Cole Palmer set a new mark for most Premier League goals in a calendar year for Chelsea after giving his team the lead against Fulham at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.
The England international wriggled away from three defenders before calmly slotting past Bernd Leno for his 26th league goal of 2024. It ended up being in vain, however, as Fulham came back to win 2-1 via a last-gasp Rodrigo Muniz goal.
That took him past Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s previous record of 25 set in 2001. Hasselbaink was on hand to witness Palmer’s goal, working as a pundit for Amazon Prime Video’s coverage of the west London derby.
“The boy deserves it,” Hasselbaink said. “This has been standing for a long, long time, and it’s time now that it is gone. There is no better player than Palmer to do that.”
Palmer has been integral in Chelsea’s excellent form under Enzo Maresca in the 2024-25 season. He now has 12 goals and six assists this term as the team sit second in the league, behind only Liverpool.
The former Manchester City forward has 51 goal contributions in 51 appearances in all competitions since making his move to the Blues in August 2023.
