Chelsea FC won Monday night’s Premier League match by a clear margin, conceding half a dozen goals to Everton FC. Cole Palmer delivered an evening of superlatives – and yet the Blues embarrassed themselves
leg kick, one-two with teammate Nicolas Jackson, left-footed finish into the far corner – goal. Cole Palmer opened Monday night’s Premier League game in Palmer style. His first goal in the 13th minute was another example of how easy it is for the 21-year-old to score goals in arguably the best league in the world. The mixture of finesse, no frills and slight arrogance was also too much for Everton FC – the Toffees went down to defeat at Stamford Bridge.
Because Palmer was also unstoppable in the aftermath, making it 2:0 with his head and then ducking Jordan Pickford from 30 meters after his misplaced pass – with his “weaker” right foot. There were 16 minutes between Palmer’s first and third goals, all of which he scored with different parts of his body. The perfect hat-trick, in other words, and the fastest of its kind in Premier League history. This record, previously set by Aston Villa’s Tommy Johnson, had stood for 29 years. However, Palmer beat the record by a relaxed nine minutes
In the footsteps of Drogba
Palmer also entered the club’s own history books, becoming only the second player after Didier Drogba to score a treble in two home games in a row. He previously achieved the feat almost two weeks ago in a dramatic 4-3 win over Manchester United – another evening full of records
A Blues record now belongs to Palmer himself, the attacking midfielder becoming the first Chelsea player to score in seven consecutive Premier League games at Stamford Bridge. Palmer’s rise is also likely to make Erling Haaland sweat, as the Englishman has drawn level with his former team-mate in the goalscoring charts
Palmer’s 20th goal of the season, the interim 5:0, was preceded by a skirmish that put a dent in what should have been a perfect evening for the Blues. Palmer, of course, was awarded a penalty in the second half. Noni Madueke and Jackson then fought over the execution like two schoolchildren in the playground. Teammates intervened and calmed the two squabblers down. Madueke seemed to have prevailed, but Palmer, the designated penalty taker, was still on the pitch. As a result, the man of the evening grabbed the ball, which neither Madueke nor Jackson welcomed. The latter even had to be pushed away by Palmer and captain Conor Gallagher
“That’s unacceptable “
Palmer converted safely, continuing his 100% rate from the spot at the ninth attempt. However, the preceding scenes remained the number one topic of conversation, which also prompted Mauricio Pochettino to make a clear statement after the game. “What happened is a shame,” said the Argentine, who made it clear that Palmer was the designated marksman and deserved his standing. “I’m very angry about this action, it sends a bad image to the outside world. I would like to apologize to the fans, it is unacceptable,” were Pochettino’s clear words.
It was a scene that gave a deep insight into the emotional world of the Blues – despite immense spending in recent transfer windows, Chelsea are having a disappointing season. Tenth place in the league is still too low for their own high standards, but a title is still possible for the Londoners – the semi-final of the FA Cup at Manchester City is on Saturday (6.15pm). The Blues can only hope that Palmer still feels at home at the Etihad
