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Cole Palmer is closing in on Chelsea history. The superstar was in fine form for the Blues on Sunday as he registered a goal and an assist in Chelsea's 3-0 win over Aston Villa. Palmer combined intelligently with skipper Enzo Fernandez for Chelsea's second as the Argentinian lashed home a tidy finish. The 22-year-old rounded out Chelsea's scoring in the 82nd minute when he produced a delightful curled effort from the edge of the box. Palmer's contributions marked the first time he had scored or assisted against Villa in the Premier League. Not only that, Palmer has inched closer to re-writing the Chelsea history books once more. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink set a club record for the most Premier League goals and assists in a calendar year when he racked up 36 goal contributions in 2001. Legendary striker Didier Drogba came closest to eclipsing Hasselbaink's record when he finished with a 35 goals and assists in 2010. But Palmer looks on track to beat Hasselbaink's record by some margin. The 22-year-old's goal and assist against Villa took his combined goals and assists in 2024 to a staggering 34. Palmer has six Premier League fixtures remaining in the calendar year to break Hasselbaink's record. Chelsea will see out the year with games against Southampton, Tottenham, Brentford, Everton and Fulham, with a trip to Ipswich Town on December 30 the Blues' last league game of 2024. One record Palmer was not able to beat Hasselbaink was the fewest games needed to score 30 Premier League goals for the Blues. Palmer reached the mark in just 46 games, a feat made all the more remarkable by the fact he is primarily an attacking midfielder. However, he fell just short of Hasselbaink, who scored 30 league goals for Chelsea in just 41 games. Palmer did manage to beat Diego Costa to the mark in two games fewer, while Drogba reached 30 league goals for Chelsea in 67 appearances. Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca will hope Palmer can continue his fine form as the win over Villa pushed his side into third on the table on 25 points. The Blues also hold the same number of points as second-placed Arsenal, but are behind only because of alphabetical order. Remarkably, Chelsea and Arsenal share the same record, goals for, goals against and goal differential. However, Chelsea won't have to wait long to nudge ahead of Arsenal as they travel to struggling Southampton on Wednesday. © 2024 talk SPORT Limited
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