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 where he scored 22 goals in 33 Premier League games, the 22-year-old signed a new 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 ever 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 a total of six goals from six games in the league this season, so here are some of his key stats.
All stats from ESPN Stats & Information
– Palmer’s four goals vs. Brighton came from five shots in the first half, all on target, and he only had 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-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 between 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.
