Cole Palmer is once again proving why he is one of the Premier League’s best young stars, with the Chelsea forward playing a crucial role in his side’s 6-2 victory over Wolves on Sunday afternoon.
Enzo Maresca’s side got their first win of the 2024-25 campaign, with Palmer setting up Noni Madueke for all three of his goals, while the former Man City star also found the back of the net himself.
Nicolas Jackson opened the scoring for the Blues after two minutes with Matheus Cunha levelling after 27 minutes. Palmer subsequently hit back with a second goal in the 45th minute, before Jorgen Strand Larsen tapped in another equaliser, to make it 2-2.
Madueke would go on a scoring spree after half-time, netting a hat-trick of goals, before Joao Felix wrapped up the game with a strike of his own on his return to the Premier League.
Some, though, have claimed that Palmer’s strike should not have stood.
With Robert Sanchez spraying a long ball up field to Nicolas Jackson Chelsea crashed forwards towards Wolves’ penalty area.
The Senegalese striker held up play well, before flicking the ball on to Palmer.
The England star, who picked up the PFA Young Player of the Year Award last week, noticed that Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa had advanced off his goalline in an attempt to shut down the oncoming attack and sensed his chance to put the Blues ahead.
With Sa caught out of position, Palmer cleverly dinked the ball over the goalkeeper, who was left floundering on the floor as he attempted to stop the ball from hitting the back of the net.
It was perhaps the goal of the match, but some believe it should not have stood, with fans noticing that Sanchez had not let the ball come to rest before he delivered the long pass to initiate the move.
Replays showed that the ball was still rolling when the Spain international had played his goal kick up to Jackson.
Under the FA’s Rules of the Game, Law 16 states ‘the ball must be stationary’ before it is kicked.
BeIN Sports broadcaster, Richard Keys, had noticed the infraction and subsequently argued that Palmer’s goal should have been chalked.
‘It’s rolling,’ the former Sky Sports television host said.
‘Strictly speaking, it should be disallowed.’
Questions had been raised over why VAR did not intervene to disallow the strike.
But the goal would ultimately stand due to the Premier League’s rules on how VAR can be used, with the video assistant referee’s protocols preventing them from checking restarts.
Palmer, meanwhile, would go on to join an exclusive club of players, which includes the likes of Stan Collymore, Thierry Henry and Harry Kane, to have assisted each goal for a team-mate’s hat-trick in the Premier League
