The Blues boss heaped praise on Palmer, who is now joint-second in the race for the Castrol Golden Boot on 16 goals, two behind Erling Haaland.

“One of his best skills is his mentality and his capacity to deal with the pressure,” Pochettino told the club’s official website. He’s young, it is his first season playing very consistently and I think it is amazing the way he deals with the pressure.

“That shows he can be a very good player. Looking at his performance today it is impossible to say that he’s not a top player, but there’s still a lot of room to improve.”

Cole Palmer scored two stoppage-time goals as his hat-trick dented Manchester United’s Premier League top-four hopes in a chaotic 4-3 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Palmer converted a penalty 10 minutes into added time before his deflected strike a minute later salvaged a stunning and unlikely last-gasp win that left sixth-placed United 11 points adrift of Aston Villa in fourth.

Alejandro Garnacho had earlier scored twice, along with a goal for Bruno Fernandes before the break, to help United fight back from two goals down to lead 3-2 on Thursday.

Yet Palmer, who scored a first-half penalty after Conor Gallagher’s early opener, proved the late hero to lift Mauricio Pochettino’s side to 10th and just five points behind the Red Devils.

Malo Gusto’s deflected pass teed up the fourth-minute opener as Gallagher arrowed a right-footed strike under the unsighted Andre Onana from near the penalty spot.

Mykhailo Mudryk curled wide soon after before Antony – in the starting XI for Marcus Rashford – clumsily felled the onrushing Marc Cucurella for a Chelsea penalty.

The in-form Palmer had little trouble from 12 yards, stroking low into the bottom-right corner for his 14th league goal this season – but United responded in emphatic fashion.

Cole Palmer’s winning goal, timed at 100 minutes and 39 seconds, was also the latest winning goal on record (since 2006/07) in a Premier League match.

The Blues became the first team in Premier League history to both score 2+ goals and concede 2+ goals in six consecutive matches in all competitions since Chelsea themselves back in November/December 1989.

Scoring two penalties in the match, Palmer has now converted all eight of his spot-kicks for Chelsea this season.

In Premier League history, only Yaya Toure (11/11) and Dimitar Berbatov (9/9) have taken more penalties while converting 100 per cent of them than the Blues star.

There were 88 shots in the two matches between Chelsea and Man Utd this season, the most in a Premier League fixture since Leicester City v Queens Park Rangers in 2014/15.

While Alejandro Garnacho’s double was overshadowed by Palmer’s late heroics, the Man Utd winger became the first teenager to score two or more goals in three Premier League matches in a single season since Michael Owen in 1998/99.

Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that he told Cole Palmer to “believe” in the moments after the midfielder equalised in the 10th minute of added time against Manchester United, telling him there was still time to score a winner.

“I said ‘Cole, two minutes more and to believe’. In football, it’s all about belief,” Pochettino told BBC Sport.

Eighty-one seconds after levelling for Chelsea, Palmer scored again to complete his first senior hat-trick and make Premier League history in the process.

That goal, timed at 100 minutes and 39 seconds, was the latest winning goal on record (since 2006/07) in a Premier League match.

Man Utd were leading with 99 minutes and 17 seconds on the clock, the latest a side has EVER led in a Premier League match they’ve gone on to lose.

Bruno Fernandes (£8.2m) and Alejandro Garnacho (£4.9m) are the hosts’ form players. The Portuguese’s midweek goal against Chelsea on Thursday evening means he’s blanked just once in his last five matches, while Garnacho’s brace at Stamford Bridge underlines his appeal as a budget gem.

Red Devils goalkeeper Andre Onana (£4.9m), meanwhile, has earned at least one save point in each of his last 10 appearances. The Cameroonian made eight saves in the reverse fixture at Anfield to collect 10 points in the goalless draw.

Alexis Mac Allister (£5.9m) is Liverpool’s form player – the Argentinian has produced attacking returns in each of the last six Gameweeks.

Handing Mohamed Salah (£13.4m) the armband effectively earns you QUADRUPLE points as captain, while Darwin Nunez (£7.7m) can also take advantage of a Man Utd side who ranked among the bottom two for conceding shots in the box and big chances in their last four matches ahead of Gameweek 32.

Chelsea’s encounter with Sheffield United gives Cole Palmer (£6.0m) every chance of extending his incredible run of form. His hat-trick against Man Utd in midweek earned the midfielder his ninth double-figure score of 2023/24, more than any other player.

Palmer’s 27 shots, 13 shots on target and 18 key passes were all more than any other player in Fantasy across Chelsea’s last four matches.

His hosts, meanwhile, have conceded 29 goals in their previous seven fixtures at Bramall Lane across all competitions.

Forward Nicolas Jackson (£6.8m) could also thrive against the Blades’ poor defence, while right-back Malo Gusto (£4.3m) has produced an assist in two of his side’s last three matches on the road.

Man Utd were leading with 99 minutes and 17 seconds on the clock, the latest a side has EVER led in a Premier League match they’ve gone on to lose.

He was named the competition’s Player of the Season in 2014/15, while in 2018/19 he won the Playmaker award for setting up the most goals. He also won two Goal of the Month awards.

Hazard left for Real Madrid in 2019 and after a number of injury problems announced his retirement at the age of 32 in October 2023.

“He is a legend at Chelsea, look at what he achieved in six years at the club. He won the league twice, the Europa League twice, won the FA Cup, won Player of the Year.” – Didier Drogba

“He’s in the top few players in the world, we all know that. I knew his potential from day one when he trained at Chelsea a few years ago now. We’ve seen him in the Premier League and he has been a joy to have. He was a joy to play with.” – Frank Lampard

“He was the best player in the Premier League for four years. He won PFA Young Player, PFA Player and Football Writers’ Player of the Year awards. He won every trophy at Chelsea except the Champions League. He was in my eyes the best performer.” – Jamie Carragher

Did you know?
In his final Premier League season in 2018/19, Eden Hazard scored 16 goals and assisted 15, becoming one of just four players to both score 15+ goals and assist 15+ goals in a season.

Eden Hazard completed 180 dribbles in the Premier League in Chelsea’s 2014/15 title-winning season, a figure bettered by just one player in a season that Opta has on record since 2003/04.

Between his first (2012/13) and last (2018/19) Premier League seasons, Hazard was the only player in the competition to both score 50+ goals (85) and assist 50+ goals (54). He also led the way for chances created (595) and completed dribbles (909) in that timeframe.