Enzo Maresca said Cole Palmer is the “best in the Premier League” after his record first-half four-goal haul in Chelsea’s chaotic 4-2 victory over Brighton.
“He scored four but he also could have scored two or three more,” Chelsea boss Maresca said. “It’s important he stays hungry, ambitious and I know him from many years ago with the U23s at City and with the first team.
“What he is today as a boy is exactly what he was three or four years ago. Goals, assists, best player of the Premier League – this doesn’t change the way he is.”
Chelsea trailed after goalkeeper Robert Sanchez’s failure to claim an aerial ball gave Georgino Rutter his first Brighton goal seven minutes in. Moises Caicedo and Levi Colwill were also at fault for unsuccessfully clearing the ball inside their own box.
Enzo Maresca’s side responded impressively as they ran riot against a Brighton defence that was missing Joel Veltman and Jan Paul van Hecke. Palmer was set up by Nicolas Jackson’s pull-back for his first before continuing his perfect penalty record after Jadon Sancho was fouled.
Palmer completed his hat-trick in an 11-minute window, scoring his third with an inch-perfect free-kick from 25 yards out to seemingly put Chelsea in control until Sanchez made another error to hand Brighton a route back into the game.
Carlos Baleba pounced on the Chelsea goalkeeper’s poor pass out three minutes after Palmer’s third to raise the tension inside Stamford Bridge. Palmer soon eased those nerves, though, making history with his fourth after being set up by Sancho.
Palmer is the first player to score four first-half goals in a single Premier League game
Palmer’s only regret will be that he did not finish the game with more goals, striking narrowly wide when through on goal around the hour. That would have seen him match the single-game record in the Premier League.
Chelsea’s impressive start to the season under Maresca sees them two points off leaders Liverpool after six games, while Brighton are in eighth place after their first defeat in the league.
Palmer ‘fuming’ not to score five
Palmer has scored six goals in six league games this season
“I just said to Cole, he scored four, he could score two, three more,” Maresca said of Palmer after the game. “It’s good that he continues to be hungry and ambitious.”
Palmer was told at half-time of the record, but ultimately fell just short. Dimitar Berbatov, Sergio Aguero, Andy Cole, Alan Shearer and Jermain Defoe remain the only players to have scored five in a single Premier League game.
“When I missed the chance in the second half I was fuming,” Palmer told Sky Sports. “I should have scored that so I was pretty angry.
“I wasn’t thinking about [the record], I just wanted to win.”
Palmer had a slow start to the season by his own lofty standards set last season, scoring two before this game, but says he is now up to speed after a long summer with England at Euro 2024.
He added: “I’ve not had a pre-season so the first games coming back I was taking a bit of time to get up to speed. But now I am at full fitness and ready.”
Maresca praises ‘best in PL’ Palmer’s mentality
Palmer celebrates after making it 2-1 to Chelsea
Maresca worked with Palmer at Manchester City before he had broken into senior football and says nothing has changed about the midfielder’s approach despite his stratospheric rise over the past 12 months.
“I know Cole from many years ago,” he said after the game. “I had him already one entire season with U23s at City and then with the first team.
“The best thing he has is that in the way he is today as a boy, he was exactly in that way three, four years ago. So goals, assists, the best player in the Premier League.
“This doesn’t change the way he is. He’s a simple guy, he’s a humble guy. And this is, for me, the most important thing.
“He’s a top player and the important thing about the previous thing is that today in football, young players, they change very quick.
“They score one goal and they think that they are already [top]. Cole, he scored many goals, many assists. He’s a top player but he never changed and this is the most important thing.”
Palmer puts Chelsea firmly in top four conversation
Palmer is the best in the Premier League, says Enzo Maresca
Chelsea’s game against Brighton was supposed to give us a clearer idea of where they might end up this season. A litmus test against a tougher side to establish if they can truly be considered among the frontrunners for Champions League qualification.
The chaos that ensued at Stamford Bridge failed to answer those lingering questions about Maresca’s side and their credentials. They came up against a depleted Brighton defence that will struggle to have a worse game this season. It was a one-off.
Palmer’s presence in the team goes a long way to allaying those wider concerns about Chelsea and their progress under Maresca. Despite being just 22, he has become the talisman of this young team and lifts everyone around him.
For all the derision around Chelsea’s lengthy contract policy, having Palmer contracted until 2033 feels like the best piece of business they have done since signing him for just £40m last summer.
Palmer is the player to build around as Chelsea seek to become a dominant force once again.
Shorter term, Palmer makes Chelsea serious contenders for the top four, the clear next target in their journey, even though there appears to be a few teething issues at the back adapting to Maresca’s style of play.
Palmer’s influence has also grown now he is playing as one of two No 8s in midfield rather than on the wing. Maresca is clear that the player he views as “the Premier League’s best” must be at the heart of Chelsea’s system, and he is reaping the rewards.
Is Sanchez performance a concern for Chelsea?
Georginio Rutter heads Brighton into a 1-0 lead
Sanchez was at fault for both of Brighton’s goals at Stamford Bridge, creating an unnecessary sense of unease for Chelsea in a game they probably should have coasted through.
His decision-making was perplexing when coming to claim a high ball for Rutter’s opener early on. Staying on his line was the obvious choice, and would have saved him some embarrassment.
But the more worrying of his mistakes leading to a goal was the second, a slack pass to Moises Caicedo intercepted by Baleba, as it raises questions about his suitability for Maresca’s system.
The Chelsea coach defended Sanchez after the game, though.
“I said to Robert and I said to the players, from now on we are going to concede 10 more goals like the way we conceded the second goal because it’s the way we want to play.
“We have already scored goals with Robert involved in the build-up. But it’s important that after the mistake the team completely continue in the same way. That means that they enjoy, they like and they see that also we win games.”
Summer signing Filip Jorgensen is waiting in the wings for his chance to impress. It will likely come in Thursday’s Conference League opener against Gent.
Hurzeler to consider changes after ‘easy mistakes’
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler says he will consider making changes to his set-up after his side’s defensive errors cost them against Chelsea.
“It was one bad event after another and they had an unbelievable player,” he said after the game.
“You can’t win when you make these easy mistakes. If necessary, we have to adapt something.”
Brighton were without Van Hecke and Veltman which forced them to make tweaks in defence. Centre-back Adam Webster came in for his first league start while Ferdi Kadioglu made his full debut at right-back.
Chelsea cut through Brighton with ease in the first half, capitalising on their high line, and Hurzeler added: “You always need a connection on the pitch. We made a lot of changes and there were not the connections needed.”
Asked about Palmer, he told Sky Sports: “There are not many players in the Premier League like him. He is special.
“We win together and lose together. We can’t make these easy mistakes if we want to win here. We need to learn from it, including me.”
