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The key talking points and moments missed from Chelsea's 3-1 win over Wolves on Saturday afternoon.
Cole Palmer stole the show at Molineux on Saturday afternoon. The Chelsea star was back to his very best as he fired Liam Rosenior's side to a 3-1 win over Wolves.
Palmer put the Blues ahead from the spot inside the opening quarter of an hour following a lax challenge on Joao Pedro by Matt Doherty. The 23-year-old midfielder doubled his tally a few moments later, beating Jose Sa from 12 yards, again, after another careless foul inside the box, this time by Yerson Mosquera.
Shortly before the break, Palmer completed his hat-trick, finishing off a well-worked back-to-front move. Tolu Arokodare pulled one back for Rob Edwards' side at the start of the second half, but Chelsea weathered the storm – figuratively, and quite literally. It was pouring down with rain!
While Manchester United maintained their one-point advantage in the race for top four, having beaten Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford a couple of hours prior, the Blues did, however, slash Aston Villa's cushion in third place.
So, with that being said, football.london has looked at the key moments and talking points from Chelsea's win over Wolves.
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Palmer etches his name into the history books
Palmer covered his ears after firing Chelsea into the lead on Saturday afternoon. After a noisy couple of weeks, the 23-year-old midfielder left little room for doubt over his future at Stamford Bridge.
Speaking to the BBC on Match of the Day after the game, Palmer said: "Everyone loves to chat rubbish, don't they? I don't pay too much attention to it. You see things. But I feel like I've come from a strong place anyway, so I don't pay attention to it."
Palmer became the first player in Premier League history to score three hat-tricks in the first half of a match, having previously done so against Everton and Brighton. The England international also became just the second player in the English top flight to ever score three and assist three in an away game against the same opponent.
He continued: "It felt good to score some goals and get three points. I don't think [I'm 100% fit] just yet. Obviously, people don't know what goes on behind the scenes, but being injured the whole season is not ideal, and when I'm not able to perform as I want to because I've been injured, and still dealing with the injury, but hopefully I can get over the injury soon by managing it.
"I know what level I can provide when I feel 100% fit. Not being 100% fit isn't ideal. I still feel like I can help the team, but when I'm back to full fitness, I feel like I can go to another level."
On Rosenior, Palmer added: "Life under Liam is amazing, he gives us all confidence. Lets us be ourselves, play free. I'm sure when I'm back proper fit you'll see the best of me. Him and all the staff give us all confidence on the training pitch, with his strategies, the way we play... I really like it."
After etching his name into the history books and making his 100th start for Chelsea, he grabbed the match ball and, in his typical nonchalant fashion, did a few keepy-uppies before posing for a picture.
Rosenior faces midfield dilemma
While Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo have been superb for Rosenior since he replaced Enzo Maresca in the dugout, the Chelsea duo completed another 90 minutes against Wolves. They've soldiered on so far, but the workload could quickly catch up with them as the fixtures pile up.
Unsurprisingly, having previously worked with the Blues boss at Strasbourg, Andrey Santos has looked at home in the starting lineup. That said, he, too, could be the victim of his own success in the coming weeks.
Unless Romeo Lavia, in particular, and Reece James return to action soon, Rosenior could – through no fault of his own, but the sporting directors' – run Santos, Fernandez, and Caicedo into the ground.
Perhaps the Chelsea boss could turn to Reggie Walsh or Kiano Dyer from the academy in the coming weeks.
Muy Gusto, but when will Acheampong get a chance?
Malo Gusto started his fourth consecutive game on Saturday afternoon and, while he’s been faultless in each, Rosenior can't afford to lose him – especially with Reece James nursing a minor knock. So, it's about time that the Chelsea boss puts his faith in Josh Acheampong, who's proved ready to start on more than one occasion this season.
As you can probably tell, there's a theme to this article: workload management. Of course, Rosenior shouldn't make wholesale changes for the sake of it, but right-back is one of the few positions in the starting lineup that the Blues can afford to rotate without fear of the quality dropping.
Neto go back to basics
Pedro Neto needs to go back to basics. The Chelsea winger enjoyed an excellent end to last season, winning silverware for club and country, but he seems to have hit a brick wall this term.
Shortly after Palmer completed his hat-trick, Neto could've slipped his teammate in-behind for a fourth. But, rather than thread the eye of the needle, he feigned the pass and took a shot of his own, which was blocked.
Neto could've put the final nail in the coffin at Molineux, but he left the door open for Wolves to mount a comeback. Arokodare put Edwards' side in the driving seat when he pulled one back moments after the break, but, fortunately for the Portugal international, the Blues didn't live to rue his mistake.
His performance was summed up perfectly in the final minutes. Neto made a great run to the back post before directing an uncontested header wide of the post from close range…
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