Cole Palmer has established himself as the greatest penalty taker in Premier League history after converting all 12 of his shots in the competition.
Chelsea’s talismanic playmaker completed his perfect dozen with an audacious Panenka, netting Sunday’s fourth goal. 4-3 win at Tottenham Hotspur. Palmer had already slotted a penalty past Fraser Forster’s formidable reach to draw the Blues level and turned on the style when presented with his second chance from the spot.
Before moving to west London in a £45m transfer at the end of the 2023 summer window, Palmer had never taken a penalty in senior football. The England international was a regular shot specialist for Manchester City’s under-18 side given Chelsea’s penalty against Burnley in October 2023 by Raheem Sterling as he looked for his first goal in the capital.
Palmer was duly converted at Turf Moor and took on spot-kicking duties. However, this status has been repeatedly questioned by Palmer’s colleagues. when Chelsea awarded a penalty against Arsenal later in October 2023, Sterling attempted to strip his former City team-mate of the ball. Enzo Fernández intervened and insisted that Palmer should score.
During the 6-0 thrashing of Everton in April 2024at a point in the game when Palmer had already scored a brilliant hat-trick from open play, Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson battled for the ball. Amidst the foul spat, Palmer stepped up with confidence and beat Jordan Pickford for the fourth time that night.
|
classification |
player |
Criminal record |
|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Cole Palmer |
100% (12/12) |
|
2. |
Yaya Touré |
100% (11/11) |
|
3. |
Matt Le Tissier |
96.2% (25/26) |
|
4. |
Danny Murphy |
94.7% (18/19) |
|
5= |
Callum Wilson |
94.1% (16/17) |
|
5= |
James Beattie |
94.1% (16/17) |
|
7= |
Julian Dicks |
93.8% (15/16) |
|
7= |
Erling Haaland |
93.8% (15/16) |
|
9. |
Thierry Henry |
92.0% (23/25) |
|
10= |
Ivan Tony |
91.7% (12/11) |
|
10= |
Bukayo Saka |
91.7% (11/12) |
Minimum of ten penalties attempted. Via data to choose.
Despite a distinct lack of support from his teammates, Palmer hasn’t missed a kick in his magnificent career so far. Holding his nerve not once but twice in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the 22-year-old surpassed Yaya Toure’s high-water mark for the best perfect penalty record in Premier League history.
The Manchester City icon sent in all 11 appearances in England’s top flight, although he might have been able to bolster that tally had he not been sharing duties with Sergio Aguero. The Argentine – for the record – only converted 82% of his penalties in the Premier League (26/33).
Two of the division’s current stars: Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and the Arsenal striker Bukayo Saka – Also boasts impressive records from 12 yards, but both have missed a top kick.
There’s no grand plan behind Palmer’s penalty kick approach. As the striker revealed earlier this season: “I just put the ball on the spot, took a step back and shot. A couple of times I changed my mind on the run.”
Even after his record-tying, game-sealing strikeout against the SpursPalmer could barely manage a disinterested mumble as he explained his Panenka. Leaning against the build-up of publicity, Chelsea’s match-winner shrugged: “I looked at the clock and thought it was a bit frantic, the game was all over the place. The keeper was ready to dive so I thought if he chipped he would get in… and he did.” Like all the other penalties he has taken.
