Cole Palmer has had a stunning campaign in 2023/24 after a big-money move from the periphery at Man City onto centre-stage at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea have spent a lot of money over the past few years and have bought numerous players in the £30m+ price bracket. However, whilst most of those have looked like works in progress, at best, the £40m (plus up to £2.5m in add-ons) they paid for Palmer already looks like an absolute steal.
The Manchester-born attacking midfielder has represented England at every level and due to his sensational form in spring 2024 he is really pressing for inclusion in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the 2024 Euros. He had been enjoying an excellent season in 2023 but in 2024 he has really taken things up a notch.
As the weather has warmed up, so has Palmer and his stats right now are red-hot, with 12 goal involvements (goals and assists combined) in his last five Premier League games at the time of writing. He took things to a whole new level recently when he lashed home four goals against Everton in a 6-0 rout on the 15th of April, 2024.
That included a so-called “perfect hat-trick” and, in fact, the less well-known “flawless” hat-trick. Read on as we explain how the Euros hopeful ripped the Toffees apart, give more info on his perfect treble and also explain what is meant by a flawless hat-trick. We will conclude by taking a wider look at the ex-Man City player’s wider career.
Chelsea 6-0 Everton: Palmer Destroys Everton
Coming into this game, Everton had one of the better defences in the Premier League, despite their lowly position. Most football fans were aware that scoring goals was a problem for the Merseyside club but not everyone would have realised that heading into the Stamford Bridge clash only the top three had conceded fewer goals than Sean Dyche’s men. Remarkably, in fact, that remains the case even after the 6-0 thumping, which shows just how impressive the home side’s attacking was.
Everton started brightly, pressing high up the pitch, but Chelsea looked dangerous whenever they went forward. After just 13-minutes Palmer produced a moment of magic to put his side ahead. He nutmegged the Everton defender, then backheeled a pass to Nicolas Jackson and produced an instant finish when he received the ball back on the edge of the area. Just a few minutes later his task was far simpler when he headed home from close range after Jordan Pickford could only parry Jackson’s shot. And less than half an hour was gone when Palmer produced an impressive finish from 40 yards after intercepting a Pickford pass. With the keeper out of position, the young attacker lobbed him to complete a hat-trick.
He would go on to add a fourth in the second half, from the penalty spot, taking his tally to the season to an impressive 20 in the league. That means he is level with Erling Haaland in the battle for the Premier League Golden Boot, whilst he also became the first Chelsea player ever to score a hat-trick in the first half of a Premier League encounter. Added to that, he became the first Blues player to score in seven PL home games in a row, on a night in which he truly made history.
Perfect Palmer
Palmer’s opening goal was a precision first-time effort with his left foot. His second was a simplistic header, nodded home from close range, whilst his third was, by his own admission, a bit of a swinger with his right: albeit a perfect lob from 40 yards that looped high before curling perfectly on target and dropping into the net. We’d take a swinger like that!
That meant he had completed a perfect hat-trick, which is to say one goal with the left foot, one with the right, and a header. Long-term stats on perfect trebles are not readily available but according to analysis firm Gracenote, this was the fastest since they began recording such things in the 2008/09 campaign. Moreover, it was earliest (in terms of time from kick-off) perfect hat-trick since the PL began in 1992.
Palmer Perfect and Flawless
However, as well as his treble being perfect, it was also flawless. A flawless hat-trick is not necessarily on the radar of many English football fans but in Austria and Germany a lupenreiner hat-trick (literally flawless) is something supporters talk about.
Such a treble is one scored with left foot, right and head, but all the goals must be in the same half. Moreover, they must be scored in succession, which is to say they must not be “interrupted” by a goal from any other player, either on the same side or the opposition. Flawless hat-tricks are incredibly rare, so this is certainly one to treasure for the Chelsea ace.
Palmer’s Career So Far
Pep Guardiola may well rue selling Palmer, such has been his rise at Chelsea and it does make one wonder about the issue of English talent being stymied at top clubs. Palmer began his “career” at City at the tender age of eight, despite being a Man United fan as a child.
He has played for England at every age level from the under 15s through to the under 21s and was a big part of the team that won the U21 Euros in 2023. At the time of writing, he has two full senior caps. He will surely add to those and he could have almost guaranteed further individual club honours had he stayed at City.
He won the league under Guardiola, as well as the Champions League and FA Cup, in 2022/23, although he only played 14 PL games, failing to score, and four in the UCL. In all he left City having made just 41 appearances, many from the bench, and having registered six goals. It was a brave move but one which has already paid off massively for both Palmer and Chelsea.
At the time of writing, the attacker, who can play centrally as a striker or number 10, and also on the right, has managed 20 goals and nine assists in the league. In all for Chelsea he has played 41 times, scoring 25 goals and adding 13 assists, making him one of the most productive players around at the moment.