Mauricio Pochettino reveals message to Cole Palmer prior to dramatic Man Utd winner
- Cole Palmer scored hat-trick in Chelsea's 4-3 win against Man Utd on Thursday
- Two latest goals came in 100th and 101st minutes
- Mauricio Pochettino told Palmer to keep pushing for a winner even so late on
By Sean Walsh
Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino told Cole Palmer he had two minutes to find an unlikely winner after scoring a 100th-minute equaliser in their eventual 4-3 victory against Manchester United.
The Blues had squandered a two-goal lead in Thursday's meeting at Stamford Bridge and went into eight minutes of second-half stoppage time trailing 3-2.
They were handed a reprieve when Noni Madueke fell under a challenge from Diogo Dalot and subsequently awarded a penalty - a decision confirmed by VAR after a rather lengthy check which added a couple more minutes to the added eight.
Palmer sent goalkeeper Andre Onana the wrong way to bring Chelsea level, before coming up with the latest winning goal in Premier League history to seal all three points.
Speaking to BBC Sport post-match, Pochettino revealed he informed Palmer there was still time to score a winning goal after bringing Chelsea level.
"The impact is amazing," Pochettino said of Palmer. "He is doing a fantastic job, it is difficult to talk more about him. Today he showed the mentality and the quality.
"I said 'Cole, two minutes more and to believe'."
Pochettino then spoke glowingly of Palmer to Chelsea's official website, hailing his ability to remain calm in key moments.
"'One of his best skills is his mentality and his capacity to deal with the pressure. He's young, it is his first season playing very consistently and I think it is amazing the way he deals with the pressure," Pochettino added.
"That shows he can be a very good player. Looking at his performance today it is impossible to say that he's not a top player, but there's still a lot of room to improve."
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