COLE Palmer said Chelsea players got a “lift” when they saw eight minutes added-time going up on the board against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night despite the hosts having thrown away a 2-0 lead to trail 3-2.
The match ended up lasting 103 minutes as Mauricio Pochettino’s side completed the latest turnaround in Premier League history.
Chelsea won a penalty in the 97th minute that Palmer converted in the 100th minute before he completed his hat-tick when his shot deflected past United goalkeeper Andre Onana in the 101st minute.
“I don’t know [what happened], we were 2-0 up and [made] silly mistakes but when eight minutes got added on it gave us a lift and it was madness,” Palmer said.
“We need to try and win as many as possible and to win like that is amazing. When we scored the second [penalty] we were lifted, we saw the manager saying two minutes left and thought we’d go for it. Thankfully we scored!”
Palmer has sixteen Premier League goals in his first season with Chelsea, eight of them spot-kicks.
He said: “I’ve taken many penalties and I’m not going to miss one am I, touch wood. To score in the last minute is crazy. I’m buzzing
“I just try and take each game as it comes and show the Chelsea fans what I came here to do and that’s play football.”
Pochettino thinks Palmer can get even better.
“His best skill I think is, one of his best skills is his mentality, his capacity to deal with the pressure,” Pochettino said. “He’s young, I think it’s his first season playing very consistently. I think it’s amazing the way he deals with the pressure.
“He can be a very good player. If we talk today, it’s impossible to not say he’s a top player, no? But he can still do things to improve.”
