Cole Palmer sensationally scored FOUR goals as Mauricio Pochettino oversaw his biggest win with Chelsea, his side making up ground in the race for Europe with a 6-0 home win over Everton.
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In a topsy-turvy season, Palmer has so often dragged Chelsea through, and he followed up his dramatic treble against Manchester United in their previous game at Stamford Bridge with four more goals.
His first goal made him the first Chelsea player to score in seven straight Premier League home appearances, and he went on to net the earliest ever hat-trick by a Blues player in the competition, in the 29th minute.
Adding his fourth goal from the penalty spot, he took his tally to 20 Premier League goals for the season, moving level with his former Manchester City team-mate Erling Haaland in the race for the Castrol Golden Boot.
Although Chelsea ended Monday's match in ninth, just as they had started it, Palmer's haul – plus a strike from Nicolas Jackson and a first Premier League goal from Alfie Gilchrist – boosted hopes of a late surge towards the top six.
Pochettino's men, who are unbeaten in eight Premier League matches, are only three points behind sixth-placed Newcastle United and have a game in hand.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
34 | +1 | 54 |
| 7 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
34 | +19 | 53 |
| 8 |
West Ham
WHU
|
35 | -9 | 49 |
| 9 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
33 | +4 | 48 |
| 10 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
35 | -8 | 48 |
How the match unfolded
Everton should have been ahead in the 10th minute when Seamus Coleman picked out Beto in front of an open goal, only for the forward to put the ball over the crossbar with his knee.
Opta measured the chance as being worth 0.96 Expected Goals, essentially meaning Beto would be expected to score 96 times out of 100, but the Everton striker missed the target entirely.
Facing a Chelsea side who had conceded at least twice in each of their previous seven matches in all competitions, Everton again came up short in front of goal.
Palmer soon made the visitors pay, nutmegging Jarrad Branthwaite and trading passes with Jackson before shaping a fine, first-time finish into the bottom-left corner.
It started off in style. 😮💨 #CFC | #CheEve pic.twitter.com/enALzCRtFN
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 15, 2024
After inadvertently deflecting a goalbound shot wide with his back, man of the moment Palmer helped himself to a swift second, heading in the rebound from Jackson's close-range shot.
And two became three when Jordan Pickford's slack pass was picked off by the 21-year-old, who ruthlessly lobbed his England team-mate from 40 yards.
Beto was well offside when he thought he had pulled a goal back - and instead Everton were four behind at the break as Jackson brought down Marc Cucurella's cross and fired in at Pickford's right-hand post.
Palmer initially had to wait for his fourth as Pickford blocked with his legs. But the hat-trick hero added to his tally from the penalty spot after being fouled by Abdoulaye Doucoure and winning an argument over who would take the spot-kick.
That row was the only dampener on the evening for the Blues, with Pochettino describing it as "unacceptable" and apologising to all football fans for sending "this type of image" in such a high-profile match.
Academy graduate Gilchrist completed the scoring in the 90th minute as he lashed in his first professional goal.
Everton continue to look over their shoulder, lying only two points above the relegation zone in 16th place ahead of a HUGE duel with 17th-placed Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 |
Crystal Palace
CRY
|
35 | -12 | 40 |
| 15 |
Everton
EVE
|
35 | -11 | 36 |
| 16 |
Brentford
BRE
|
35 | -8 | 35 |
| 17 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
35 | -20 | 26 |
| 18 |
Luton
LUT
|
35 | -29 | 25 |
| 19 |
Burnley
BUR
|
35 | -32 | 24 |
| 20 |
Sheffield Utd
SHU
|
35 | -63 | 16 |
Club reports
Chelsea report | Everton report
Next Premier League fixtures
Key facts
Palmer (21y 345d) became the fifth-youngest player to score four or more goals in a single Premier League game and the youngest since Yakubu for Portsmouth against Middlesbrough in May 2004 (21y 175d). He was also the first Chelsea player to net four or more times in a single league match since Frank Lampard against Aston Villa in March 2010.
Palmer became the first Chelsea player to score a first-half hat-trick in the Premier League, and just the second player to score a hat-trick in back-to-back home Premier League appearances for the club after Didier Drogba in May/August 2010.
In what was his 308th game as a top-flight manager, a Sean Dyche team conceded six goals in a single Premier League game for the very first time.
Chelsea secured their biggest league victory since a 6-0 win at Southampton in April 2022, extending their home unbeaten run over Everton to 29 games in the Premier League.