Brilliant Palmer scores four as Chelsea thrash Everton
The brilliant Cole Palmer scored four in a thumping Chelsea victory.
Palmer got a hat-trick in the space of 16 first-half minutes to put Chelsea in control, Nicolas Jackson got the fourth, Palmer’s penalty midway through the second half made it five and Alfie Gilchrist scored in stoppage time to complete the rout.
Palmer’s goals made it back-to-back hat-tricks at Stamford Bridge for the 21-year-old, 11 goals in his past six matches and 23 for the season.
It also made Palmer the first Chelsea player to score more than 20 goals in a campaign since Eden Hazard in 2018-19 – and the first-ever Blues player to score in seven successive Premier League matches at the Bridge.
His first of the night was sublime, his second a close-range header and his third an audacious lob to embarrass England keeper Jordan Pickford.
Palmer opened the scoring in fine style, taking possession on the turn, nutmegging Jarrad Branthwaite, flicking the ball to Jackson and meeting the striker’s return pass with a first-time strike beyond Pickford and into the corner of the net.
The recalled Mykhailo Mudryk was involved in the build-up to the second, pulling the ball back from the left for Jackson, whose shot was palmed by Pickford towards Palmer, who had the simple task of nodding home.
And when Pickford, well outside his area and attempting a pass to Amadou Onana, gave the ball straight to Palmer, the Chelsea talisman instantly lifted it into the net from 30 yards.
The three-goal blitz came after Beto missed a golden chance to put Everton ahead, kneeing the ball over the bar from a few yards out after being teed up by Seamus Coleman.
Beto thought he had reduced the deficit to 3-1 when he did manage to find the net by heading in Ashley Young’s right-wing cross, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Any hope Everton might have had of a comeback was crushed just before half-time when Jackson netted a classy goal of his own, controlling Marc Cucurella’s cross from the left, swiveling and then firing past the beleaguered Pickford.
Jackson and Noni Madueke showed considerably less class during bizarre scenes before and immediately after Palmer made it 5-0 from the spot.
The penalty was awarded for a foul on Palmer by Abdoulaye Doucouré. Despite Palmer being the designated taker, having scored eight out of eight previously for Chelsea, Jackson and Madueke both aggressively vied to take it and were furious when captain Conor Gallagher intervened and insisted Palmer be given the task.
They even continued to protest after Palmer calmly converted. Not even the scuffle among his team-mates fazed the ice-cool youngster.
Unity was emphatically restored when academy product Gilchrist scored his first Chelsea goal – much to the delight of the home fans.
Gilchrist, just on as a substitute, blasted in the loose ball after Ben Chilwell’s shot had been parried by Pickford.
Chelsea: Petrovic; Gusto (Gilchrist 88), Silva, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Gallagher; Madueke (Chukwuemeka 72), Palmer (Casadei 80), Mudryk (Chilwell 80); Jackson (Deivid 88).
Subs not used: Bettinelli, Badiashile, George, Dyer.
