It’s official - Cole Palmer is not normal, according to Enzo Maresca, after Chelsea’s fifth straight victory closed the gap on Liverpool at the top of the table to four points and condemned Tottenham to more misery in an enthralling London derby.
Palmer scored two second-half penalties as the Blues came from 2-0 down to win 4-3, giving him a Premier League record 12 consecutive conversions.
His second, after he had been bundled over by Pape Matar Sarr, was a cheeky chip over Fraser Forster, to cement his reputation as ‘ice-cold Palmer’, and afterwards his manager confirmed that the England man never practices penalties.
“Cole belongs to that group of players who are not normal,” said a beaming Maresca, whose side are now in second place, two points clear of Arsenal and have to be considered genuine title challengers.
“Top players do things that other players, and us, ask : ‘How can they do that?’ It is because it is Cole, he is top, and we can expect that sort of thing from him.”
Palmer’s performance encapsulated the confidence that is flowing through the Blues, even after going two goals down inside the first 11 minutes.
“It’s painful, considering how well we played at times and were 2-0 up,” he said.
But Chelsea showed why they must be taken seriously as title contenders with an outstanding display second-half display. After Jadon Sancho reduced the arrears before half-time, Palmer scored the first of his penalties and Enzo Fernandez volleyed home to complete a remarkable turnaround.
Maresca has surprised most neutrals - and even some Chelsea supporters - by taking over an expensive but underperforming squad and moulding them into a serious unit. They have lost only twice in the league - to Manchester City and Liverpool - and this was their fifth consecutive victory.
Yet it had started so well for Spurs, who desperately need a break. The teamsheet showed a surprise with the return of Tottenham’s first-choice centre-back pairing of Micky Van de van and Cristian Romero from injury.
It was something of a gamble, perhaps a sign of the pressure Ange Postecoglou has been feeling, although he insisted he had little choice because of injuries to back up defenders.
All the same, it backfired to some extent when Romero limped off in the 15th minute. “Cuti’s injury was different to the previous one, and there’s nothing you can do about that. It sums up the way our season has gone,” he said.
Tottenham’s 2-0 lead originated from an unlikely source, with Marc Cucurella slipping to concede possession each time. For the first, Brennan Johnson nipped in and crossed low for Dominic Solanke to stab home from close range.
The second time Cucurella slipped, six minutes later, Johnson again pounced to feed Dejan Kulusevski, who dribbled across the edge of the Chelsea penalty area before hitting a low shot through a crowd of legs inside Robert Sanchez’s near post.
Cucurella immediately changed his footwear and was more settled thereafter. Sanchez was also having a nightmare, regularly giving away possession, and it looked like Tottenham might go on to make hay.
But Jadon Sancho gave Chelsea hope with a fine strike in the 18th minute, cutting in from the left before unleashing a low shot that rebounded in off the far post.
Chances came and went at both ends. Heung Min Son curled a shot just over the angle of bar and far post, then crossed for Pape Matar Sarr to head on to the crossbar.
Sarr had earlier been caught on the shin by Moises Caicedo’s studs, but Anthony Taylor did not consider it a red card offence and a VAR check agreed, angering Postecoglou.
“The referee is scared to make a decision, VAR won’t intervene and it feels like nobody is really in control,” he said.
Forster, in the Tottenham goal, made a fine save from Cole Palmer and then blocked Pedro Neto’s follow-up shot with an outstretched leg.
But the keeper had little chance when Palmer equalised from the penalty spot after Yves Bissouma brought down Caicedo on the hour mark.
From that point on, Chelsea looked the most likely side to score and so it proved 12 minutes later when Enzo Fernandez volleyed home from 15 yards to put them ahead for the first time.
It was all over soon afterwards when Palmer scored his second penalty of the game, having been barged over by Sarr. The England midfielder is known for his cool temperament, and he was ice-cold as he cheekily chipped the ball over a diving Forster.
Son pulled one goal back for Spurs deep in stoppage time, but it was too little, too late to prevent another momentous win for the Blues.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: Forster 7; Porro 6, Romero 6 (Dragusin 15), Van de Ven 7 (Gray 79); Udogie 6; Sarr 6, Bissouma 6 (Bergvall 79), Kulusevski 7 (Maddison 79); Johnson 7 (Werner 53) Solanke 7, Son 6.
CHELSEA: Sanchez 5; Caicedo 6, Badiashile 6, Colwill 6, Cucurella 5; Palmer, 9 Lavia 7 (Gusto 46), Fernandez 8; Neto 7, Jackson 6 (Nkunku 76), Sancho 7.
Referee: Anthony Taylor 8.