Cole Palmer blew away his recent blues by setting a Premier League record with his first-half hat-trick for Chelsea at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
With his two penalties and his first open-play goal in the league since December, Palmer became the first player to register three first-half hat-tricks in the competition’s history.
Watch EVERY Cole Palmer first-half HAT-TRICK
He previously netted three times before half-time in Chelsea's 6-0 win over Everton in April 2024 and 4-2 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion five months later.
Erling Haaland has scored two first-half hat-tricks so far, the same number achieved by Premier League legends Andrew Cole and Michael Owen in their careers.
Players with multiple first-half hat-tricks
| Player | Team | Opponent | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmer | Chelsea | Everton | 15/04/24 |
| Palmer | Chelsea | Brighton | 28/09/24 |
| Palmer | Chelsea | Wolves | 07/02/26 |
| Haaland | Man City | Nott'm Forest | 31/08/22 |
| Haaland | Man City | Wolves | 04/05/24 |
| Owen | Liverpool | Newcastle | 30/08/98 |
| Owen | Liverpool | Aston Villa | 06/09/00 |
| Cole | Newcastle | Liverpool | 21/11/93 |
| Cole | Man Utd | Barnsley | 25/10/97 |
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Palmer's season so far
The 2025/26 campaign has been a difficult one for Palmer, whose playing time has been limited by injuries. Indeed, the 23-year-old had scored only four times in the league going into the trip to Molineux, with just two of those goals coming in open play.
But he celebrated his 100th appearance for Chelsea in all competitions in style, also becoming the club’s record scorer of hat-tricks in the Premier League era, with this being his fourth.
He also hit another landmark as he went past a half-century of goals for the club, taking his total in all competitions to 51.
Palmer has also produced three goal involvements in consecutive visits to Molineux — he registered a hat-trick of assists in this fixture last season.
In total, 34 players have scored a hat-trick before the half-time whistle.
Palmer is the first to achieve it for almost a year, since Omar Marmoush netted three times for Manchester City in the first half of their 4-0 win over Newcastle United on 15 February 2025.