Cole Palmer shares why he doesn’t work on ‘panenka’ penalties in training, despite his successful effort against Tottenham

Cole Palmer was the hero for Chelsea in their 4-3 win over Tottenham, scoring two penalties, including a perfect Panenka against Fraser Forster.

Chirag

December 9, 2024

Cole Palmer was the standout player for Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea as they staged a dramatic comeback to defeat Tottenham Hotspur 4-3 away from home. The former Manchester City player scored twice from the penalty spot, including a perfectly executed Panenka against backup goalkeeper Fraser Forster. However, Palmer has now revealed that he never practices these types of penalties in training for a specific reason.

In an interview with Optus Sport, Palmer explained: “When I took a step back and noticed the game was a bit frantic, I saw the keeper was ready to dive, so I decided to chip it. My main goal is to score, and luckily it went in.”

When asked if he practices Panenka penalties, Palmer responded: “Nah. I think if you overthink them, you end up hitting them too hard or too soft.”

On the pressure of taking his second penalty of the game, he said: “It’s probably tougher, but I don’t think the keeper expected me to chip it.”

Palmer has now converted all 12 of his penalty kicks in the Premier League, making him the player with the most perfect record in the competition’s history. His goals against Tottenham marked his 10th and 11th Premier League goals of the season.

However, Palmer will not be part of Chelsea’s squad for their Europa Conference League match against Astana, as he is not listed for the tournament. He is expected to return to action when Chelsea face Brentford on Sunday, December 15.