COLE PALMER sealed a ten-minute hat-trick with a stunning free-kick and grabbed a fourth BEFORE half-time as Chelsea claimed a 4-2 win over Brighton.
The Blues superstar, 22, hit the net in the 21st, 28th, 31st and 41st minutes in a bonkers first half at Stamford Bridge.
And that saw him become the first player to score four goals in the first half of a Premier League match ever.
Brighton had taken an early lead through Georginio Rutter but Palmer levelled things up with a superb low finish after capitalising on a very high line from the Seagulls.
Seven minutes later, he had his second when he coolly slotted home a penalty won by Jadon Sancho – sending Bart Verbruggen the wrong way.
And he sealed the treble in style.
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Palmer stepped up and curled a gorgeous free-kick from 25 yards into the top corner.
Verbruggen got a fingernail to the ball but could not keep it out as Palmer wheeled away to celebrate in trademark fashion.
Brighton did pull one back through Carlos Baleba.
Palmer then grabbed Chelsea’s fourth of a sensational first half when Sancho won the ball high up and put it on a plate for his team-mate to find the net once again.
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That made it four goals in 20 staggering minutes – and that is how the game remained after a goalless second period.
Incredibly, Palmer could have SIX in the first half.
Just before his equaliser, the ex-Manchester City man struck the post and then a minute later fired past Verbruggen but it was chalked off for offside by VAR.
In another freak twist, Palmer has now scored four goals in the Premier League more times than he has settled for three.
He snatched a dramatic hat-trick to complete an outrageous 4-3 turnaround victory against Manchester United on April 4.
Just 11 days later, he banged in four as Chelsea tore Everton apart.
But his quadruple against Brighton prompted waves of comments from fans hailing his heroics.
One said: “This record will stand for years to come by Cole Palmer.”
Another wrote: “Best player in the league bar none.”
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A third added: “He’s currently the best player in the Premier League. What a player.”
And a final user challenged him to become the first man to score six in a Premier League game: “First ever double hat-trick today?”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
