King Cole fires Blues’ belief ahead of Cup semi
Youngster joins Haaland at top of charts and gives his England Euro chances a huge boost
IN THIS sort of form, Cole Palmer will give Chelsea the belief that they can do the improbable and beat Manchester City at Wembley on Saturday.
Palmer scored four times last night, including a perfect hat-trick in the first half, to draw level with Erling Haaland as the joint-top scorer in the Premier League on 20 goals.
The 21-year-old inspired Chelsea to their biggest win of the season and fired a warning to his former club ahead of their FA Cup semi-final clash.
Pep Guardiola’s City have clicked into ominous form as they seek another Treble and are unbeaten in 27 matches in all competitions stretching back more than four months.
But Palmer’s brilliant form makes Chelsea a real threat, as he bids to fire the Blues to European qualification and an unlikely trophy.
Chelsea have taken points off City home and away this season — drawing 4-4 at Stamford Bridge and 1-1 at the Etihad. Palmer scored a 97th-minute equaliser from the penalty spot in the game in west London and has taken his game to another level this season.
City must be wondering why they sold him for £42.5million last summer. That fee looks like a bargain and he is now worth at least double that after 25 goals in all competitions this season.
After his hat-trick against Manchester United, Palmer is the first Chelsea player to score back-to-back trebles at Stamford Bridge since Didier Drogba in 2010. He is also the first to score four times in a Premier League match since Frank Lampard in 2010.
Palmer curled in his first after nutmegging Everton defender Jarrod Branthwaite and a one-two with Nicolas Jackson.
His second was Lampard-esque. After Jackson’s initial shot was saved, he ghosted into the box to head in the rebound.
Palmer then completed his hat-trick by lobbing Jordan Pickford from 35 yards out on his weaker right foot after pouncing on a loose pass by the Everton goalkeeper.
It is fitting that Palmer has become the first player since Eden Hazard to score 20 Premier League goals for Chelsea, as he is carrying the club in much the same way as the Belgian once did.
Nine of his 20 Premier League goals have come from the penalty spot, and he is chasing Yaya Toure’s record of 11 consecutive penalties scored in the Premier League.
Palmer had to deal with embarrassing scenes before his penalty after Noni Madueke and Jackson both tried to take the ball from him.
He ultimately asserted his dominance after Conor Gallagher and Thiago Silva intervened, as players argued about who should take the spot-kick.
Similar scenes played out when Raheem Sterling missed his penalty against
Leicester last month with
On current form, Gareth Southgate is going to find it difficult to leave Palmer out of his squad for Euro 2024
Palmer on the pitch, and Madueke also tried to take the ball from his team-mate against Manchester United last week.
Pochettino must take some blame for not establishing Palmer as his penalty-taker before last night and allowing the decision to be made on the pitch. But he has finally seen the light, confirming after the game that Palmer is the designated taker.
England assistant manager Steve Holland was at Stamford Bridge last night, and Gareth Southgate is going to find it difficult to leave Palmer out of his squad for Euro 2024 this summer.
Southgate has an established front four of Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham. Jarrod Bowen did well on the right against Brazil and Belgium last month, but Palmer is surely the bench option if England need a goal, while his exemplary penalty record could be key in any shootouts.
UEFA are considering increasing squad sizes for Euro 2024 to 26 players. Discussions were held last week and Southgate has suggested he would be in favour of 26-man squads in Germany, which would boost Palmer’s hopes.
For Chelsea, he is their best chance of salvaging something from a difficult season.
His team-mate Malo Gusto claimed last night that he would rather have Palmer over Haaland.
“He is special,” said the Chelsea rightback, as Palmer gears up for another big game to show his old club what they are missing.