Cole Palmer became the first player to score four first-half goals in a Premier League game as Chelsea swept away Brighton to go fourth in the table.
In a remarkably entertaining match, Palmer, 22, also hit the post and had a further goal ruled out before the break as Chelsea’s rapid frontline cashed in on Brighton’s stubborn insistence on playing a high defensive line.
Albion scored twice early on themselves as fans were treated at a sun-kissed Stamford Bridge, with both of their strikes owing something to errors from Chelsea’s former Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
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But, after Georginio Rutter headed the visitors ahead, Palmer took a firm grasp of the game with a stunning individual display.
The England player had hit the post and put the ball in the net from an offside position before opening the scoring from Nicolas Jackson’s pass – with all three chances coming in the space of 138 breathless seconds.
Palmer then scored his 10th consecutive successful penalty for Chelsea after the impressive Jadon Sancho was brought down, before capping a 10-minute hat-trick with a brilliant 25-yard free kick into the top corner.
A fourth for Palmer, arrowed in from a Sancho pass, came soon after Carlos Baleba had seized on Sanchez’s poor ball out to give Brighton hope.
Chelsea, who put six past Wolves last month, were again superb going forwards but Brighton’s refusal to change their approach after such a flurry of identical chances was bizarre, bordering on naive as young manager Fabian Hurzeler tasted defeat for the first time.
Perhaps predictably the second half was far less incident-packed – although Palmer did waste a great chance for a fifth when he fired wide.
Peerless Palmer shows his class again
In another remarkable summer at Stamford Bridge which saw £200m spent and the likes of Raheem Sterling and Conor Gallagher leave, perhaps the eyebrow-raising nine-year contracts handed to Palmer and Jackson may prove to be shrewd moves.
The early weeks of the season were full of talk of chaos behind the scenes, power struggles and stockpiling, but Enzo Maresca has got his side playing sparkling, attacking football – with Palmer at the heart of it.
The former Manchester City player already has three hat-tricks in the Premier League for Chelsea – no player has scored more – and this was the second time he has scored four in a game.
He was unplayable at times, becoming the first Chelsea player to score 20 Premier League goals in a calendar year since Diego Costa plundered 21 in 2016.
Not only did he frequently test Brighton himself, twice in the second half he sent Jackson in on goal for chances the striker could have taken on another day.
And, for all the talk of having too many players, Chelsea have started to look settled. Maresca has made nine changes to his starting XIs in the league this season, four fewer than Manchester City and Newcastle and one fewer than Brighton.
As the final whistle sounded, Chelsea sat just a point off the top of the table – but Sanchez’s performance does suggest that the goalkeeping position could bear further scrutiny.
Brighton suffer with risk/reward high line
In defence of their defence, Brighton had conceded just four goals all season before kick-off and were unbeaten under Hurzeler.
But Nottingham Forest’s equaliser last week was a warning to the risk their high line poses, and with Chelsea fielding Palmer, Jackson, Sancho and Noni Madueke the tactic was ruthlessly unpicked.
Time and again Chelsea broke clear in the first half with Sancho having an effort ruled out for offside and Madueke firing wide.
There were positives for the visitors too, though. Their fans enjoyed jeering Sanchez, Marc Cucurella and Moises Caicedo, who all left to join Chelsea for combined fees which could reach £200m.
And Sanchez and Caicedo were at the root of the Brighton opener, Caicedo guilty of overplaying in his own goalmouth. When Levi Colwill – who also played for the Seagulls on loan – saw his clearance charged down, Sanchez unwisely came out to meet the ball and Rutter beat him to it and headed in.
Brighton had 63% of the possession in the first half and went close through Danny Welbeck before Baleba pounced on another Sanchez error to stride on and score.
The Seagulls only mustered one effort on target in the second half, however, and there was never any real challenge for Chelsea to worry about.
Will Hurzeler change his strategy when Brighton host Tottenham next week?
