Cole Palmer hit his 50th Premier League goal for Chelsea as he scored a low left-footed penalty past Senne Lammens in a 2-0 win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Lammens got a hand to the ball but could only palm it into his own net.
The milestone came in his 105th Premier League game for the club. Only Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Diego Costa have hit 50 league goals for the Blues quicker than Palmer, with the former requiring 84 games and the latter needing 85. This puts the 24-year-old in third place for the fastest scorers in the history of the club.
Chelsea were awarded the penalty after a VAR review showed Lisandro Martínez had used his arm to strike Wesley Fofana in the face as the corner was delivered. Martínez received a second yellow card for the incident, leaving the visitors down to ten players at the crucial point in the match.
Cole Palmer has always been one of the best penalty takers in the competition. He set a Premier League record by scoring his first 12 penalties without missing, breaking the record set by Yaya Toure, who scored 11 penalties for Manchester City without missing. However, his run ended in March 2025. Mads Hermansen became the first goalkeeper to stop him as he missed from the spot in a home game against Leicester City. Raul Jimenez has since surpassed Palmer’s 12, converting all 14 of his.
Palmer’s penalty on Saturday felt like redemption for the forward. He was sent off against Tottenham Hotspur last week after receiving two yellow cards. Chelsea went on to lose 2-0 at home. As a result, he served a one-game ban and missed his side’s midweek Carabao Cup exit against Liverpool.
Palmer played his usual number ten role in an attacking trio alongside Estêvão and Morgan Rogers, and was heavily involved. He drove the team forward to create the move that led to Estêvão having a goal disallowed. In stoppage time, he went close to scoring a third but fired his left-footed effort over from 18 yards.
Chelsea Scoring Milestones In The Premier League Era
Cole Palmer is in elite company after hitting 50 Premier League goals for the club. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is still the quickest to do so, needing only 84 games to score 50 goals in a blistering run between 2000 and 2004. He won the Golden Boot in his first season at the club with 23 goals, then just missed it the following year to Thierry Henry.
Costa followed him in 85 games during his three years in West London. His goals were key to the club’s title wins in 2015 and 2017. Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Eden Hazard all scored over the 50-goal mark during their longer careers at the club. Lampard is the club’s all-time top scorer, with 211 goals in all competitions.
Cole Palmer joined from Manchester City in the summer of 2023 and will stay at Stamford Bridge until 2034. With his role as a penalty taker and creative midfielder, he is likely to hit some more milestones soon.