Cole Palmer made history in Chelsea's 3-1 win over champions Liverpool after netting a penalty at Stamford Bridge. After three months without scoring, the English attacker was back to his best and spoke of being "motivated" to silence his critics.
The 22-year-old will also be motivated to become the Blues' greatest Premier League goalscorer. He has scored 37 goals in the English top flight, remarkably moving him up to 10th in the club's all-time goalscoring rankings, level with Brazilian winger Willian.
The 11-cap England international only joined the West Londoners from Manchester City two summers ago, but continues to prove that Pep Guardiola made a mistake selling him. He's only getting started, and fans will be hoping that after signing a nine-year deal in August 2024, he'll continue finding the net until 2033.
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Cole Palmer Becomes Chelsea's 10th PL Top Scorer
The English attacking ace isn't far off John Terry
Cole Palmer
Palmer's feat has come after just 67 games, and he boasts the best minutes per goal record of any player in the top 10 (150'). To put it in perspective, it took former striker Nicolas Anelka 125 games to bag 68 goals, and the Englishman will soon be moving above the French icon.
There was excitement surrounding the attacking midfielder's £42.5m capture in the summer of 2023, but nobody envisioned he'd be as potent as he has been. He quickly took on the West London giants' talismanic responsibilities under Mauricio Pochettino, netting 22 goals in 34 league games during the 2023-24 season.
The City academy graduate didn't score a single Premier League goal while at the Etihad amid struggles to break into Guardiola's first team. His sophomore campaign at Stamford Bridge has come with trials and tribulations, and he's not been as relied upon during Enzo Maresca's tenure.
Palmer started strongly with 14 goals in 21 outings until mid-January when he came off the boil and endured a three-month goal drought. But his display in the victory against Liverpool suggested he's back and better than ever, and his penalty put him up to 15 goals in 34 games.
Cole Palmer's Premier League Statistics
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"Tinpot" - Fans Mock Chelsea's Goalscoring List
Palmer's achievement came as a shock
Cole Palmer
Chelsea's media account posted the list of the club's all-time Premier League top scorers, which made for interesting reading. It spoke volumes about how deadly Frank Lampard was as a midfielder, but also how the Blues arguably have lacked regular finishers, especially with John Terry sitting in eighth place.
Rival fans responded by ridiculing the feat and used examples of their past players who'd break into the Blues' top 10. One supporter highlighted how low Palmer would feature in Arsenal's:
"37 Goals at Arsenal will have you at Number 62 behind (Eddie Nketiah)."
Another similarly pointed out:
"Theo Walcott 108 is the 10th all-time PL goal scorer at Arsenal, he has more goals than (Didier) Drogba that is second on this list."
One fan poked fun at Chelsea:
"37 goals gets you into the top 10 of a supposed big club's all-time top scorers list."
As did another:
"Top 10 in the all-time scorers after two seasons is the most tinpot thing I’ve ever seen."
It wasn't lost on a Blue how the rankings reflected the club's questionable recruitment of strikers over the years:
"£7.9 billion spent on strikers and John Terry’s in our top 10."
While others saw reasons to be optimistic regarding the legacy Palmer can achieve at Stamford Bridge. One fan wrote:
"He’s going to retire as a legend here."
Another said:
"Cole is just 2 seasons in at Chelsea and he’s already in this conversation."
Palmer and Maresca
Chelsea are in the race for UEFA Champions League qualification, and the victory against Liverpool has them sitting fifth with 63 points, three above Nottingham Forest, who face Crystal Palace on Monday. Maresca will be eager for Palmer to continue firing the side towards their goal.
He could also move above Terry in the all-time list if he manages more than four goals in the last three games. They face Newcastle United (May 11), Manchester United (May 16) and Forest (May 25).
All statistics courtesy ofTransfermarkt- correct as of 05/05/2025.
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