Former Manchester City player Cole Palmer scored a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time in a stunning match at Stamford Bridge, as Chelsea came back to claim a 4-4 draw with the defending Premier League champions. This occurred despite the fact that Palmer left City for Chelsea in a deal worth around $A82 million in September. In his first game back, he showed supreme composure to fire past Ederson in the dying stages.
City had looked to secure a win with a deflected effort from Rodri four minutes before the end of regulation time. However, referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot when Ruben Dias slid into substitute Armando Broja in the box. After a delay, Palmer swept his shot into the corner to stop City from moving three points clear at the top. Chelsea had dented Tottenham’s title ambitions with a wild 4-1 win on Monday and proved a challenge for City by coming back from behind three times in the game.
Erling Haaland fired City ahead from the penalty spot in the 25th minute after VAR adjudged Marc Cucurella to have fouled the Norwegian. Thiago Silva evened the score four minutes later with a header from Conor Gallagher’s corner. Raheem Sterling put Chelsea 2-1 up in the 37th minute by tapping in Reece James’ cross after a sweeping attack. The score was even again in first-half stoppage time when Bernardo Silva crossed for Manuel Akanji to head in.
City re-took the lead two minutes after the break with another goal from Haaland. Chelsea’s third goal eventually came from Nicolas Jackson in the 67th, the striker firing in the rebound after Gallagher’s long shot was parried. Rodri’s powerful effort from the edge of the box took a big deflection off Thiago Silva to send the ball into the opposite corner, and City looked home and dry until Palmer’s late intervention.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino said, “That is why we always say the Premier League is the best in the world. We want to do something special here and this is how we need to play. We scored four goals against the best team in the world. It’s good to go into the international break like this. The approach of the game was good. We were brave. That is the idea of football. I am so proud and happy. The reaction of the players was amazing.”
Pochettino struggled to stay composed during the game and apologized for his behavior. City coach Pep Guardiola said the scoreline was a fair reflection of the game. They are now just a point clear of second-placed Liverpool, who beat Brentford 3-0 with Mohamed Salah continuing his remarkable Anfield scoring record with two more goals. Diogo Jota’s late strike then put a quick end to questions over Liverpool’s performance after a draw at Luton and Europa League defeat in Toulouse.