Chelsea made it four wins from four in the Premier League under Liam Rosenior, as they comfortably defeated Wolves 3-1 at Molineux.
The away side took the lead on thirteen minutes from the penalty spot after Matt Doherty caught Joao Pedro, with Palmer slotting into the bottom right corner. Wolves then gave away another spot kick later on in the half for a push in the back on Pedro by Yerson Mosquera. Palmer kept his composure once more to double the Blues' lead.
Chelsea's number ten swiftly added a third just minutes later to complete a fine first half display. Marc Cucurella forayed forward down the left before crossing to Palmer, who buried a first-time strike into the roof of the net, making it a 25-minute hat-trick.
But, ten minutes after the restart, Wolves pulled one back as a Matheus Mane corner was put home by Tolu Arokodare to punish some lacklustre defending from the Blues. However, Chelsea managed to weather the storm from the home side in the second half to ensure they left the Black Country with all three points..
Story of the Match
Wolves manager Rob Edwards made three changes from his side's 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth last Saturday. New signings Angel Gomes and Adam Armstrong both came into the side for their debuts, whilst Matt Doherty slotted in at right-back as Wolves moved to a back four.
Meanwhile, Liam Rosenior kept with a similar starting eleven from Tuesday night's defeat to Arsenal, as Jorrel Hato and Liam Delap made way for Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto, who returned to face his former employers.
Wolves showed signs of promise early on and looked to cause problems for the Chelsea backline, but with thirteen minutes on the clock, it was very much the same old story for Wolves, as the Blues opened the scoring from the penalty spot.
Neto pushed forward down the right-hand channel before crossing towards Joao Pedro, who was then taken down by Doherty, leaving the referee with no choice but to point to the spot. Cole Palmer stepped up and sent Jose Sa the wrong way to make it 1-0.
The goal soon sprung the visitors into life as a clearance by Sa fell straight to Enzo Fernandez, who attempted to lob the Portuguese shot stopper only to see his effort blocked by Yerson Mosquera. Midway through the first half, Malo Gusto crossed towards Marc Cucurella at the back post, whose first time strike was blocked, before Fernandez attempted an audacious rabona effort that was kept out by Sa.
Chelsea's dominance continued as they almost added a second with a little over a third of the game played. Andrey Santos played a delightful through ball into Gusto, whose shot drew a good save from the goalkeeper as Rosenior's men looked to seek a second.
Just minutes later, however, the Blues were awarded a second spot kick after Mosquera pushed Pedro over inside the area, as Palmer stepped up once more to score his 50th goal for the club and double his side's lead.
Palmer then made it three to complete his hat-trick following a wonderful attacking move. Neto played an excellent ball out wide to Fernandez before the Argentine slipped through Cucurella on the overlap, who pushed into the penalty area before picking out Palmer, who fired into the roof of the net.
The goal completed a scintillating half of football from the Blues, who dominated as Wolves struggled to get out of their own half. However, at the start of the second half, the home side looked rejuvenated as a curling effort from Matheus Mane hit the post.
But ten minutes into the half, Wolves managed to pull a goal back. Mane delivered a corner into the middle as Chelsea failed to clear their lines, resulting in Tolu Arokodare finding the back of the net from close range.
Rob Edwards' side were very much the better of the two in the second half and almost scored with less than twenty minutes to go when an Angel Gomes cross was headed over the top by Mosquera. But as the half wore on, Wolves struggled to threaten as Chelsea seemed content with seeing out the game.
However, Rosenior's side had chances to restore their three-goal lead as Fernandez picked out Neto in the middle but the winger's header was put miles wide. The Portuguese international then had another chance seconds later as he hit the side netting with a powerful strike, before substitute Liam Delap saw his effort saved by Sa.