Cole Palmer haunts his old club as Chelsea hold Manchester City to a breathtaking 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Cole Palmer delivered a crushing blow to his old employers as Chelsea and Manchester City played out a breathtaking 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League.
The weekend’s headline encounter lived up the hype within the first 45 minutes in West London, as Erling Haaland, Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling and Manuel Akanji contributed to a frenetic four-goal opening period.
Haaland’s second of the night was then cancelled out by a Nicolas Jackson tap-in, and Rodri appeared to have stolen a maximum for the champions late on, only for ex-Man City academy product Palmer to find the top corner with a sensational 95th-minute penalty to steal a slice of the spoils for Mauricio Pochettino‘s players.
Cole Palmer and Sterling both reunited with their former employers from the first whistle for Chelsea, who also made a change at left-back with Marc Cucurella coming in to replace Levi Colwill.
Unfortunately for Cucurella, the Spaniard was on the wrong end of another contentious VAR call in the 21st minute, as both he and Erling Haaland hit the deck following a tangle in the box.
While both men were equally engaged in the physical tussle, Cucurella had a hold of Haaland’s shirt, which referee Anthony Taylor deemed penalty-worthy, and Haaland coolly sent Robert Sanchez the wrong way to break the deadlock three minutes after the original awarding of the spot kick.
A bright start from Chelsea was rendered meaningless by Haaland’s opener, but Mauricio Pochettino’s side did not lose any belief, and Reece James forced Ederson into a stunning save from a 28th-minute free kick as the Blues pushed for an instant response.
The response the hosts so craved came from the resulting corner, as Thiago Silva made a sudden surge to the front post to meet Conor Gallagher‘s delivery, and the 39-year-old’s glancing header flew across goal and into the side of the net in the 29th minute.
Haaland and Phil Foden both came close to restoring the visitors’ lead to no avail, and only eight minutes after Silva’s leveller, a former Chelsea target’s horrible howler laid the ball on a plate for a former Citizen to prod the Blues ahead.
Cole Palmer’s pass into James would seemingly be cut out by Josko Gvardiol, but the Croatian inadvertently back-heeled the ball into the right-back’s path, and James had the simple task of squaring to Sterling for a tap-in.
The winger did not hesitate to celebrate in front of the away end, and the hosts would ostensibly head to the changing rooms with a one-goal lead intact as Robert Sanchez produced a brilliant low stop one-on-one with Haaland in the 42nd minute.
However, after levelling the match from a corner, a set-piece would prove to be Chelsea’s undoing in the first minute of injury time, as a Citizens corner was played short to Bernardo Silva, whose outswinging delivery was headed into the back of the net by Akanji; Sanchez fatally slipped as he tried to scramble across his goal.
The Stamford Bridge faithful barely had any time for a breather before the ball flew – or trickled – into the back of the net once again in the 47th minute, as Foden fed Julian Alvarez on the overlap, and the Argentine’s low delivery for Haaland ended with the sliding Scandinavian bundling the ball over the line via his backside.
Haaland’s second of the afternoon was confirmed after a quick VAR check ruled out a handball, and Alvarez very nearly went from provider to goalscorer in the 52nd minute as he met Rodri’s header with a half-volley, which was meat and drink for Sanchez.
The Stamford Bridge bedlam continued as the second half progressed, with Jeremy Doku picking up a yellow for diving before Palmer skipped past several of his former teammates to carve out a brilliant opening in the 61st minute, only to poke the ball straight at Ederson.
However, the Brazilian goalkeeper – who briefly needed treatment for an injury – was at fault for a third Chelsea goal in the 67th minute, parrying a long-range Gallagher strike back into the danger area, where Jackson arrived to steer home and get Pochettino’s side back on level terms again.
An unlikely source was presented with a golden chance to propel Chelsea back into the ascendancy in the 75th minute, but Malo Gusto curled over the bar after being set up by Sterling on the right, slamming the rain-soaked turf in frustration.
Gusto and Chelsea would eventually be left to lament that wasted opportunity, as with 86 minutes on the clock, ex-Blue Mateo Kovacic was crowded out on the edge of the box, but the ball fell for Rodri, whose long-range fizzer nestled into the side of the net via a significant nick off of Thiago Silva’s toe.
Sanchez was completely wrong-footed by the unfortunate deflection, but the Spaniard was all smiles in the fifth minute of injury time, as Ruben Dias scythed down Armando Broja inside the area, and Palmer cut a completely unfazed figure as he found the postage stamp to put an early dent in his former club’s title hopes.
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