Cole Palmer gave Chelsea fans and the rest of the Premier League a timely reminder of his quality in his hour-long appearance against Wolves.
Palmer scored all three goals for the Blues in their 3-1 win, moving his Premier League tally to seven in what has been an injury-hit campaign.
It was a record-breaking fourth hat-trick for Palmer since he made the move to Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea supporters having faith their star man is firing again.
His lack of playing time, goals and assists has seen other Blues players have to step up and provide, and the key man in recent weeks has been Joao Pedro.
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Chelsea - Premier League
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Cole Palmer ‘loves’ playing with Joao Pedro
The Brazilian has been in red-hot form since Liam Rosenior took over, and won both penalties which Palmer dispatched against Wolves.
The England international told the Chelsea website after the game that he has already built a great relationship with the summer signing, both on and off the pitch.
He said: “I love playing with Joao Pedro. We’re good friends off the pitch, so it helps. Long may it continue.”
There were signs the duo were going to star together from a very early stage. Palmer scored two before assisting Pedro in the Club World Cup final against PSG.
Pedro a huge fan of Palmer too
The feeling is mutual between the two players, who have established themselves as the two most important members of the starting XI at Stamford Bridge.
Pedro had strong praise for Palmer recently too, as they look set to enjoy plenty more minutes on the pitch together soon.
Chelsea have managed the England international’s fitness to the best of their ability. They are well aware he has now gone two summers in a row without a real break.
However, he is slowly making more frequent appearances, and will be in contention again when they play against Leeds on Tuesday.
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