Mauricio Pochettino believes Cole Palmer has proved he is a “top player” after his hat-trick helped Chelsea secure a dramatic win against Manchester United.
The 21-year-old’s last two goals came in stoppage time, with the winner the latest scored in Premier League history, coming at 100 minutes 39 seconds.
Palmer is now one of four players on 16 goals in the Premier League this season and just two behind Erling Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot.
When he signed for Chelsea on deadline day for a deal worth £42.5m, eyebrows were raised at the fee. However, that now looks like a bargain.
“One of the best skills is his mentality and his capacity to deal with the pressure,” Pochettino said.
“He’s young and I think it’s his first season playing very consistently. I think it’s amazing how he is dealing with the pressure. That is all that can be a very good player.
“With the performance today it’s impossible to say that he’s not a top player.”
Palmer’s form has earned him a senior England debut this season and given him a chance of making the final squad when Gareth Southgate’s side head to the Euros this summer.
He has six goals in his last four Premier League games and has provided two assists in that time as he continues to be the standout player in this Chelsea team.
“The impact is amazing. He is doing a fantastic job, it is difficult to talk more about him. Today he showed the mentality and the quality,” Pochettino said.
“I said ‘Cole, two minutes more and to believe’.”
Palmer’s hat-trick is his first in senior football, while only Yaya Toure (11) and Dimitar Berbatov (nine) have taken more penalties in the league and scored every one than Palmer’s eight so far this season.
“Crazy game. When we scored in the 98th minute I thought ‘let’s go for it’. Madness,” Palmer said.
“I didn’t know what to do. I was running round when I scored. A hat-trick is a hat-trick. It was my first one, I’m really happy about it.
“I had a few penalties this season. I’m just going to continue to try to score them. If I get penalties, I’m going to try to score, I’m not going to try to miss.
“When we scored he [Pochettino] said ‘two minutes, come on’. He’s always trying to drive us on. We went for it and thankfully we scored.
“It’s a big winner. It’s a massive momentum booster. It puts everyone in a good mood. Hopefully we can kick on.”
Chelsea play bottom of the table Sheffield United away on Sunday as they look to try to push up the table to reach the European spots.
