Cole Palmer was the best player on the pitch on Monday as he scored a hat-trick for Chelsea within 16 minutes as they beat Everton 6-0. The former Manchester City man dealt Jordan Pickford a heavy blow by scoring his third goal with an incredible lob from distance.
The talented midfielder started off the rout by opening the scoring in the 13th minute. It was a truly remarkable effort, as he got past his man with ease before sending a curler into the back of the post with his left foot.
After missing a chance to double the scoreline only moments later, Cole Palmer got his second goal of the game with 18 minutes on the clock. The Chelsea attackers had overpowered their opponents in the final third, and a rebound from Pickford saw the ball land in front of Palmer, who nodded home.
Just 16 minutes after his first goal, the 21-year-old made it a perfect hat-trick. He had already scored with his stronger left foot and his head, and with 29 minutes on the clock, he scored a long-distance effort with his weaker right foot. He exploited Jordan Pickford's error, intercepting the goalkeeper's pass and sending the ball into the goal.
This happens to be Cole Palmer's second hat-trick for Chelsea, even though he just joined up with the Blues last summer. He has arguably become the biggest part of their attacking machinery, as he has now racked up 20 Premier League goals to put himself at par with Erling Haaland.
Cole Palmer and Chelsea teammates argue over penalty, Mauricio Pochettino slams them
After Cole Palmer's hat-trick, a goal from Nicolas Jackson put Chelsea 4-0 up on the cusp of half-time. However, a big talking point from the game came from the actions of the players when the Blues were awarded a penalty.
James Tarkowski tackled Noni Madueke in the box, leading to the penalty. However, a number of players, including Palmer, Madueke, and Jackson pushed to be the one to seal the effort from 12 yards.
Although Palmer eventually took it and scored, Pochettino was not happy about the public arguments. Speaking after the game, the manager said to Sky Sports (via Eurosport):
“It’s a shame, it’s a shame. We cannot behave in this way. I told them that this is the last time that [I will] accept this type of behavior. All [of the players] involved in this situation, all out the next time. That is not a joke, it’s impossible after a performance like this to have this type of behavior."
He added:
“That is a really, really sad situation that happened, and I’m not going to accept that happening again.”
After Cole Palmer scored from the spot to make it five, it was Alfie Gilchrist who scored the final goal of the game in injury time to sweeten the deal for the fans at Stamford Bridge.