Cole Palmer insists he wants the responsibility of scoring penalties after he netted a hat-trick in Chelsea’s 4-3 thrilling victory over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. (More Football News)
Palmer’s stunning season continued as he took his league tally to 16 goals on the night. After he scored from the spot on 19 minutes, he converted another spot-kick in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time after Diogo Dalot brought down Noni Madueke.
Palmer completed his treble just a minute later with a deflected strike off Scott McTominay following a short corner to seal a dramatic win in west London.
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The 21-year-old, who joined from Manchester City for a reported fee of £42.5 million last summer, wants to maintain his 100 per cent record from 12 yards
“I’ve had a few penalties this season and when they’re in front of me, I just want to continue to try and score them,” he told Chelsea’s official club website.
“I want to keep my focus and strike the ball clean.”
The late turnaround has seen Chelsea close the gap on teams above them in their bid for European football next season.
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Palmer said he and his team-mates were spurred on to grab another goal after their added-time equaliser.
“It was a crazy game,” he added. “To go from 2-0 up to 3-2 down was a bit of a blow, but when we scored in the 98th minute we knew there were two more minutes – we saw the gaffer say it. I looked over when I scored. We thought ‘let’s go for it’.
“I didn’t know what to do when I scored, but I was buzzing. My first hat-trick. It’s my first one and I’m really happy about it. It was madness at the end.”
Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw by 10-man Burnley last week and Palmer talked up the importance of responding with victory against the Red Devils.
“After last week we needed to come and get three points,” he added. “And to do it this way was probably the best way to do it.
“It’s a big win and it’s a massive momentum boost for the fans and the team. It’s put everyone in a good mood.”
