Chelsea attacker Cole Palmer scored four goals to secure a 6-0 win over Everton at Stamford Bridge.
The 21-year-old made it back-to-back hat-tricks on home soil and became the first player to score two Premier League trebles for the club in the same season.
Palmer was the star of the show. He combined with Nicolas Jackson early on after putting a deft nutmeg on Jarrad Braithwaite and angled a beautiful shot beyond Jordan Pickford in the Everton goal for the opener.
Moments later, Chelsea fashioned another chance, and Jackson forced the save from Pickford before Palmer headed in the rebound for the second.
Everton had their chances, but Beto failed to convert. Pickford then gifted Palmer his third in the 28th minute, and the former Manchester City man grabbed it happily, finishing off a perfect hat-trick with a right-footed lob.
Jackson compounded Everton’s woes before the half-time break as he turned and finished superbly to make it 4-0.
In the second half, Palmer won and converted a penalty to add insult to injury for the Merseyside club, going level with Erling Haaland on 20 goals for the season. They both sit atop the PL scoring chart.
Palmer is the first Chelsea player to score 20+ goals in all competitions since Eden Hazard in the 2018/19 season and the first to do it in his debut season since Diego Costa. He is also the first to score in seven consecutive home games.
Alfie Gilchrist came on for Malo Gusto and piled on the misery on Everton with a well-taken volley to make it 6-0 as Chelsea kept a clean sheet for the first time since January 26.
The Blues sit in ninth place on the league log with 47 points and hope to continue this eight-game unbeaten run. The West Londoners could push up to seventh with wins in their outstanding two matches and if other results go their way.
For now, it is onto this weekend’s colossal clash with Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final.