COLE PALMER’S stunning goal against Wolves should NOT have stood - but VAR was unable to intervene due a little-known rule.
The Chelsea star scored a worldie on Sunday as his side cruised to a 6-2 win at Molineux.
Nicolas Jackson opened the scoring after just two minutes in the Midlands.
While Noni Madueke netted a hat-trick in the thrashing, with all three goals laid on by Palmer.
And there was also a strike for Joao Felix on his second Chelsea debut with an assist from ex-Wolves star Pedro Neto.
But Palmer’s goal was the pick of the bunch as he capitalised on a mistake from Jose Sa.
The stopper was well off his line when Palmer received a headed ball from Jackson to his feet.
Chelsea’s key man did not hesitate to pull the trigger as he beautifully lobbed the retreating Sa.
And fans reacted by declaring it was already a contender for Goal of the Season.
However, eagle-eyed fans have since spotted that Palmer’s goal should not have stood at all.
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That’s after beIN SPORTS showed evidence that the “pre-assist” pass from goalie Robert Sanchez to Jackson was illegal.
The Spaniard fired out a great long pass to his striker after a restart.
But slow-motion footage showed that the ball was still rolling when Sanchez launched his goal kick.
Speaking on beIN SPORTS, host Richard Keys said: "It's rolling. Strictly speaking it should be disallowed."
Technically, that meant play should have been restarted, thereby preventing Palmer from netting his wonder strike.
And Chelsea were saved thanks to a little-known rule that VAR officials do not check restarts as part of their protocol.
As Palmer’s strike came from an onside position, with Jackson also in front of Wolves’ defence, officials at Stockley Park had no reason to rule it out.
And only intervention at the time from referee Darren England could have prevented play from continuing towards Jackson and Palmer.