Chelsea extended their winning streak to four matches on the spin across all competitions after swatting aside previously unbeaten Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Blues claimed a stunning 4-2 victory over the Seagulls at Stamford Bridge, with talisman Cole Palmer slamming four goals past Bart Verbruggen.
Georginio Rutter capitalised on a howler from former Seagull Robert Sanchez to put Brighton in front, but their lead didn’t last long as Palmer levelled matters in the 21st minute.
The Balon d’Or nominee and 2023/24 PFA Young Player of the Year then netted a two-minute brace to wrap up a stunning hat-trick before bagging his fourth goal within 20 minutes to render Carlos Baleba’s 34th-minute strike inconsequential.
Palmer’s four goals will undoubtedly grab the headlines, but he could have easily scored a double hat-trick, having missed two big chances.
He also created two big chances and completed four key passes.
Former Arsenal winger Theo Walcott was left awestruck by Palmer’s performance and labelled the former Manchester City talent as the ‘main man’ for the Blues.
“There’s nothing more I can really say about Cole Palmer,” Walcott said on BBC Sports. “I am speechless. All four goals are brilliant too.
“His elegance. His beauty with the ball. His composure at such a young age. He has grown into his own at Chelsea, and he is the main man.
“He has got a bit of finesse, Bergkamp, Van Persie about him, and they weren’t bad at all. You can’t leave him out of any team, and I am talking about England too.”
Chelsea’s result against Brighton on home turf means they have picked up 13 points from six games and are perched at third in the Premier League table.
The Blues are still two points off pacesetters Liverpool, who edged Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 at Molineux Stadium late in the day.
Enzo Maresca’s free-scoring troops will now turn their attention to Europa Conference League football next week.
They welcome Belgian top-flight side Gent to Stamford Bridge for their league phase curtain-raiser.
Stats from Sofascore.com
