Cole Palmer was sent off for the first time in his senior career as Chelsea became the third team in history to be shown 100 red cards in the Premier League.
In a feisty London derby at Stamford Bridge, which ended 2-0 to Spurs, Palmer was booked in the 70th minute after Mateus Fernandes handled the ball on the ground and Palmer forcefully shoved his midriff into the Portuguese midfielder’s face while he lay prone.
Ten minutes later — after Spurs had taken the lead through a Mike Penders own goal — Palmer was late into a challenge and landed his foot on the leg of Conor Gallagher, with Chris Kavanagh brandishing his second yellow card.
Not including rescinded red cards, Palmer’s took Chelsea to a century of dismissals in the Premier League, with the London club becoming the third team to reach the milestone after Everton (113) and Arsenal (110).
Chelsea’s discipline was questioned by some last season as the club’s players and staff were sent off 11 times in 2025-26.
That total was the most among Premier League teams, with Tottenham (five) receiving the next highest.
Despite his dismissal, Palmer will be available for Chelsea’s home game against Manchester United next weekend — provided his automatic one-match suspension is not extended.
He will instead be suspended for Chelsea’s Carabao Cup trip to Liverpool on Wednesday.
With Mathys Tel having doubled Spurs’ lead on Saturday night, the mood continued to sour at Stamford Bridge as Morgan Rogers was perhaps fortunate to escape without seeing red himself.
In stoppage time, he flung a leg cynically into Gallagher inside the Chelsea half, but the referee showed him a yellow card.
– Chelsea vs. Tottenham LIVE: Premier League reaction as Palmer sent off in famous victory for Spurs at Stamford Bridge
– Roberto De Zerbi defends Spurs’ ‘high level’ medical staff amid injury crisis
– Transfer rumors, news: Chelsea, Bayern, Barcelona battle for Brighton defender
Chelsea’s defeat sees them remain in fourth place, with Liverpool, Brentford and Leeds able to overtake them should they win on Sunday.
Spurs, meanwhile, move up to 12th.
Information from ESPN Global Research contributed to this report.
