Palmer scores again to make it four goals for him and Chelsea.
Baleba scores Brigton’s second goal after Sanchez second fumble.
Palmer completes hat-trick in 11 and half minutes!
Sanchez mistake allows Brigton’s to take the early lead via Rutter.
Match Report
Cole Palmer made Premier League history as Chelsea beat Brighton 4-2 in a six-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge. Palmer became the first player to score four goals before half-time in a single Premier League match, leading Enzo Maresca’s side to a fourth straight victory in all competitions.
Brighton took an early lead through Georginio Rutter’s header. It was a string of errors by Chelsea’s defense who failed to get the ball clear. Caicedo played it to Colwill who failed at his attempt to clear. The ball was up in the air and Rutter beat Sanchez to the ball to score his first Brighton goal. Sanchez decision to come up while he was nowhere near getting that proved costly.
Palmer then took control of the game as we scored a hat-trick in just 11 and a half minutes!
The first goal for Chelsea came when Webster made a mistake for Brighton which set Jackson for one-on-one with Verbruggen, he unselfishly played it into Palmer who obliged with a goal. The second goal came when Sancho dribbled through the Brighton defence and was brought down in the box. Palmer took the penalty and cooly scored. The third goal then came via a free-kick as Palmer curled it past Verbruggen who could hardly get a touch on the ball.
To make things exciting, Sanchez’s loose pass was punished by Baleba to give Brighton a sniff at a comeback with a goal. But Palmer had other plans as he grabbed his and Chelsea’s fourth in the 41st minute, latching onto Sancho’s through-ball and firing past Bart Verbruggen. The scoreline 4-2; and it stayed so by the end of the game.
The second half didn’t quite live up to what the first promised but Enzo Maresca and his team won’t care. Their win now takes Chelsea just a point less than Manchester City at the top of the league table.
