Chelsea’s talismanic Cole Palmer finally put an end to an unwanted streak of 242 days without a non-penalty goal in the Premier League as the Blues drew 2–2 against Brentford on Saturday.
Palmer missed Chelsea’s last two games after picking up a groin injury in the warmup against West Ham United on August 22. The England international was named to the starting lineup, but was a surprise scratch from the starting XI as the Blues went on to secure their first victory of the season.
After missing the ensuing Fulham match, Palmer returned to action this weekend coming off the bench in the 56th minute. Being on the pitch for just five minutes, Palmer got the Blues level making an immediate impact firing home inside the penalty area.
The goal marked the first time since January 14 that Palmer had scored a league goal outside of attempts from the penalty spot. To put that into further context from the 2024–25 season, the goal against Bournemouth was his 14th of that campaign. From there on out, Palmer failed to find the back of the net outside of a victory vs. Liverpool on May 4.
Palmer did score three goals in Chelsea’s FIFA Club World Cup triumph this past summer, though that failed to snap his streak in England’s top flight.
Moisés Caicedo went on to put the Blues in front on the night with a rifled effort in the 85th minute, though Brentford found a second goal deep into stoppage time to rescue a point. The draw marked Chelsea’s second in four games to start this season, but positive signs regardless from Palmer in coming back from injury and scoring from open play in the same game.
Chelsea and Palmer turn their attention to the Champions League on Wednesday with a trip to Bayern Munich.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cole Palmer Snaps 242-Day Cold Streak for Chelsea Against Brentford.
