Cole Palmer injury reality clear as what happened in Chelsea loss to Sunderland speaks volumes

For the first time since Cole Palmer limped off in the defeat to Manchester United last month, Chelsea clearly missed their talisman on Saturday afternoon.

The Blues threw away a one-goal lead at home to Sunderland in the Premier League, with the Black Cats scoring a 93rd-minute winner at Stamford Bridge. Enzo Maresca bemoaned his side's lack of creativity when speaking in his press conference after the game, and conceded his team were "not good enough" in the final third.

Bar Alejandro Garnacho's goal, coming inside four minutes, Chelsea really struggled to create anything in the form of clear-cut chances in SW6, with Palmer's absence feeling even more significant. The 23-year-old has been missing for the last seven games in all competitions because of a groin injury and is not expected to return until after the next international break.

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Chelsea's deep pool of attacking players has papered over the cracks left by Palmer's absence in recent weeks but said cracks were extremely visible at Stamford Bridge over the weekend. Sunderland came with a game-plan to try and frustrate the Blues by sitting deep and looking to hurt them on the counter-attack. With Regis Le Bris setting up with five defenders, Chelsea were surrounded by red and white shirts whenever they were in the final third.

Space was difficult to come by for those in blue. Chelsea’s only goal of the game came when Sunderland committed themselves and had only two central defenders back, allowing Garnacho with plenty of space down the left-hand side.

In the second-half, the west Londoners were restricted to crosses - recording 30 throughout the 90 minutes, the most they have attempted in a Premier League game this season - and pop shots from outside of the box; the sort of game when having someone of Palmer's quality comes in extremely handy. Palmer can be the difference against a stern defence, he has proven that on countless occasions for Chelsea with magic moments in front of goal.

Joao Pedro was brought in from Brighton in the summer for numerous reasons. His versatility in attack being one, but also his ability to break down a low block defence. The Brazilian's form, however, has been poor from the start of September up until now. The 24-year-old has now gone eight matches in all competitions without a goal for the Blues, and it has not been helped by a persistent groin injury.

The former Brighton attacker has been nursing the issue ever since the September international break. Even when Joao Pedro was played in the No.10 role, the position Maresca believes the Brazil international is most impactful in, he put in another frustrating performance on Saturday afternoon.

Chelsea travel to Molineux this week for their Carabao Cup fourth round tie with Wolves, and Maresca is expected to make wholesale changes to his side once again. Joao Pedro should be nowhere near that XI in reality, with the Brazilian desperately needing a rest so the Blues can get a version of the attacker somewhat close to what they had in the Club World Cup over the summer and the opening three matches of the season.

In Palmer's absence, Joao Pedro is crucial. This version of the Brazilian, though, is only highlighting the fact Palmer is not around even more for Chelsea.