The billboards dotted around New York had it right: Cole Palmer really is scary good. He sat at the Top of the Rock on Saturday, peering over Manhattan as part of a promotional shot with Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembélé, and he was on top of the world on Sunday. He mooched around the pitch at a gobsmacked MetLife Stadium, playing as if he was having a kickabout with his mates, and he destroyed PSG. We’re playing the European champions, are we? And they beat Real Madrid 4-0 the other day? Fine. I’ll just score two identical goals midway through the first half. Then I’ll come up with an outrageous assist to put us 3-0 up just before half-time. Will that do?
This was a jaw-dropping performance from Chelsea’s No 10. This was Palmer launching himself into global superstardom with an almost casual destruction of PSG. He has starred in finals before but this was on another level. Palmer bent the first final of Fifa’s expanded Club World Cup to his will, shattering any concern over whether the Premier League’s fourth best being crowned world champions diminishes the tournament, and has ended any debate over whether he is up there with the best in the world.
