couple of times this season. So, Maresca could have been exploring ways to bolster his backline in preparation for Wednesday evening.

‘Mentality monster’ oversees training

Willie Isa, whom Chelsea appointed as player support and development officer earlier this year, was watching training from the sidelines. The 36-year-old, who’s previously been described as a ‘cultural architect’ and a ‘mentality monster’ by his former rugby league colleagues, has had a tremendous impact at Stamford Bridge.

Since he first started working with the operations and welfare team, the Blues have won the Conference League and the Club World Cup. With more silverware up for grabs, Maresca will be hoping Isa can work his magic again.

Estevao returns to action

Estevao Willian returned to training. The 18-year-old winger missed Chelsea’s clash against Brentford at the weekend due to illness, so it seems like he’s made a full recovery.

Hato grows in confidence

Jorrel Hato appears to be growing in confidence. The 19-year-old defender, who Chelsea signed from Ajax in the summer, has been acclimatising himself in west London and, more importantly, the Premier League.

Hato made his first start for the Blues at the weekend, and he’ll be hoping to keep his place in Maresca’s side on Wednesday night. The Netherlands international was given an inverted role against Brentford, but, being more comfortable bringing the ball out of defence, he could be the answer to Chelsea’s susceptibility to quick counter-attacks.

All smiles at Cobham

All in all, the players looked to be in good spirits at Cobham. Pedro Neto, Jamie Gittens and Estevao seemed to be enjoying themselves ahead of the highly-anticipated clash.