Cole Palmer may have had the support of his new girlfriend in the stands, but it proved to be a frustrating evening for the England international as Chelsea fell to a 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa.
The 23-year-old was left red-faced after Enzo Maresca replaced him with Brazilian youngster Estevao shortly after Ollie Watkins’ equaliser for Villa at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.
And things went from bad to worse for the midfielder as he watched on helplessly from the bench as Watkins struck again in the 84th minute, firing Villa into the lead and sealing a damning defeat for the hosts in west London.
It was not only a disappointing result on the pitch for the midfielder, but also not the outcome he would have hoped for with his new girlfriend watching on from the stands.
Palmer has recently struck up a relationship with beauty specialist Olivia Holder, 23, who last night shared images to her Instagram from the executive box inside Stamford Bridge.
Holder posted a picture of herself wearing a fur coat, as well as a snap of her Chelsea star boyfriend controlling the ball during the first-half.
It comes just a week after the pair visited London’s Winter Wonderland together, with Palmer wearing a balaclava and a hoodie to remain incognito during their romantic evening.
The footballer split from his ex-girlfriend, nail technician Connie Grace, this July and has since found love with Holder, who runs a beauty clinic alongside her sister in Bromley.
It is unclear how long Palmer and Holder have been dating, but the beauty specialist first shared images of herself inside Stamford Bridge to her Instagram account on December 17.
They were then spotted at the festive attraction in Hyde Park, where Palmer was also pictured with his ex-girlfriend last year before the pair unfollowed each other days after he won the Club World Cup.
Asked if he was concerned by Palmer’s furious reaction to being subbed during Chelsea’s defeat to Villa, Blues boss Maresca: ‘No, no. He was working very good. He was on the ball and off the ball, pressing, he was very good.
‘We have another game now in 48 hours, so he was good and we are happy that he’s back.’
Palmer will be hoping that Holder will prove to be a lucky charm when Chelsea host Bournemouth on December 30.
