Chelsea 4 Man City 4: Palmer comes back to haunt old boss Pep as last-gasp pen rescues point in classic at the Bridge
- 6 months ago
THERE have been more than 12,000 matches in the Premier League and few of them have captured the joyful high-speed chaos of the competition any better.
Cole Palmer allowed to leave Manchester City by Pep Guardiola this summer, hammered home an injury-time penalty - Chelsea’s third equalizer of a manic and magnificent afternoon.
That canceled out a deflected 87th-minute shot from Rodri after an Erling Haaland double and a Manuel Akanji header had put City in the driving seat.
But Chelsea, who also scored through Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling, and Nicolas Jackson, fully deserved their point in an instant classic of a match.
If ever you could say with a straight face that "football was the winner" then it was here.
With a cast of world-class players, competing at breathless pace and intensity, it was as if Tchaikovsky had composed a thrash-metal tune on behalf of a symphony orchestra.
What a belting game. Every bit as chaotic as Chelsea’s ridiculous 4-1 win at Tottenham on Monday but with far greater quality and without any of the VAR nonsense.
Chelsea had failed to score a single goal in six straight defeats by City before this but they had been buoyed by Monday’s freak-show victory at Spurs.
The only change from that 4-1 win was Levi Colwill’s absence through injury, which saw Pochettino select Marc Cucurella.
And it was the left-back who conceded the softest of penalties which allowed Haaland to open the scoring midway through the first half.
After Reece James and Moises Caicedo collided in the Chelsea box, Bernardo Silva centered from the left, and Cucurella tangled with Haaland.
Ref Anthony Taylor is a hate figure at Stamford Bridge and he didn’t do his popularity rating any favors by pointing to the spot, from which Haaland drilled home left-footed for his 18th goal of the season, and his eighth in the last six.
Chelsea had started with pace and intent, though, and they were soon level.
First Enzo Fernades dived to win a free-kick, which Reece James curled and an elastic Ederson tipped over the bar.
Conor Gallagher delivered the corner and Thiago made a cunning run at the near post to score with a downward header, his marker, Haaland having been blocked off by former team-mate Palmer.
It was frenetic and high-class. Soon Phil Foden joined the party, darting through three defenders and crossing just too deep for Haaland, who volleyed into the side-netting.
Foden then cut inside and curled a shot just wide of the far post.
But it was Chelsea who seized the lead in a move involving their two former City players.
First Palmer released James, Josko Gvadiol getting in a tangle and allowing the Blues skipper to center low for Sterling to tap in.
Every man on the pitch was playing as if he had a machete between his teeth, it was high-tempo, rip-roaring, lock-up-your-daughters football.
Cole Palmer allowed to leave Manchester City by Pep Guardiola this summer, hammered home an injury-time penalty - Chelsea’s third equalizer of a manic and magnificent afternoon.
That canceled out a deflected 87th-minute shot from Rodri after an Erling Haaland double and a Manuel Akanji header had put City in the driving seat.
But Chelsea, who also scored through Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling, and Nicolas Jackson, fully deserved their point in an instant classic of a match.
If ever you could say with a straight face that "football was the winner" then it was here.
With a cast of world-class players, competing at breathless pace and intensity, it was as if Tchaikovsky had composed a thrash-metal tune on behalf of a symphony orchestra.
What a belting game. Every bit as chaotic as Chelsea’s ridiculous 4-1 win at Tottenham on Monday but with far greater quality and without any of the VAR nonsense.
Chelsea had failed to score a single goal in six straight defeats by City before this but they had been buoyed by Monday’s freak-show victory at Spurs.
The only change from that 4-1 win was Levi Colwill’s absence through injury, which saw Pochettino select Marc Cucurella.
And it was the left-back who conceded the softest of penalties which allowed Haaland to open the scoring midway through the first half.
After Reece James and Moises Caicedo collided in the Chelsea box, Bernardo Silva centered from the left, and Cucurella tangled with Haaland.
Ref Anthony Taylor is a hate figure at Stamford Bridge and he didn’t do his popularity rating any favors by pointing to the spot, from which Haaland drilled home left-footed for his 18th goal of the season, and his eighth in the last six.
Chelsea had started with pace and intent, though, and they were soon level.
First Enzo Fernades dived to win a free-kick, which Reece James curled and an elastic Ederson tipped over the bar.
Conor Gallagher delivered the corner and Thiago made a cunning run at the near post to score with a downward header, his marker, Haaland having been blocked off by former team-mate Palmer.
It was frenetic and high-class. Soon Phil Foden joined the party, darting through three defenders and crossing just too deep for Haaland, who volleyed into the side-netting.
Foden then cut inside and curled a shot just wide of the far post.
But it was Chelsea who seized the lead in a move involving their two former City players.
First Palmer released James, Josko Gvadiol getting in a tangle and allowing the Blues skipper to center low for Sterling to tap in.
Every man on the pitch was playing as if he had a machete between his teeth, it was high-tempo, rip-roaring, lock-up-your-daughters football.