Chelsea forward Cole Palmer has been in incredible form since signing for the club from Manchester City for a fee of £40 million in 2023.
After a stellar first campaign in which he scored 22 goals in 33 Premier League games, the 22-year-old signed a contract extension until 2033 over the summer and secured a place in England‘s squad for the European Championship.
Now he has hit the ground running again and became the first PL player to score four goals in a first half in Saturday’s 4-2 win against Brighton — with former Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho getting three assists.
Palmer now has six goals from six games in the league this season, so here are some of his key stats.
All stats from ESPN Research.
– Palmer’s four goals vs. Brighton came from five shots in the first half, all on target, and he had only 21 touches.
– Having managed just six goals and two assists from 41 games in all competitions for Manchester City, Palmer now has 31 goals and 19 assists in 53 games for Chelsea.
– Palmer has 42 PL goal contributions (goals and assists) since the start of last season, tied with Man City striker Erling Haaland for most in that span.
– He has already scored three Premier League hat tricks despite making only 39 appearances. That is tied for the most by a Chelsea player in PL history alongside Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.
– Palmer joins Lampard as the only players with multiple four-goal games for Chelsea; he also scored four vs. Everton in April, while Lampard scored four vs. Derby and Aston Villa.
– The 20-minute span for his four goals vs. Brighton is the fifth-fastest by a player to score four goals in PL history.
– He is the fourth PL player to score four goals in a single half but the first to do so in the first half. The others, who all scored in the second half, are:
> Jermain Defoe, 5 for Tottenham vs. Wigan in November 2009.
> Sergio Agüero, 4 for Manchester City vs. Leicester in February 2018.
> Agüero, 4 for Manchester City vs. Newcastle in October 2015.
> Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, 4 for Manchester United vs. Nottingham Forest in February 1999.
– Palmer has scored 10 goals from 10 penalties so far and is closing on the PL record of 15 held by Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
