30 December 2023 , 19:10
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Cole Palmer continued his impressive run of form as he scored a brace in Chelsea's dramatic 3-2 win over Luton Town, earning himself a fitting new nickname in the process.
Palmer has been Chelsea's star player this season, having scored eight Premier League goals in 16 games since making a £42.5million move to Stamford Bridge from Manchester City over the summer.
Chelsea went 3-0 up thanks to two goals from Palmer and a Noni Madueke strike, although late goals from Ross Barkley and Elijah Adebayo led to a nervy finish. Mauricio Pochettino's side were under the pump towards the end, but were able to hold on for an important victory.
Palmer was unsurprisingly named player of the match, with his second goal particularly impressive as he showed great composure to take the ball past goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski and ensure two Luton defenders were unable to block his shot.
When asked about the goal in a post-match interview with TNT Sports, Palmer said: "Just when I took it round the keeper I thought the other guy was going to come across fast, so if I waited a second I'd have time to put it in."
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At which point Madueke chimed in: "That's why they call him Cold Palmer, innit?" Palmer also celebrated the goal by pretending to shiver and revealed he had taken inspiration from his friend Morgan Rogers, who did a similar celebration after scoring for Championship side Middlesbrough, adding: "I told him I'd do it."
And Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino has likened Palmer to former Real Madrid star Angel di Maria, telling TNT: "In the position that he plays, and because he's a left-footer and because he has some similarities and the quality, he's a potential Angel Di Maria.
Cole Palmer celebrates his second goal against Luton (Getty Images)"Angel is a world champion, he was in Paris [Saint-Germain] with us, and is an amazing player. He [Palmer] has the capacity and the potential to be close to him, with time.
"He's still far away, but this type of player that can link, can be a playmaker, have the capacity to score, assist, it's this type of player like Angel. But of course he's performing really well from day one.
"He's adapted very well to the club, to the team-mates, to Chelsea life, and yes it's amazing, because always you expect the player can perform well, but he's doing excellent."