Nat Hayward, the BBC Sport journalist, recently brought to light an astonishing fact about Cole Palmer. From the penalty spot in the Premier League, when it's Palmer, it's a goal. Palmer has taken an impressive 12 penalties and scored all 12 times, currently holding the longest 100% conversion record in the competition.

Context and Expected Goals

For context, Opta sets the expected goals [xG] of a penalty at 0.79, meaning by their calculations a spot-kick is scored 79% of the time. However, the xG of Palmer's 12 penalties is 9.48, indicating that the England international has overperformed by an xG of 2.52. This remarkable data showcases Palmer's exceptional penalty-taking ability.

Penalty Dispatches

When watching Palmer take penalties, one is struck by the assurance with which each is despatched. Whether it's a 'Panenka' - the blueprint for his second strike against Tottenham on Sunday at home to Burnley (seen above) or a last-minute kick to equalise against Manchester City (seen above) smashed into the top left corner, his composure remains the same. In fact, only once has a goalkeeper even got any semblance of a touch to one - Guglielmo Vicario onto the post for Spurs in the same fixture last season. And of course, it ended up in the back of the net.Palmer's 12 Premier League penalties have been placed with precision. He has hit six into the bottom-right corner, three into the bottom left, one into the top left, and dinked two straight down the middle. All precisely where he has wanted them to end up, leaving nothing to chance. The graphic below shows his past five penalties, including one for England in the Euro 2024 shootout against Switzerland. All were calmly taken and directed to different areas of the goal, all resulting in goals.

Off-Field Persona

The coolness the 22-year-old exhibits from 12 yards is a mirror image of his off-field persona. On his first penalty against Spurs, he simply told Chelsea's media team, "I just tried to score and I did." On his impudent second, he said, "When I put the ball down and stepped back, I knew I was going to do it." His confidence and composure both on and off the field are truly remarkable.Roll on the next spotkick as we wait to see more of Palmer's penalty magic in the Premier League.