Cole Palmer leaves Man United star's brother red-faced as shock Chelsea prediction backfires

Cole Palmer has left Alejandro Garnacho's brother with egg on his face after he claimed the Chelsea midfielder wouldn't score 10 non-penalty league goals this season.

He has hit the ground running in the Premier League, already bagging six goals – four of which were netted in just one half against Brighton – along with four assists. Palmer is swiftly moving towards replicating his remarkable achievements from last term, where he netted 22 and set up another 11 to scoop up the PFA Young Player of the Year accolade.

However, Roberto Garnacho might now be eating his words after boldly predicting the England international's downturn following the Blues' 2-0 defeat to Manchester City at the start of the season. After Palmer's subdued performance against his former club on Enzo Maresca's managerial debut, the Manchester United winger's brother took a swipe on social media back in August.

"Cole Palmer isn't hitting 10 goals without penalties," he wrote, suggesting the 22-year-old will dip in form. Fans were quick to defend Palmer, with one, as quoted by the Mirror, replying: "You should know better... Why would you tweet something like this!"

Another fan pointed out: "He scored 12 non-penalty goals last season, more than any of your forwards." Another chimed in with praise, commenting: "He obviously is. He's a class player."

Roberto responded to those questioning his judgement at the time, affirming his high regard for Palmer, but pointed out that the nine penalties he scored in the previous season were crucial to his success. Garnacho's brother said: "He is [a class player]. I like him. But the penalties last season helped him a lot."

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Despite many thinking that Maresca's side wouldn't pose much of a challenge this season, Chelsea have enjoyed an excellent turnaround led by Palmer. The defeat to the reigning champions was quickly forgotten with a 6-2 thrashing of Wolves away from home.

A hard-fought 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace marked the last time the Blues dropped points in the English top-flight. Since then, they've defeated Bournemouth, West Ham, and Brighton, climbing to fourth place and scoring the most goals in the league so far with 15.

As previously mentioned, Palmer has scored six this term – five of which were not penalties. Already halfway to Roberto's predicted tally of 10, barring any misfortune, it seems likely that the Red Devils star's brother may regret his social media speculation.