Monday Musing

Record-breaking Palmer; INEOS' bizarre Ten Hag call; Dyche gets that win.

By Patric Ridge

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There was history made in the Premier League this weekend at Stamford Bridge, while the pressure piled on Erik ten Hag at Manchester United following a 3-0 hammering at the hands of Tottenham.

Sean Dyche, meanwhile, saw his Everton team claim a much-needed victory.

Here’s three of the key talking points.

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UNFOURGETTABLE

Cole Palmer is one heck of a player.

Chelsea have enjoyed a flying start under Enzo Maresca, and while their defence still needs some work, the Blues look rampant in attack. And with Palmer pulling the strings, it’s no surprise.

Credit: Instagram - @chelseafc

Brighton perhaps provided Chelsea with the perfect opposition on Saturday, as the hosts ran out 4-2 winners at Stamford Bridge, where all six goals came in a frantic first half.

Fabian Hürzeler’s high defensive line was exposed over and over again, with Palmer of course grabbing all four of Chelsea’s goals, becoming the first player to score four times in the first half of a Premier League match.

Comparisons to Dennis Bergkamp may have somewhat gone over the 22-year-old’s head, but what Palmer can do with his feet is up there with the best to have graced the English top flight, there’s no doubt there.

Since the start of 2023-24, Palmer has been directly involved in 43 goals in the Premier League, scoring 28 and setting up a further 15. That tally of goal contributions is more than any other player in the competition.

chelseafc

A post shared by @chelseafc

Palmer’s hat-trick came in the space of 10 minutes, ranking as one of the quickest in the Premier League’s history, and each of the goals was something different: A crisp first-time finish; a penalty; a brilliant free-kick and then a smart run in-behind followed by a near-post strike. He also hit the post and saw a goal disallowed for offside.

It was a quite sensational display, worthy of going into the history books.

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INEOS’ TEN HAG REGRET?