Chelsea sent Erling Haaland message as national media react to 'genius' Cole Palmer vs Brighton

Cole Palmer was the star of the show yet again for Chelsea as Enzo Maresca's side stretched their winning run to four games with a 4-2 triumph over Brighton. In just 20 first-half minutes, Palmer scored four times with goalkeeper Robert Sanchez seeing his blushes spared as a result after making two mistakes leading to goals.

Georginio Rutter and Carlos Baleba were also both on target during the opening 45 minutes at Stamford Bridge, but it was all about Palmer. For the second time in his Chelsea career, Palmer scored four goals in one game and it was also the third time he had taken home the match ball.

If it wasn't clear already, Palmer is Chelsea's talisman and yet his four goals still didn't take him top of the scoring charts. Manchester City's Erling Haaland is still comfortably ahead despite not finding the back of the net against Newcastle over the weekend with it very clear how important each player is to their respective team.

With that being said, football.london has rounded up the thoughts from the national media after Chelsea went fourth in the Premier League standings courtesy of another three points.

The Guardian

Ed Aarons wrote: "Cole Palmer FC may take some stopping if they can keep this up. While these days it is doing the rest of Enzo Maresca’s side a disservice to ­suggest this is a one-man team, another irresistible performance from the England forward, in which he became the first player in Premier League history to score four times before half-time, made it four wins on the trot for Chelsea.

"No wonder that Palmer took the plaudits after a hat-trick in the space of just 10 minutes inspired a sensational response to Chelsea ­falling behind to Georginio Rutter’s early opener after Robert Sánchez’s mistake against his former club. The Chelsea goalkeeper will be mightily relieved that another mistake to allow Carlos Baleba to pull one back did not cause greater damage as Palmer made sure of the points with another brilliant finish before half-time.

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"But while Fabian Hürzeler was left aggrieved that his Brighton side were not awarded a penalty at the start of the second half, his somewhat naive insistence of persisting with a high defensive line backfired spectacularly as Chelsea enjoyed their afternoon in the sunshine and moved into the top four. Perhaps Maresca – whose side are now Premier League top scorers after six matches – has found some method among all the madness."

The Athletic

"As he passed the Matthew Harding Stand on Chelsea ’s lap of appreciation following a 4-2 win over Brighton and Hove Albion, Cole Palmer tucked his well-earned match ball under the front of his shirt to free his hands and return the applause," Liam Twomey writes.

"His intent may have been practical, but the image it created was indelible: a 22-year-old superstar, pregnant with genius?

"Palmer made Premier League history against Brighton, becoming the first player to score four first-half goals. There was a tap-in, a typically nerveless penalty, a sublime free-kick and whipped near-post finish. He had another goal ruled out for a correct but close offside and hit the post. All of the things happened between the 19th minute and the 41st minute, only the miss was shocking.

"Best player debates in football are often tedious, not least because when most people say those two words they really mean best attacking player. Rodri lost one match in 18 months for club and country before rupturing his ACL against Arsenal; how do you compare the value of midfield controllers and defensive destroyers with those who deal in the currency of goals and assists?

"Erling Haaland has been the logical choice for best attacking player in the league virtually ever since arriving at Manchester City in the summer of 2022, and a ridiculous 10 goals in his first six Premier League matches of 2024-25 suggests he has no intention of surrendering that particular mantle anytime soon.

The Daily Mail

"Sanity will return to Stamford Bridge one day," wrote Riath Al-Samarrai. "On the basis of this game, let’s collectively hope it doesn’t arrive any time soon.

"It was wild. It was loopy. It was a day when the Premier League ’s most sensible club visited one of the more dysfunctional and suffered the sort of beating that warrants a long lie down and a longer review. For that, Fabian Hurzeler will forever identify Cole Palmer with a great, thumping trauma. Cold Palmer? He was hotter than lava.

"To catalogue the terror Palmer brought to this party, it is necessary to pinpoint a period of the first half between the eighth minute and the 41st. You see, Brighton led this game going into that stretch. In fact, they were controlling it and their early goal from Georginio Rutter was fair reward.

"But then it all turned quite spectacularly. To the most dizzying passages of play in the history of this division, we can add the subsequent sequence that saw Palmer hit a post, have a strike disallowed for offside before whizzing from one goal to three in the space of 10 minutes.

"His free-kick to complete that hat-trick was just marvellous and yet it was not the finishing point for his work, because in the moments after Carlos Baleba made it 3-2, Palmer got his fourth."