Chelsea’s Cole Palmer writes Premier League history with four goals in the first half

Cole Palmer produced an incredible solo performance in Chelsea’s 4-2 win over Brighton on Saturday, becoming the first player to score four goals in the first half of a Premier League game.

After Chelsea equalized in the 21st minute, Palmer scored a penalty and a great free kick within the next 10 minutes to complete his hat-trick. He then added his fourth goal just before half-time when he opened the scoring from a pass from Jadon Sancho.

Four other players have scored four goals in the same half of a Premier League game, but the 22-year-old Palmer is the first to achieve the feat in the first 45 minutes.

During this time even more chances went wrong, with one attempt hitting the post and another attempt hitting the net from an offside position. Later in the second half, Palmer almost scored the fifth goal when he was one on one with Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, but sent his shot wide.

“I didn’t know about (the record), the boys just told me at the time,” Palmer said in a post-match interview with Sky Sports. “I’m really happy about it. When I missed the chance in the second half I was angry because it was early in the second half, I think it was the 55th, 56th minute, so I should have scored the goal.”

Georginio Rutter gave Brighton an early lead at Stamford Bridge when Chelsea failed to clear the ball from inside the penalty area, allowing the Frenchman to head into the net despite pressure from goalkeeper Robert Sánchez and defender Marc Cucurella.

But any chance of the visiting side, unbeaten in the Premier League going into the game, extending their early lead was quickly dashed by Palmer’s brilliance.

The England international scored with a goal on Nicolas Jackson and scored the second goal from the penalty spot after a foul on Sancho. This brought Palmer closer to setting another record for the most penalties taken in the Premier League without a miss. He currently has 10, one less than Yaya Touré’s mark.

A superb free-kick from 25 meters into the top right corner completed Palmer’s hat-trick before Brighton made it 3-2 thanks to another Chelsea defensive mistake – Carlos Barlebo pounced on a loose pass from Sánchez and fired into the net.

The frantic scoring spree in the first half wasn’t over yet as Palmer capitalized on Sancho’s pass and scored his fourth goal with his first-time finish.

Chelsea could have extended their lead in the second half. Jackson’s shot was cleared off the line by Adam Webster, while Palmer missed out on equaling the record for most goals in a Premier League game when he fired wide shortly afterwards.

The Blues have now won their last four games in all competitions and move up to fourth in the league table, one point behind Manchester City and Arsenal and two behind Liverpool.

Coach Enzo Maresca said of Palmer’s performance after the game: “He’s a special player, a simple guy, a humble guy.

“He doesn’t need to tell people how good he is because you can clearly see it. If you score four goals, that’s definitely a great achievement. But I said to Cole, he scored four goals, he could have scored two or three more, so it’s good that he’s still hungry and ambitious.”

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