Palmer's absence takes its toll as Chelsea put in worst performance under Maresca by key metric
Alex Olise
Dailysports's expert
Translated by the editors
In the 29th round of the English Premier League, a London derby took place where Arsenal narrowly defeated Chelsea.
The only goal of the match was scored by Mikel Merino, who was forced to play up front due to injuries to the forwards. Chelsea couldn't count on Cole Palmer, who was sidelined with a muscle injury. Without him, the Blues delivered an overtly weak performance, marking their worst under Maresca by a key metric.
The issue was the team's expected goals (xG) statistic, which stood at a meager 0.35. In 43 matches with the Italian at the helm, Chelsea had never created so little in attack.
Additionally, the Blues remain in fourth place in the league standings, but they could be displaced by Newcastle, who will play their 29th round match against Crystal Palace on April 16.
