Chelsea matchwinner Cole Palmer said he was “not going to miss” the 100th-minute penalty which drew his side level a minute before he scored the winner in an extraordinary 4-3 comeback.
England international Palmer began his hat-trick by putting his side 2-0 ahead with his first penalty in the 19th minute, only for goals by Alejandro Garnacho either side of Bruno Fernandes’ header to give the visitors a 3-2 lead.
“We made silly mistakes but when the eight minutes got added on, it gave us a lift,” Palmer told TNT Sports after converting from the spot to make it 3-3 and firing in the winner 82 seconds later.
“We need to try to win as many games as possible. When we scored the second goal, the fans lifted us and we lifted ourselves.
“We saw the gaffer saying there were two minutes left. We thought we’d go for it and, thankfully, we scored.”
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Blues top scorer Palmer has become one of the signings of the season since moving to Stamford Bridge for £45 million from Manchester City in August.
The 21-year-old has been perfect from the spot and now has 19 goals to add to 12 assists in an outstanding seven months as part of an underwhelming Chelsea campaign.
UNBELIEVABLE!! 🔥
Cole Palmer steals the show to complete his hat trick and put Chelsea back in the lead! 🤩
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/2zEcknYHCD
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 4, 2024
Palmer goals v United ‘crazy’
“I’m not going to miss a penalty, am I?” asked Palmer. “Touch wood. To score in the last minute is crazy.
“I’m buzzing. I just try to show the Chelsea fans what I came here to do, which is to play football.”
Manager Mauricio Pochettino praised Palmer’s character, calling it “the most important thing”.
“When he arrived, it was like, ‘what do I need to do, because I want to play in every single game and I want to help the team to win’,” he said.
“He’s top. He can improve but he’s amazing in the way that he’s adapted here and he’s performing. He deserves to be proud because today was an amazing performance.”
Palmer is the first Chelsea player to score home and away against United in a season since club legend Frank Lampard and has four goals and three assists in his last four appearances in all competitions.
The result lifted the huge-spenders to 10th in the table, two points behind seventh-placed West Ham with two games in hand.
