LONDON (AP) — Chelsea playmaker Cole Palmer has become the first player in the 32-year history of the Premier League to score four goals in the first half of a match.
The England international's flurry of goals came in a 20-minute span in Chelsea's 4-2 win against Brighton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Palmer scored in the 21st, 28th, 31st and 41st minutes, with the haul including a penalty as well as a long-range free kick that completed his hat trick.
No player has ever scored so many goals before halftime in a single match, according to Opta, which provides statistics to the Premier League.
“I should have had five or six," Palmer said.
"When I missed my first chance I was upset but with the way they played and their high line, I felt we’d get more chances.”
Palmer also had a four-goal haul for Chelsea last season in a 6-0 win over Everton in April, also at home.
The playmaker joined Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in scoring at least three goals in a game three times for Chelsea in the league.
The game against Brighton was only Palmer's 39th league appearance for Chelsea after joining from Manchester City in the offseason of 2023.
He scored 22 goals last season, second only to City's Erling Haaland (27), and already has six goals in this campaign under Chelsea's latest manager, Enzo Maresca.
Maresca used to coach Palmer when they were both at City. At that time, Palmer was playing for City Under-23s.
“You’d have to be blind if you didn’t see those kind of things with Cole," Maresca said. "I said that he scored four but he could have scored more. I say always to be ambitious and hungry to score more.”
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The Associated Press
