Cole Palmer arrived quietly at Chelsea but he has already become not only the leading light of the team, but also one of the great emerging talents in European football.
His brutal display this Saturday against Brighton served as proof, with a feat that puts him squarely in the history books of the Premier League.
Palmer scored four goals in the first half. What’s more, his four strikes came in a period of just 20 minutes.
His performance was so spectacular that it set a Premier League record. Which? Let’s see…
Cole Palmer’s historic record with his four goals against Brighton
Cole Palmer became the first player in Premier League history to score four goals in the first half of a league match.
3 – Cole Palmer has now scored three Premier League hat-tricks, the joint-most of any Chelsea player in the competition’s history (level with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard). Rabbit. #CHEBHA pic.twitter.com/u5iz7QcGLN
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 28, 2024
The 22-year-old scored the first goal in the 21st minute and didn’t stop.
He scored again in the 28th, 31st and 41st minutes, sealing Chelsea’s 4-2 lead at half-time (which is how the game would ultimately end).
And he did it in a variety of different ways: pushing the ball in after a pass from a teammate, from a penalty, with a spectacular free-kick and with a great finish at the near post.
Palmer is the only player to score four goals in the first half of a Premier League game, but not the only one to score at least four in a half: Sergio Aguero (twice), Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and Jermain Defoe (in his case there were five goals) had achieved it but in second halves.
