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CHELSEA’s attacker Cole Palmer set a Premier League record with his dazzling display against Brighton.
The England international has made a fantastic start to the season with the Blues, and his first-half performance against Brighton solidified that.
Chelsea actually found themselves a goal behind after Georginio Rutter gave the Seagulls the lead inside 10 minutes.
But that is when the Cole Palmer show started, drawing his side level on the 21st minute mark.
That marked the start of a 10th minute hat trick for Palmer and he would have his fourth before the first half concluded.
In fact, it made the former Manchester City man the first player to score four goals before half-time in a Premier League fixture.
Palmer converted a penalty to make it 2-1 to Chelsea before a stunning free-kick wrapped up his hat trick.
At Emirates, Arsenal struck twice in stoppage time to snatch a dramatic 4-2 win against Leicester City. After a dominant start to the game, Arsenal went in front through Gabriel Martinelli and then doubled their advantage on the stroke of half time after a fine finish from Leandro Trossard.
Trossard’s injury-time goal, his strike from a Bukayo Saka corner deflecting off Wilfred Ndidi’s leg, secured Arsenal the win on a day which they were far away from top gear.
The Gunners had 37 shots, 17 of those on targets. That would usually equate to a drubbing, not 2-2 — up until the 94th minute, where Trossard and then Kai Havertz added gloss to a misleading scoreline.
To Leicester’s credit, they were poor in the first half but hung on and made use of the three shots on target they had in the game.
For Arsenal, aside from winning, it will have been Gabriel Martinelli’s performance that brought joy. The 23-year-old had a tremendous breakout 2022/2023 season, registering 15 league goals and five assists. He was firmly in the minds of Gooners. Since then, those heights have been a struggle to reach.
Last season was plagued by injuries and flat displays. This campaign has shown glimpses of promise, but still missing the product element.
Yesterday he was back to close his best. The Brazilian was central to most of the north London club’s attacks and looked full of confidence, something that has been lacking of late.
He struck Arsenal’s first, skewing the ball into a corner from close range, before assisting Trossard for the second.
Leicester City goalkeeper Mads Hermansen frustrated Arsenal for much of the contest.
The Gunners were also seeking a sixth-consecutive victory against the Foxes. So, the tide was, prior to kick-off, heading in one direction.
The absence of talisman Martin Odegaard, who is often at the fore of their best work, was not expected to come into account.
Though there was a certain consideration for the home side to take into account: Jamie Vardy. The 37-year-old had boasted 11 goals in 16 against the Gunners in all competitions.
Anthony Gordon earned a deserved point for Newcastle with a second-half penalty against Manchester City.
Here is a point Manchester City will not celebrate. Newcastle will, and so they should after a performance that recaptured the values so central to their identity. They would have won with a striker on the pitch. — Wires
Online Reporter