'We aren't title contenders' - Cole Palmer admits he and Chelsea teammates did not expect to challenge at top of Premier League after last-gasp Fulham defeat

Palmer scored his 26th goal in the Premier League in 2024 but it was not enough as Fulham secured a remarkable comeback win at Stamford Bridge on Thursday. After the loss, the 22-year-old stressed nobody expected the Blues to be "title contenders" at the start of the campaign and perhaps the defeat to the Cottagers underlines that.

He told Amazon Prime: "To lose at the end is difficult. In the first half we played well, controlled the game and had quite a few chances. Second half we lost a bit of control. They are a good transition team and direct. We got caught up in their game and paid the price. We turned it into a game they are better than us at. It is fine, we have another game in a few days. Keep going. We knew we were not going to win every game we play. Everyone said from the start we are not title contenders. The manager said it was an opportunity to learn, we will look back on it and rest and recover. It is football and it happens. We lost control for 20 minutes and the scored two, so well done Fulham."

Chelsea missed the chance to pull to within one point of league leaders Liverpool with the defeat to their London neighbours, plus the Reds have two games in hand. Head coach Enzo Maresca has previously said his team are not in the Premier League title race and if these results continue, they certainly won't be. However, the Italian has done an excellent job so far.

Palmer's Chelsea round off their 2024 when they travel to Portman Road on Monday to take on lowly Ipswich Town in the Premier League.