Cole Palmer joins exclusive club but Chelsea create unwanted Premier League history against Fulham

Cole Palmer once again dazzled with his historic appearance, but failed to prevent Chelsea from creating unwanted history in the Premier League.

The 22-year-old marked his 50th top-flight start with another wonder goal, but his smile was wiped from his face as Fulham fought back to win their first game at Stamford Bridge since 1979.

Late goals from Harry Wilson and Rodrigo Muniz stunned the hosts in what were Chelsea's first home goals in seven attempts.

Fulham's victory is only the third at Stamford Bridge in the club's history, after winning 2-1 and 2-0 in 1964 and 1979 respectively.

Chelsea appeared to be on course to close the gap on leaders Liverpool to one point after Palmer's first goal.

He Chelsea The playmaker found the back of the net in the 16th minute with a beautiful shot from outside the area.

palmer He slalomed past Andreas Pereira and Sasa Lukic before coolly slotting into Bernd Leno's near post to score his 12th Premier League goal of the season.

His goal means he has now been directly involved in 52 goals in his first 50 top-flight starts.

In that time, Palmer contributed 34 goals and 18 assists.

Only his former Manchester City teammate Erling Haaland (64) and Manchester United legend Andy Cole (57) have been involved in more goals in their first 50 Premier League starts.

What's even more impressive is that both players are forwards.

While Palmer has spent most of his career as a number 10, although he has also operated on the right wing at times.

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All but three of his 50 Premier League starts came during his time at Chelsea.

He was included in Pep Guardiola's City eleven only three times, contributing a solitary assist.

Palmer has enjoyed an impressive 2024 so far, in which he has been directly involved in 39 Premier League goals.

Incredibly, that's more than Haaland achieved in 2023 (38 goals)

But unfortunately for Palmer, his goal didn't matter after a late collapse in the west London derby.

Wilson appeared with the equalizer in the 82nd minute after heading in from inside the six-yard box.

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And in the fifth minute of added time, Muñiz caused chaos among the visiting fans after firing low into the corner following a lightning counterattack.

Arsenal can now leapfrog Chelsea into second place if the Gunners beat Ipswich at the Emirates on Friday night.

Palmer spoke of his disappointment when speaking to Amazon Prime after the match, as he stated that the results against Fulham are the reason why many pundits have said Chelsea cannot win the league.

He said: “Yes (it hurts). We won most of the game, but losing at the end is difficult.”

“In the first half we played well, we controlled the game and had plenty of opportunities. In the second half we lost control a little.

“They are a good transition team and they like to run straight, we got caught up in their game and paid the price.”

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“We knew we weren't going to win every game. It's the coach's first season with us. We're learning.

“Everyone said from the beginning that we were not title contenders. We are just improving as a team and growing.”