Cole Palmer makes Premier League history and the other stories you might have missed | OneFootball

The final Saturday of September brought a treat for Premier League fans.

There were five games at the traditional 3pm kick-off slot, with 16 goals scored. Nine of the 10 teams in action scored and three matches saw at least three goals.

After Manchester City‘s draw with Newcastle United, Arsenal were hoping to close the gap in their game against Leicester City. Chelsea hosted unbeaten Brighton, while Nottingham Forest were aiming to preserve their own undefeated start against Fulham.

Everton were seeking their first win against Crystal Palace and Brentford hosted West Ham United in a London derby.

With so much action across the country, it was a mammoth task to follow. So we’ve come in with the best stats and stories you might have missed.

Cold Palmer

Chelsea went into their game against Brighton still searching for their first home league win of the season. They went behind against Brighton but ended up with a 4-2 win. And it was all thanks to Cole Palmer.

The Englishman scored all four of Chelsea’s goals, the second time he’s bagged for at Stamford Bridge this season.

Palmer’s four-goal haul included a penalty and a free-kick, and a Premier League record. The Englishman is the first player to score four goals in the first half of a Premier League game.

He’s also just the second player to score four goals in a Premier League game on two occasions for Chelsea, joining Frank Lampard. Palmer has now been directly involved in 10 goals this season (six goals, four assists), the joint-most in the Premier League.

A defensive disaster class

This was not a game for the purists. All six goals in Chelsea’s game against Brighton came in the first half, and three were errors. In total, there were four errors leading to shots, the joint-most in a single Premier League game this season. The three errors leading to goals is also the joint-most.

Brighton were the worse side on the day with three errors leading to shots and two leading to goals. Adam Webster and Bart Verbruggen were the guilty parties, with Mats Wieffer avoiding an error leading to a goal.

Robert Sanchez got Chelsea’s error leading to a goal, passing the ball to Carlos Baleba for Brighton’s second.

Bukayo Saka just misses out on history

Arsenal looked so close to dropping points yet again. The Gunners had been ahead in each of their past two Premier League games but had to settle for draws against Brighton and Man City.

It was a similar story against Leicester. Arsenal were 2-0 up but got pegged back to 2-2 and the game was level going into injury time. But two goals in injury time made things look a bit more comfortable.

Leandro Trossard thought he had got the winner, his second of the game. If that had been the case, Bukayo Saka would have been the first player to open a Premier League season by assisting in each of their first six games. However, the goal was eventually recorded as an own goal from Wilfred Ndidi.

Wilfred Ndidi, creative maestro

Leicester started the second half against Arsenal well, pulling a goal back from a set piece. The equaliser was a wonderful effort from James Justin, who had also scored Leicester’s first.

While all eyes will be on Justin, whose strike drew comparison’s to Benjamin Pavard’s famous effort in the 2018 World Cup, Wilfred Ndidi got the assist. It was his fourth assist of the season, already the joint-most he’s ever managed in a Premier League season.

Only Bukayo Saka has set up more Premier League goals than Ndidi this season.

Brentford’s fast starters finish quickly

For the third consecutive Premier League game, Brentford scored within the first minute. The Bees have been extremely quick out of the block, catching their opponents off guard.

It first happened against Man City, before Brentford also put Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham to the sword. However, Brentford haven’t won any of those games.

They lost to Man City and Tottenham, while West Ham rescued a point on Saturday. Brentford have now dropped eight points from winning positions in 2024-25, the joint-most in the Premier League alongside Everton.

Everton finally get their comeback

Speaking of Everton, the Toffees finally ended their wait for a win this season. Sean Dyche has come under fire for Everton’s poor start, which brought fears of more relegation battles.

But now they have a foundation to potentially build upon. The Toffees trailed Crystal Palace at Goodison Park at half-time, with Everton fans perhaps expecting another defeat.

Two goals from Dwight McNeil in the second half turned things around, giving Everton all three points. Is there a more talismanic player than McNeil in the Premier League right now? He scored both Everton goals, meaning he’s been directly involved in five of their seven for the season. He’s also created the most chances in the league overall (21).

It’s the first time Everton have won after conceding the opening goal in the Premier League in 35 games, since doing so against Southampton on 1st October 2022.

Raul Jimenez’s penalty perfect ends Forest streak

Nottingham Forest entered the weekend as one of four teams still unbeaten in the Premier League this season. However, that run has now come to an end.

Raul Jimenez scored the only goal of the game, and has now netted in each of his last three Premier League matches for Fulham. The goal came from the penalty spot and we shouldn’t have been surprised to see Jimenez score.

The Mexican has now scored all eight of the penalties he’s taken in the Premier League. Only three players have a better 100% conversion rate in Premier League history, with those being Yaya Toure (11/11), Cole Palmer (10/10) and Dimitar Berbatov (9/9).

*Using Bookmaker/Affiliate links on squawka.com may earn us a commission, at no additional cost to you. 18+ only. T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. For more information, visit begambleaware.org.