In recent years, Man City has often had an "open door" policy for potential stars to leave the Etihad Stadium. The Citizens' squad is so strong that competing for a starting position is very difficult. Cole Palmer is one of them.
The English striker plays in the position of Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden. Therefore, it is very difficult for Cole Palmer to get an official position in Pep Guardiola's squad. The Manchester team let their young star leave to find a new destination for only 40 million Euros to Chelsea. Now, perhaps Pep Guardiola is somewhat regretful.
Palmer's recent poker against Brighton set a record unprecedented in Premier League history. He is the first player to score 4 goals in a half. Since the 22-year-old striker's Chelsea debut, he has 43 G/A (goals and assists). That's more than Erling Haaland (39). If Palmer were still at Man City at this time, it's unclear how strong Pep Guardiola's team would be.
Chelsea have been heavily criticised in recent years for losing Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah. However, the acquisition of Cole Palmer for just €40m has helped to even things out somewhat. After renewing his contract with the Blues last summer, Palmer’s value has now surpassed €100m.
Back to the match against Brighton, this is the third time Palmer has scored a hat-trick for Chelsea and also the second time he has scored 4 goals in a match. To see Palmer's importance at this time, Chelsea fans should remember two legends, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard. During their peak playing careers at The Blues, each of them only had 3 hat-tricks. In the victory against Brighton, if he had been luckier, Palmer could have scored 6 goals.
Last season, Palmer scored 22 goals for Chelsea and scored in the EURO 2024 final. Now, the English striker has 6 goals after 6 rounds of the Premier League, promising to improve even more.
Palmer's environment at Chelsea is very good. He is given many opportunities from delicious to challenging. When The Blues were awarded a penalty, Palmer stood up to take the shot. When facing a penalty from nearly 30 meters away, Palmer also took the responsibility and succeeded.
After the final whistle, Captain Enzo Maresca celebrated happily. This was the 3rd consecutive victory of The Blues since the beginning of the season and also the first time they won all 3 points at Stamford Bridge. After losing to Man City on the opening day, Maresca did not think that his first journey with Chelsea would go so smoothly.
As for Palmer, the Blues will be without him for the Europa Conference League clash with Gent next week. Maresca has left him out of the squad, a decision that looks to keep Palmer's legs in tip-top shape for the crucial Premier League clash.
