Chelsea stars Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto hit out at lack of respect

Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto both vented their frustrations after Chelsea won the Club World Cup, feeling that people have disrespected the team over the last season.

The Blues were fantastic on Sunday as they beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in New Jersey, causing a significant upset against the Champions League holders.

Enzo Maresca’s side became the first to win the revamped Club World Cup, adding the trophy to the UEFA Conference League title they claimed at the end of May.

With a return to the Champions League next season also secured thanks to finishing fourth in the Premier League, it has been a successful campaign for Chelsea.

Palmer was once again the hero for his side on Sunday as he scored twice in the 3-0 win over PSG, with new signing Joao Pedro netting the third.

The England international praised what Maresca is achieving with his squad and fired back at those criticising Chelsea under the Italian.

‘He’s building something special, something important,’ Palmer told DAZN. ‘We’ve got a young team, everyone’s talked a lot of s**t about us all season but I feel like we’re going in the right direction.’

Malo Gusto also hits out at critics

French full-back Gusto also has heard negative voices over the last season and felt that the Blues have not been given the respect they deserve.

‘It was a clear goal, and we achieved it,’ the 22-year-old told DAZN of the Club World Cup triumph.

‘A lot of people spoke badly about us. They didn’t respect us. We showed that we deserved to win this trophy.

‘Since Chelsea started the new project, we haven’t necessarily been respected. People tend to say we’re young, that we’re not used to playing these big matches. We’ve been able to compete against these kinds of teams.’

Manager Enzo Maresca reflected on the second triumph of the season by saying: ‘We are very happy. I have always said we are proud to be here playing in this competition. We spent one month here and in the end it was worth it.

‘I think that during the season we were heading in the right direction and we ended the season very well and now we’ve lifted this fantastic trophy.’

What next for Chelsea?

The Chelsea players now head off on a well-earned holiday, with their next fixture coming on August 8 against Bayer Leverkusen in a pre-season friendly at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues then face AC Milan two days later in another friendly before the Premier League season starts against Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on August 17.

As for their title aspirations, Chelsea are clearly contenders for the Premier League going into the season after their trophy-laden end to the last campaign.

However, the bookmakers currently have them fourth-favourites behind defending champions Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City.