Palmer makes Premier League history with four-goal first half in Chelsea win

Cole Palmer became the first player in Premier League history to score four goals in the first half of a game on Saturday, as Chelsea beat Brighton 4-2 at Stamford Bridge.

Palmer netted all of Chelsea’s goals in a game featuring six first-half goals and none after the break, with Georginio Rutter and Carlos Baleba on target for the visitors.

No player had ever previously scored four times in the first half of a Premier League match, while Palmer’s first three goals came within a span of just nine minutes and 46 seconds.

Only five other players have previously scored a quicker hat-trick in the competition, with Sadio Mane’s remarkable two-minute, 56-second treble for Southampton against Aston Villa in 2015 the fastest.

Gabriel Jesus previously held the record for the quickest time to net four times in a Premier League game, doing so by the 53rd minute as Manchester City trounced Watford 5-1 in April 2022.

There were 19 minutes and 57 seconds between Palmer’s first goal and his fourth, with Jermaine Defoe holding the record for the swiftest four-goal haul in Premier League history, needing 17 minutes and 56 seconds for Tottenham versus Wigan Athletic in 2009.

Things could have gone even better for Palmer, who also struck the post with a dinked effort and saw a close-range finish chalked off for offside with Chelsea 1-0 down in the first half.

Palmer has now scored three Premier League hat-tricks for Chelsea, the joint-most of any Blues player in the competition’s history, level with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.

Quite the game at Stamford Bridge… #thecolepalmershow pic.twitter.com/FQGd6VOvcJ

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) September 28, 2024