Not for the first time in his Chelsea career, Cole Palmer delivered on his promise.
On Friday evening, Palmer took to his Instagram account to send a pointed message to Chelsea fans. He obviously knew he was starting his first game at Stamford Bridge since the opening league fixture of the campaign versus Crystal Palace on Saturday because he wrote: “Finally back home tomorrow after a long time out. Let’s make things right together.”
Palmer came into the match having played just 232 Premier League minutes this season mainly due to a groin problem (he suffered a fractured toe last month to further delay his return). His first appearances after being sidelined since September 20 were as a substitute in the 3-1 defeat to Leeds United at Elland Road on December 3 and as a starter in the underwhelming 0-0 draw at Bournemouth three days later. The England international did not travel to Italy for the 2-1 Champions League loss to Atalanta last Tuesday, with this game against Everton in mind.
You got the sense that Palmer wanted to make up for all the weeks he has been unavailable and ensure Chelsea got back to winning ways in equal measure. And how he delivered.
The goal that put Chelsea in front was vintage Cole Palmer and showed how — even when not fully match fit — he can still conduct their attack like an orchestra. There had been the odd flash up to this juncture but he really came to life in the 22nd minute.
A Chelsea attack had floundered down the left so Alejandro Garnacho passed it back to Reece James who found centre back Wesley Fofana in plenty of space. With no-one in an Everton shirt applying any pressure, the France international carried the ball forward into their half.
Jack Grealish blocked the possibility of a pass to Palmer, while midfielder Idrissa Gueye was also very close to the Chelsea man. But Palmer spotted an opportunity and gestured to Fofana that he should pass the ball to Malo Gusto in space instead. You can see Palmer pointing at Gusto for Fofana to pass to him here…
The moment Fofana rolls a simple diagonal pass toward Gusto, Palmer spins sharply and goes to run in behind Gueye. As Gusto controls the ball with his left foot, Gueye and Grealish make a slight movement towards him, losing sight of Palmer.
Gusto then hits a perfectly weighted ball with his right foot as Palmer sprints into a gap between Everton centre back Michael Keane and left back Vitalii Mykolenko. You can see Keane, Gueye and Mykolenko all recognise the danger but Palmer already has too much of an advantage for them to be able to do anything about it.
Palmer went on to beat Everton keeper Jordan Pickford to score just his second league goal of the season and third overall. Given the confidence of the finish you would never have known it had been three months since he had last found the net.
He’s back. 🥶#CFC | #CHEEVE pic.twitter.com/7I5HZ27qku
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 13, 2025
It is this kind of inventive spark that Chelsea have done very well to cope without for most of this season. This was something head coach Enzo Maresca wanted to make clear at the start of his post match press conference before he went on to drop the rather mysterious admission that the previous 48 hours had been his worst since arriving at Stamford Bridge due to a lack of support from some unnamed avenue.
Still, in terms of seeing Palmer get back on the scoresheet so soon into his comeback, Maresca was prepared to be clearer on its significance. He said: “It’s very important for him — for the boost for him, the teammates and the fans.”
(Adrian Dennis / AFP via Getty Images)
The Chelsea supporters reserved their loudest cheers for Palmer all afternoon. Firstly when his name was read out pre-match, secondly when he scored and thirdly when substituted as planned just before the hour mark. There was also an extraordinary crescendo of ‘oohs’ from the home fans when Palmer hit a pass through a small corridor of Everton players and into Joao Pedro’s path. You suspect the latter will really benefit from Palmer being back on the scene again given the instant understanding they developed during the latter rounds of the FIFA Club World Cup last summer.
Just as Maresca issued a word of warning on Friday that Palmer is not over his groin injury enough to play every match the player is also taking things cautiously.
Speaking to the official Chelsea app about the challenge he has faced remaining patient over returning from the injury, he said: “I think it’s been important because I didn’t want to rush back too soon to obviously get injured again. I am still managing it and just want to get better each day.
“I enjoyed being back. Obviously, I am still nowhere near 100 per cent fitness and sharpness. I don’t want to do too much too soon because then it’s just not good, but I am getting there.”
This is not just good news for Chelsea but for England head coach Thomas Tuchel too. He was at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon and will surely be pleased to see some inspiration from Palmer already.
A few hours after the final whistle, Palmer was back on Instagram with a simple message along with a picture of him enjoying his goal doing his trademark ice-cold celebration. It simply read: “Let me remind you.”
He certainly did that.