In a recent appearance on Uncut, Chelsea star Palmer fondly recalled the crucial goal he scored against Manchester United last season, admitting that it was one of his favorite goals of his career. Not only was that game full of drama, it became the highlight of Palmer's personal performance.
In that match, Chelsea had the upper hand after Gallagher's opener, but United, led by Ten Hagar, fought back quickly to overtake the lead through Gana Joe's second and Bruno Fernandes' goal. However, as the game drew to a close, Palmer stepped up to the plate, first equalizing for Chelsea from the penalty spot and then scoring a late winner in stoppage time to help seal the win.
Recalling the killer goal, Palmer couldn't hide his excitement and amazement: "When I got the ball, I couldn't believe how much time and space I had in that position. I took a little bit of the ball and then I adjusted and thought 'where is everybody else?' There were a lot of defenders there, but none of them came up to press. I thought to myself that if I just shoot it right and push a little bit harder, I'll have a chance."
Palmer admits that what made that goal so memorable for him was the emotional outburst after the goal, in addition to the brilliance of the goal itself. He said, "I was a little overwhelmed after the goal, so I started running and saw the whole bench coming towards me and I thought they were going to jump on me. Initially I wanted to run towards the coach but I saw Dissasi and Badiyasile and immediately changed my plan. So I charged in the opposite direction. It was all a momentary burst of emotion, wasn't it? We were trailing and it was the 96th minute and they kept passing the ball around us and we ended up scoring two goals."
Palmer also expressed his opinion on United's defensive strategy in that attack: "I was shocked by their defensive strategy. I know United is a very good team, but there seemed to be some confusion in their defense. Maybe they were so eager to equalize that they had a hole in their defense. And that's exactly what I capitalized on to score that killer goal."
