Cole Palmer reveals he supported Chelsea's rivals as child after stunning hat-trick

Cole Palmer has revealed he grew up as a fan of Manchester United after scoring a hat-trick against them for Chelsea on Thursday night.

The Blues pulled off one of the latest comebacks in football history in their 4-3 triumph at Stamford Bridge, with Palmer coming up with goals in the 100th and 101st minutes to turn the match around completely.

Chelsea raced into a two-goal lead early on through Conor Gallagher and the first of two Palmer penalties, before gifting their visitors a route back into the match via an Alejandro Garnacho strike and Bruno Fernandes header. Garnacho put United head midway through the second half, thanks to a delightful assist from Antony, before Palmer's stoppage-time efforts secured all three points for the hosts.

Speaking to post-match, Palmer — who taunted United's away support after they labelled him a 'City reject' — admitted he was a fan of the Red Devils as a youngster.

«Yeah, when I was growing up, I was a United fan!» Palmer said.

Reflecting on the game as a whole, Palmer said: «We were 2-0 up and then we made silly mistakes.

‌»When the eight minutes got added on [at the end of the second half] it gave us a lift and I thought let's go for it. It was madness. We need to try to win as many games as possible, but to win like that, there is nothing better.

‌«We thought when we scored the third goal the fans lifted us and I saw the gaffer say there were two minutes left — and thankfully I scored again.»

Palmer is now joint-second in the Premier League's scoring standings this season, taking his tally to 16 goals with his hat-trick on Thursday — only Erling Haaland has grabbed more goals.

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