Cole Palmer became the first player in Premier League history to score four goals in a first half in Chelsea’s chaotic meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion.
It looked set to be a miserable day for Chelsea when a defensive mix-up saw Georginio Rutter head Brighton ahead early on, but the Blues soon switched on the attacking flair to take control of proceedings.
Brighton’s chaotic high line saw Palmer hit the post in the 19th minute and see a goal ruled out for offside in the 20th, setting the tone for what would be a record-setting half of football.
A mistake from the Brighton back line saw Chelsea through on goal just one minute later as Nicolas Jackson squared to Palmer to fire home and, after Jadon Sancho had an effort of his own ruled out for offside, Palmer got the chance to make it two from the spot.
With 28 minutes on the clock, Palmer sent Bart Verbruggen the wrong way, putting Chelsea into an imposing lead.
Three minutes later, and ten after his first goal, Palmer had his hat-trick. From all of 30 yards out, the England international bent a sensational free kick into the top corner of the Brighton net, with fans in Stamford Bridge struggling to comprehend what was going on.
Brighton scored three minutes later but Palmer had the last laugh of the half when, four minutes before the interval, he collected a pass from Sancho and crashed into the bottom corner to become the first player in Premier League history to score four goals in a first half of action, with just 20 minutes between his first and last efforts.
