Middlesbrough legend Stewart Downing has praised one Chelsea player despite the Blues’ loss against his former side last night.

Chelsea lost 1-0 to Middlesbrough in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie versus Michael Carrick’s men, with Cole Palmer missing a couple of big chances.

However, Stewart Downing still hailed the attacker as a “brilliant player” on BBC Radio 5 Live.

It was not a great game for Palmer, but the 21-year-old is still having a good season overall for Chelsea.

In total, he has come up with an impressive 15 goal contributions in 21 appearances following his £45m move (Evening Standard) from Manchester City last summer.

Stewart Downing praises Cole Palmer

Despite Chelsea paying for his missed chances, Downing still could not help but praise Palmer after his fantastic campaign.

On the England international, he said: “First and foremost Cole Palmer is a brilliant player. But he has missed two glorious chances — Boro will have to ride their luck again in the second leg. Two of the big chances came from Boro’s mistakes, so there is the downfall for them.

“It will be a big second leg, but I reckon Boro are confident going into the game.”

Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty ImagesCole Palmer is a brilliant player

There is no denying it. Palmer was disappointing in Chelsea’s defeat at the Riverside last night. However, he is still a quality footballer and has shown that this season.

It is hard to imagine where Mauricio Pochettino‘s side would be without him. The former City man has been directly involved in 12 of their Premier League goals.

On WhoScored, Palmer is actually the second-highest rated player in the Blues’ squad with an average match rating of 7.04.

Former England and Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster recently compared Palmer to Phil Foden, whom he played alongside at the Etihad, which can only be viewed as a compliment.