Enzo Maresca has urged Cole Palmer to keep pushing on after the Englishman went goalless for a seventh consecutive match.

Chelsea stormed to a 4-0 victory against bottom-placed outfit Southampton at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.

Following three consecutive defeats across all competitions, Maresca was in need of a win to soften any pressure that might have been beginning to grow.

Under-fire striker Christopher Nkunku opened the scoring midway through the first half, with Pedro Neto and Levi Colwill adding another couple of goals before the break.

On the conversation itself, he added: “I said he has been lucky in his career.

Man of the Match Marc Cucurella was on hand to add a fourth late on, but despite a flurry of golden chances, Palmer wasn’t able to end his scoring drought.

Maresca was spotted deep in conversation with the former Manchester City ace after the final whistle, with the Italian explaining his conversation to TNT Sports.

He said: “It is quite easy. All of them, they went through some bad moments, it is normal.

“You cannot expect every season or game, it is normal. He is a human being. He misses goals, he misses some things, it is about how you react I was telling him it’s OK.”

“He has shared changing rooms with top players and he knows they go through bad moments. Keep working, keep laughing, enjoy your football.”

It now means Palmer has managed just two goal contributions in the league since the turn of the year, with his last coming in mid-January.

Palmer took to social media to address the criticism post-match, writing in an Instagram story: “Well done lads +3. Don’t worry, I will be back.”

Overall, it’s a result that puts Chelsea right back into the Champions League picture, with the two-time winners moving up to fourth ahead of Wednesday night's action.

On the direction Chelsea are heading in, Maresca pleaded with fans to be patient. He said: "The only thing I can say is that in this moment the fans have to trust.

"We're in the right process and the right direction. Since we started we've been top four most games of the season.

"The fans have to trust the players. They are doing a huge effort every day to bring this club to the Champions League."

As a result of being knocked out of the FA Cup in the previous round, Chelsea will now enjoy a rare weekend off, before making the trip to Copenhagen for their Conference League round of 16 tie next Thursday.