Cole Palmer scored twice from the penalty spot as Chelsea staged a remarkable comeback to defeat Tottenham Hotspur 4-3 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
The match began disastrously for Chelsea, with two slips by full-back Marc Cucurella leading to early goals from Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski, giving Tottenham a 2-0 lead within the first 11 minutes.
Despite the setback, Chelsea responded swiftly. In the 17th minute, Jadon Sancho rifled a shot into the net, halving the deficit and shifting the momentum in favor of the visitors.
The second half saw Chelsea dominate possession and press forward relentlessly. Just past the hour mark, Cole Palmer stepped up to convert a penalty, drawing the teams level at 2-2.
Enzo Fernandez then powered home a spectacular shot, putting Chelsea ahead for the first time in the match. Palmer sealed the victory with his second penalty late on, making it 4-2.
Tottenham’s Son Heung-min managed to score a consolation goal in stoppage time, but it wasn’t enough to prevent their second defeat of the week.
The win propels Chelsea to second place in the Premier League standings with 31 points from 15 games, closing the gap to four points behind leaders Liverpool, whose match against Everton was postponed due to high winds.
Tottenham, meanwhile, find themselves in 11th place with 20 points. The pressure is mounting on manager Ange Postecoglou, especially after losing center-back Cristian Romero to injury early in the game.
“It’s a sore one for sure, it’s painful,” Postecoglou told Sky Sports. “We started the game really well and then we lose Cristian Romero and we had to reshuffle. The momentum shifted pretty quickly.”
Chelsea’s manager Enzo Maresca praised his team’s resilience. “The first 10 or 15 minutes we conceded two easy goals but overall we were in control of the game,” Maresca said. “The reaction of the players was mentally strong both on and off the ball.”
Cole Palmer’s performance was particularly noteworthy. He now has 50 goal involvements—33 goals and 17 assists—in 48 Premier League games since joining from Manchester City.
Chelsea’s unbeaten run now stretches to seven games, with four consecutive Premier League victories. Their attacking prowess has been evident, as they are the top scorers in the division with 35 goals.
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Palmer on the spot as Chelsea roar back to beat Tottenham 4-3
cgtn.com
