Cole Palmer set a new Premier League record on Sunday as he scored his 12th consecutive penalty, a feat no player had previously achieved in the competition. This is how he did it...
1. Burnley 1-4 Chelsea, 7 October 2023
Palmer’s first penalty for Chelsea was also his first goal for the club. Having fallen behind at Turf Moor, the Blues were brought level by an Ameen Al-Dakhil own-goal. Then shortly after half time, Raheem Sterling was felled and Palmer stepped up from 12 yards.
Former England and Manchester City youth team-mate James Trafford was in the Burnley goal, but that was no problem as Palmer guided his penalty into the bottom-right corner to set us on the way to victory and open his Chelsea account.
2. Chelsea 2-2 Arsenal, 21 October 2023
Cole was at it again in our next fixture – and this time he opened the scoring from the spot. With the game against our London rivals goalless, Mykhailo Mudryk’s header struck William Saliba’s arm in the box and, after VAR intervened, Chelsea had a penalty.
In the pouring rain at the Bridge, Palmer again outfoxed the keeper, this time going to the bottom-left corner as David Raya flung himself in the opposite direction.
3. Tottenham Hotspur 1-4 Chelsea, 6 November 2023
Another derby, another penalty scored by Palmer. Tottenham had taken an early lead, but Cole pulled us level from the spot and sparked a brilliant comeback in north London.
The penalty was dramatically awarded, too, as after Moises Caicedo had seen an excellent equaliser ruled out by VAR for offside, referee Michael Oliver was sent to the monitor to review a tackle by Cristian Romero on Enzo Fernandez in the build-up.
A spot-kick was given, Romero was sent off, and Palmer stepped up from 12 yards. Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario did get fingertips to the ball, but could only divert it in off the right-hand post.
4. Chelsea 4-4 Manchester City, 12 November 2023
Our No.20 found the net from the spot in back-to-back games for the second time. And on this occasion, it proved to be a last-minute equaliser after an incredible match at the Bridge against his former club.
In the dying moments of a thrilling back-and-forth contest, Armando Broja had been taken out by a wild sliding challenge from John Stones on the sodden surface. Palmer mixed things up by side-footing high to the left this time, and the ball beat the despairing dive of Ederson.
5. Chelsea 1-0 Fulham, 13 January 2023
The only goal of the game in this most local of London derbies came from the penalty spot in stoppage time at the end of the first half.
Palmer’s clever pass had created the attack which ended with Sterling being tripped in the box, and Cole reverted to his original tactic of sending the keeper the wrong way as he rolled his penalty into the bottom-right corner.
6. Chelsea 2-2 Burnley, 30 March 2024
Palmer was embarking on an impressive scoring run when we hosted Burnley at the Bridge, and he opened the scoring from the spot just before half-time and added a second from open play later.
This time, he wasn’t just satisfied with outfoxing Arijanet Muric and letting him blink first with a dive to the left, but he rubbed it in by lifting a cheeky Panenka penalty straight down the middle.
'The day before I said I was going to chip it and all of the players were like, 'Nah, you're not going to,'' Palmer later revealed. 'I told my mates I was going to chip it if I got a penalty – and I told my dad who was like, 'Shut up man, you're not. You're not going to do it'.
'When the penalty got given, I thought 'I'm going to have to chip it because I told everyone I was going to chip it'. Then I thought I might as well try it.'
7. Chelsea 4-3 Manchester United, 4 April 2024
Perhaps Palmer’s biggest impact on a single match came when a pair of penalties gave him his first Premier League hat-trick and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
First Antony got the wrong side of Marc Cucurella, giving Palmer the chance to send Andre Onana left and slot in right to put us 2-0 up. But that lead didn't last...
8. Chelsea 4-3 Manchester United, 4 April 2024
United roared back and established a 3-2 advantage as the game ticked into the 90th minute. Then Cole took over.
Another awkward challenge, this time by Diogo Dalot on Noni Madeuke, resulted in a carbon copy of his first penalty. The 22-year-old wasn't content, however, and netted a 111th-minute winner. It was a moment to savour for the former City man.
9. Chelsea 6-0 Everton, 15 April 2024
Palmer went one better on his next home appearance, with his penalty one of four goals he struck in an emphatic win. Cole had already completed a perfect first-half hat-trick of left-foot, header, and right-foot when he stepped up to the spot after Madueke was bundled over in the box.
It was a trademark spot-kick by Cole. As Jordon Pickford dived to his left, Palmer nonchalantly rolled the ball in the other direction to make it 11 goals in six games for the forward.
10. Chelsea 4-2 Brighton & Hove Albion, 28 September 2024
And so into the 2024/25 campaign, which has seen Palmer continue his impressive form since joining the Blues, plus his spotless record from penalties maintained.
September's game against Brighton also brought his second four-goal haul in the Premier League, all of them scored before half-time. Palmer's second came from 12 yards after Jadon Sancho was shoved to the floor; Bart Verbruggen suffered the same fate as many before him, diving the wrong way as Palmer placed a finish into the bottom-left corner.
11. Tottenham Hotspur 3-4 Chelsea, 8 December 2024
Cole’s latest ruthless display from the spot was the second time he had put Spurs to the sword in a derby and the second time he had scored two penalties in the same game for Chelsea in the Premier League.
Sancho had already started the fightback from two goals down when Yves Bissouma’s wild tackle on Caicedo gave us the chance to level from the spot. There was no question as to who would take it and Palmer waited for Fraser Forster to drive right before confidently firing his effort left.
12. Tottenham Hotspur 3-4 Chelsea, 8 December 2024
This turned out to be the winning goal in another pulsating London derby – and also set a new Premier League record.
As soon as Cole was barged in the back by Pape Sarr, the result from 12 yards never seemed in doubt as our No.20 brushed himself off and stepped up.
Yet nobody expected him to produce a perfect Panenka penalty in such a high-pressure moment, least of all Forster in the Spurs net, who had time to get back to his feet as the ball drifted over the line.