Reuters
[Source: Reuters]
Cole Palmer scored twice from the penalty spot as Chelsea roared back from being two goals down after 11 minutes to beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-3 away in a frenzied London derby and close the gap with Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Two comical slips by Chelsea full back Marc Cucurella led to Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski giving the hosts a dream start but their joy turned to despair as the visitors showed why they should be considered title contenders.
Jadon Sancho rifled in a shot after 17 minutes to give Chelsea momentum and Palmer equalised from the spot just past the hour mark as Chelsea dominated the second period.
Enzo Fernandez powered home a shot to put Chelsea ahead and Palmer effectively wrapped it up with his second penalty late on before Son Heung-min scored a stoppage-time consolation goal.
Chelsea are in second place with 31 points from 15 games, four points behind Liverpool whose game at Everton was postponed because of high winds on Saturday.
Tottenham’s second defeat of the week left them in 11th place with 20 points and the pressure mounting on manager Ange Postecoglou whose cause was not helped by losing centre back Cristian Romero to injury early on.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has played down the title chances of his expensively-assembled squad who are now unbeaten in seven games and have won their last four Premier League matches. They are also top scorers in the division with 35 goals and in Palmer have a player at the peak of his powers.
He now has 50 goal involvements (33 goals and 17 assists) in 48 Premier League games for the London club since joining from Manchester City.
