Rogers and Palmer helping each other thrive

Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers combined to deadly effect for Chelsea against Leeds; The Radar column looks at how their on-pitch relationship is flourishing under Xabi Alonso; Alex Scott's strong start to the season for Bournemouth also features

Welcome to The Radar , a Sky Sports column in which Nick Wright uses a blend of data and opinion to shed light on need-to-know Premier League stories. This week:

🔺 Palmer-Rogers double act analysed 🔺 Scott starring for Bournemouth 🔺 Crystal Palace's tough-tackler

Morgan Rogers was bemused when he found out Cole Palmer was man of the match in Chelsea's win over Leeds. "I got four assists," he pleaded. "I'll say you should have had it," replied a smirking Palmer. "Don't mention me. I'm just a bystander," added Rogers.

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The amusing exchange, captured by the Sky Sports cameras before their interview, showed the chemistry between the pair. It can be seen on the pitch too. Do they feel like they've been playing together forever? "We pretty much have," answered Rogers.

Close friends and former team-mates in England and Manchester City's youth teams, Rogers and Palmer have picked up where they left off at Chelsea, wreaking havoc either side of Joao Pedro and providing a combined 11 goals and assists in five games so far.

Their half-time introductions inspired Chelsea's comeback on Wednesday. After Rogers had ingeniously flicked the ball off his backside to set up Palmer's equaliser, the pair could be seen combining in the lead-up to Chelsea's third and sixth goals too.

Those combinations have become a theme. Across Chelsea's five games so far, Rogers has played nearly twice as many passes to Palmer than any other player, with 19, while only defender Josh Acheampong has received more passes from Palmer, on 15.

They have only directly combined for one goal, surprisingly. But that total could easily be higher. In the 4-3 win over Brighton, they took it in turns to tee each other up, only to be denied by last-ditch blocks. In their opener against Fulham, Rogers created three shooting chances for Palmer but he couldn't capitalise.

In total, they have created nine chances for each other, which is more than twice as many as any other two players in the Premier League, ahead of five pairings, among them Palmer and Joao Pedro and Antoine Semenyo and Erling Haaland, on four.

Although most expected Palmer to be the provider for Rogers, it has more commonly been the other way around so far. Palmer finished last season with a run of one goal in 13 games but has four in five this term, his threat increased thanks in part to his new team-mate.

Rogers explained how they intended to help each other after his arrival. "We have different qualities, different ways of playing and affecting games," he said. "Ultimately, it's about scoring and creating and linking the game. We can do that in our own ways."

The differences can be seen in how they feed each other. Rogers typically aims to find Palmer in space between the opponent's defensive and midfield lines, as in the examples below.

Rogers is similarly adept at finding space between the lines. But he also offers a threat in behind, something Palmer has attempted to exploit with passes targeting his forward runs.

It helps that in Xabi Alonso's system, the width is provided by the wing-backs. This gives Rogers and Palmer freedom to come inside, putting them in close proximity to each other and giving them more opportunities to combine in central areas.

With Rogers and Palmer playing off each other centrally, Chelsea have directed a higher percentage of attacks through the middle third of the pitch than any other Premier League side.

Hull, visitors to Stamford Bridge on Saturday, are the next side tasked with stopping them. Recent evidence suggests their run of three straight clean sheets may be at risk.

While Chelsea were able to strengthen their attack with the signing of Rogers, their efforts to bolster their midfield were less successful. One of the players who got away from them in the summer continues to go from strength to strength at Bournemouth.

Alex Scott was valued highly by Andoni Iraola and the same is true for Marco Rose. "I love him," he said after their 2-2 draw with Newcastle last weekend. It was the third game in a row in which they have lost a lead late on and it felt particularly harsh on Scott.

The 23-year-old, scorer of Bournemouth's opener in their previous game against Everton, was the best player on the pitch at St James' Park. In addition to having a hand in both Bournemouth goals, he had more touches, made more final-third passes and contested more duels than any of his team-mates.

It was a continuation of a strong start to the season. Scott has showcased his blend of physical and technical qualities, working tirelessly and eating up ground as he shuttles between both boxes. There is a sense that he is taking more responsibility too.

It all bodes well for his future. Carry on like this and the clubs who coveted him during the summer will likely return in January. But for now Bournemouth will just hope for more of the same from him when they face Brentford at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday.

Anan Khalaili has big shoes to fill at Crystal Palace having replaced Daniel Munoz in the right wing-back position. He provided evidence of his attacking threat with the driving run to set up Ben Chilwell's winning goal against Fulham last weekend.

But it's at the other end that he's been busiest. Khalaili has had some awkward moments defensively but he clearly relishes his one-vs-one battles and he has come out on top more often than not.

In fact, in addition to winning the second-most duels in the division so far, the 21-year-old, a summer signing from Union Saint-Gilloise, ranks top for tackles. His total of 17 puts him five clear of any other player. It's some going given he has only started twice.

Four Premier League games will be shown live on Sky Sports this weekend, starting with Tottenham vs Everton on Saturday evening.

Sunday's action sees Coventry host Brighton at 2pm, followed by the Manchester derby as Man Utd face Man City at 4.30pm.

The weekend's live coverage concludes with Monday Night Football , when Leeds host Newcastle in the 8pm kick-off, with coverage starting at 6.30pm.

Arsenal's ever-improving defence was the focus of the last column ahead of their meeting with Morgan Rogers and Chelsea .