According to Opta, Palmer has been involved in a total of 38 goals (25 goals, 13 assists) in 2024. He is the first player in history to do so at Stamford Bridge. The English midfielder has been the soul of every Chelsea attack since joining the team in the summer of 2023.
More broadly, Palmer is also the only player to have directly participated in 50 goals in the Premier League since last season. After only 48 matches, he has 33 goals and 17 assists, surpassing a series of famous stars such as Mohamed Salah (49 goals), Erling Haaland (46 goals), Ollie Watkins (42 goals)....
Since joining the Blues, Palmer has taken 12 penalties, with a 100% success rate. In Premier League history, only Man City's Yaya Toure has a similar record of 12/12 successful penalties. The 22-year-old star still has plenty of time to rise to the top spot in this category.
In the London derby against Tottenham, Palmer topped all the stats. He won 8 duels, recovered the ball 4 times, created 4 direct chances leading to goals, had 4 shots, 3 on target and scored 2 goals. Palmer was a key factor in Chelsea's classic comeback.
From a player who could not compete for a starting position at Man City, Palmer has proven his ability and star quality at Chelsea. He is also an "untouchable" player in the scheme of former coach Mauricio Pochettino and currently Enzo Maresca.
Chelsea have shown that Tottenham Hotspur is their favourite stadium, having won 15 points since the 2019 season. This is also the stadium where The Blues have won the most points during this period.
Chelsea under Maresca are flying high with 2nd place in the Premier League table and 4 points behind the leader Liverpool (Liverpool have played 1 less match). They are also the most impressive attacking team when scoring 35 goals, an average of 2.3 goals/match.
However, answering after the match, the Italian coach said that Chelsea was not ready to compete for the championship.
"My message to the players is to focus on each day, the training sessions, the next game on Thursday and then Sunday. The fans can dream because it looks quite simple from the outside, but the reality is we are not ready. The important thing is that we improve every day," said Maresca.
