Palmer scores four as Chelsea rout Everton
Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer scored four goals, which included a hat-trick inside the first 29 minutes, as his side thrashed sorry Everton 6-0 at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Monday.
Palmer opened the scoring in the 13th minute by curling a beautiful strike into the bottom corner after nutmegging Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite and playing a one-two with teammate Nicolas Jackson.
He doubled the lead five minutes later, heading in a rebound after a Jackson shot had been saved by Everton keeper Jordan Pickford.
And the 21-year-old completed his hat-trick midway through the first half in style after he intercepted a poor pass from Pickford before lobbing the England goalkeeper from 40 yards out.
Jackson then inflicted more doom on Everton just before the break by volleying in Marc Cucurella’s cut-back, before Palmer added his fourth from the penalty spot in the 63rd minute.
And Chelsea scored a sixth in the 90th minute when substitute Alfie Gilchrist netted his first goal for the club from a tight angle.
Chelsea stretched their Premier League unbeaten run to eight matches and are three points off seventh-placed Manchester United, who currently sit in the Premier League’s last European spot, having played one game fewer.
As for Everton, they were playing in their first match since receiving a two-point deduction for a second breach of Premier League financial rules. They stayed 16th, two points above the relegation zone.
Cole Palmer is the fourth player to score four goals for Chelsea in a single Premier League match, after Frank Lampard (2), Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Gianluca Vialli
Palmer is having a phenomenal season and once again boosted his England Euro 2024 selection hopes with his second consecutive hat-trick at Stamford Bridge.
He has scored 20 Premier
League goals this season, putting him level with Erling Haaland at the top of the golden boot race. Incredibly, before his move to Chelsea from Manchester City this summer Palmer had never scored a league goal.
Now the 21-year-old is a lynchpin for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. He has scored the most league goals in a season for the Blues since Diego Costa also hit 20 in 2016-17.
Everton defender James Tarkowski said it was “the most embarrassed I have felt as an individual” after the game.
“It shows where we are at today, we can only apologise to the fans who supported us,” said Tarkowski. “It is on the players. It is not on the manager and the staff.
“No excuses on our behalf - we need to brush ourselves down as we have a big few weeks coming up. We conceded six goals and you should feel embarrassed.”