"We need to" – Cole Palmer explains what the players did wrong in Fulham defeat

Today at 12:32 AM

Chelsea attacker Cole Palmer has held his hands up and spoken for the players in admitting what they did wrong in the defeat to Fulham this week.

On the annual Boxing Day set of festive fixtures, it was not a day to be celebrating at Stamford Bridge as the Blues went down 2-1 against local neighbours Fulham in the Premier League, missing another chance to put some big pressure on league leaders Liverpool.

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Palmer put Chelsea 1-0 up and they looked like they were going to hold out for the win. But Fulham scored two late goals to win the game and shock Chelsea.

Palmer says the team lost control

'It's football, it happens. We lost control for 20 minutes and they scored two,' said Palmer on the Chelsea website.

'We were winning for the majority of the game, but to lose at the end is difficult. First half we played well. We controlled the game. We had quite a few chances.

'Second half we seemed to lose a bit of control. They are a good transition team, they like to run, direct, so we got caught with their game and we paid the price.

'I don't think we lost energy or intensity, like the manager said we just lost control of the game, and we turned it into a game they're better than us at. We need to try and manage the game a bit better.

'It's a good opportunity to learn, rest, recover, and play in three days.

'We just keep going now. We knew we weren't going to win every single game we play. It's the manager's first season with us and we're learning.

'Everyone has said from the start we're not a title contender, we're just playing, winning, getting better as a team, growing, and that's what we're doing.'