Cole Palmer is meant to be ice cold -- but his ill discipline could cost Chelsea twice this week

Has Cole Palmer forgotten how to be 'ice cold' all of a sudden?

The man who sells his own brand of ice cubes and officially trademarked the name 'Cold Palmer' 12 months ago lost his cool when Chelsea required him to be at his influential best against Tottenham on Saturday.

With in-form striker Joao Pedro ruled out with a knee injury -- further tests will happen on Sunday to see how long the Brazil international is out for -- Chelsea really needed Palmer to step up and lead by example. But he let his team and manager Xabi Alonso down at the worst possible moment.

Chelsea were not good for long periods against Roberto De Zerbi's side. The visitors dominated possession, meaning Palmer and the others in blue were feeding off scraps. But that is no excuse for Palmer letting the frustration get the better of him and getting sent off.

He is no stranger to providing an assist to win a game, but this one was for the opposition.

The 24-year-old could have been given a straight red in the 70th minute when the score was still 0-0. The England international had a rare chance to run towards Tottenham's goal. Midfielder Mateus Fernandes, who had proven a right old nuisance throughout the game, delayed his progress. Fernandes' challenge was fair at first, but then he swatted the ball away with his hand to stop Palmer from collecting the ball again. Annoying, yes. Worthy of turning round and running full pelt into a player just getting up from the ground? Absolutely not.

Referee Chris Kavanagh decided to be lenient and show just a yellow. He had no option but to brandish a second and send Palmer off 10 minutes later, though, as he trod on former Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher with the ball long gone. It was the first red card of his career and the first one shown to a Chelsea player since manager Alonso took charge in the summer.

Talk about terrible timing. Chelsea had just fallen behind through a Mike Penders own goal. The 21-year-old goalkeeper unfortunately ensured his first Premier League start for the club will now be one he will want to forget. But there was still enough time for Chelsea to get back into the game, for Palmer to provide a moment of inspiration to get them out of trouble. This is why he is deemed to be one of Chelsea's 'untouchables' after all and given a contract extension with a pay-rise earlier this month.

The day before, Alonso had spoken about what looked like positive signs of Chelsea improving their disciplinary record. It has been poor over the last four seasons, but 2025-26 was particularly embarrassing. There were 11 red cards shown in all competitions, including one to head coach Enzo Maresca. Alonso stressed the need for his players to have 'emotional control' in matches. He continued: "I think that if you are focused on what you have to do, you are prepared for what's going on. Normally you don't make that many mistakes, and you don't overreact to certain situations. For me, this is a fundamental part of the game: to have that emotional control, to deal with all this. The momentum is coming, (but) we keep calm, I don't lose my head, and I don't get stupid yellow cards, make stupid penalties. You need to prepare for football to have better control of that."

Clearly Palmer was not listening.

He also did not learn any lessons from the week before either. There were a few former match officials, not just Everton fans, who felt Palmer was treated quite leniently during Chelsea's 2-0 win at Hill Dickinson Stadium. He somehow escaped a booking in the first half after launching the ball a long way into the air after Chelsea conceded a free kick. Paul Tierney did show a yellow card for dissent in the 65th minute after Palmer voiced his displeasure at Moises Caicedo being penalised for a foul, but he ignored a late Palmer challenge on Jarrad Branthwaite. Some may argue little contact was made, but it was a foolish thing to do when already on a yellow.

Palmer was not as fortunate against Tottenham and is now going to be suspended for Chelsea's difficult Carabao Cup fourth round tie at Liverpool on Wednesday. Given Chelsea face Manchester United at home less than 72 hours later, there was a very good chance he would have been left out of the first XI anyway. But Alonso no longer has the option of bringing him off the bench if Chelsea are in need of a goal.

Inevitably, Alonso was asked about Palmer after the Spurs defeat and whether he has to use what happened as a learning experience. He said: "I need to check the action to talk with Cole, but it is one to learn for the future for sure. I think that Cole, when he is focused on the game, when he is enjoying, and today after the 1-0, it is a moment to keep calm, a moment to keep mature and for everyone."

When you are a player of such talent and profile as Palmer, your every move is going to get more attention than most. But after a bright start to the campaign, scoring twice in the first three league games, he has now gone six without finding the net. Is that playing on his mind?

The sooner he gets back to being more composed on the pitch again, the better for him and for Chelsea.