Chelsea’s Cole Palmer hits record four goals in first half to rock Brighton | Premier League

Cole Palmer FC may take some stopping if they can keep this up. While these days it’s doing the rest of Enzo Maresca’s side a disservice to suggest this is a one-man team, another irresistible performance from the England forward that saw him become the first player in Premier League history to score four times before half-time made it four wins on the trot for Chelsea.

Palmer was the centre of attention after his hat-trick in the space of just 10 minutes inspired a sensational response, Chelsea having fallen behind to Georginio Rutter’s early opener following Robert Sánchez’s mistake against his former club. The Chelsea goalkeeper will be mightily relieved that another mistake to allow Carlos Baleba to pull one back did not cause greater damage as Palmer made sure of the points with another brilliant finish before half-time.

But while Fabian Hürzeler was left aggrieved that his side were not awarded a penalty at the start of the second half, their insistence of playing a high defensive line backfired spectacularly as Chelsea enjoyed their afternoon in the sunshine and moved into the top four. Perhaps Maresca has found some method in all the madness?

Given their recent history, this is a fixture that Brighton’s fans had clearly been looking forward to. Their booing of their three former players in Chelsea’s starting lineup began with the first whistle and it didn’t take long for one of them to give them something to cheer.

Sánchez had been due a mistake after a solid start to the season, although he wasn’t entirely to blame after Levi Colwill made a mess of a clearance in only the seventh minute. The Chelsea goalkeeper was right to sense the danger but was left stranded as Rutter was able to head into the empty net. “There’s only one Robert Sánchez,” sang the delighted away end. Chelsea looked stunned and Sánchez needed to be alert when Rutter’s cross was deflected on target soon after.

But with Hürzeler having insisted he would not change his risky defensive tactics despite the obvious threat posed by Chelsea’s pace on the break, they were horribly exposed again and again as Palmer completed his hat-trick in double-quick time. The England forward had first hit the post before seeing one effort disallowed for offside.

But Brighton didn’t learn their lesson and a poor back pass from Adam Webster – drafted in for his first start of the season after illness ruled out Jan Paul van Hecke – was seized on by Nicolas Jackson to set up Palmer.

Jadon Sancho thought he had put Chelsea ahead soon after, only for Noni Madueke to be judged marginally offside. A desperate challenge from Baleba after Sancho had played a brilliant one-two with Palmer allowed him to sweep home his second from the spot. His third – a superb free-kick into the top corner that left Bart Verbruggen grasping at thin air – came after Pervis Estupiñán had been fortunate not to be sent off for bringing down the marauding Jackson. “You’re not singing any more,” came the riposte from Chelsea’s supporters.

Yet despite their total dominance, Sánchez handed Brighton hope when he inexplicably gifted the ball to Baleba to pull one back before producing a strong save to keep out the Cameroon’s midfielder’s shot from distance. Luckily for him, Palmer was on hand to restore their advantage when he cut in from the left flank and beat Verbruggen at his near post to complete his remarkable achievement just a few months after scoring four against Everton here, including a 16-minute hat-trick.

It appeared that neither manager had instructed his players to calm things down as the second half began in a similarly frantic fashion. Hürzeler was hopping mad after referee Peter Banks turned down Brighton’s appeals for a penalty for a foul by Malo Gusto on Kaoru Mitoma. Webster at least partly redeemed himself when he cleared Jackson’s shot off the line after more confusion in the Brighton defence but it seemed inevitable that Chelsea would score again when Palmer volleyed just over from distance before firing wide when clean through again.

Webster was finally put out of his misery after that and the afternoon nearly got worse for Brighton but Marc Cucurella’s volley from a corner was ruled out for offside.