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Cole Palmer stole the headlines, but 112-touch teammate deserves just as much praise - opinion

Chelsea fans left Molineux on Saturday with the conversations being dominated by a familiar topic – the brilliance of Cole Palmer.

Palmer scored a hat-trick in the first half against Wolves to give a timely reminder to the rest of the Premier League that he is still one of its best players when fit.

The trio of goals was Palmer’s record-breaking fourth hat-trick since joining Chelsea, and it is no surprise that all the headlines surrounded the England international after the game.

Cole Palmer is back!

Palmer scores on his 100th start. Has any Chelsea player done more than him in that amount of games?

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Photo by Darren Staples / AFP via Getty Images

Liam Rosenior was quick to point out though that he was impressed by the entire team’s performance, doing so without the injured Reece James.

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Chelsea - Premier League

Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Moises Caicedo the unsung hero of Chelsea’s win over Wolves

Injury problems have continued to plague the midfielders at Stamford Bridge in recent weeks, meaning there was another 90 minutes for Moises Caicedo to contend with at Molineux.

The Ecuador international has enjoyed a super season, although his performance at Wolves is likely going to be one which wrongly goes under the radar.

Caicedo was everywhere as per usual. He had 112 touches of the ball, completing a near perfect 94 of his 97 attempted passes.

Of those passes, seven of those moved the ball into the final third, as Chelsea had their foot on the throat of their opponents, particularly in the first half.

So often known for his defensive brilliance, this area was not forgotten about by the midfielder on Saturday. He won eight of his 11 duels.

Elsewhere, there were seven tackles and two interceptions to shout about, potentially easing the worries that could’ve come after Wolves pulled a goal back early in the second half.

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Chelsea - Premier League

Photo by Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images

Caicedo remains underrated in the Premier League

Eden Hazard believes Caicedo is still an underrated player, despite some more acknowledgement of his brilliance this season.

He has been put in conversations with the likes of Declan Rice, however performances like today’s are the ones which simply won’t ever get the credit they deserve.

Some of his peers have started to notice though. Antoine Semenyo named Caicedo in his Team of the Season so far.

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