Chelsea 4 Man City 4: Palmer comes back to haunt old boss Pep as last-gasp pen rescues point in classic at the Bridge

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 equaliser of a manic and magnificent afternoon. 

That cancelled 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 centred 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 favours 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 centre 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.

Fernandes saw a deflected shot saved by the feet of Ederson, then Haaland controlled a Bernardo through-ball beautiflly and thudded a shot which Sanchez saved brilliantly.

When Sterling had nutmegged Jeremy Doku and weaved past another couple of defenders, Chelsea were looking irresistible.

At which point, naturally, City equalised. Bernardo’s cross found Akanji completely unmarked, allowing the Swiss to nut it home emphatically.   

We’d had four goals in as good a 20 minute-spell as you could wish to see and a half-time breather was much-needed. 

Within 90 seconds of the restart City were back in front, with a move started and finish by their Nordic goal glutton.

First Haaland skinned Caicedo with a neat turn and pass on the halfway line, Foden fed Alvarez who crossed to the far post, where Haaland skidded in front of James to plough the ball over the line with his buttocks.  

Doku was unfairly booked for diving, then replaced by Jack Grealish and Pochettino sent on Mykhailo Mudryk for Enzo Fernandes in a switch which suggested he had no desire to slow down the ferocious attacking intent on display.

Palmer, head down, dodged four tackles but scuffed his shot, Ederson saving well. 

And it wasn’t long until Chelsea were level again, Gallagher playing a lovely pass to Mudryk, Caicedo feeding Gallagher whose shot was pushed out by Ederson, Jackson darting in to dispatch the rebound. 

Chelsea’s fans were howling at Taylor again when he seemed to miss a Kyle Walker handball on the edge of the box. 

Soon, though, Sterling robbed Grealish and cut a pass to sub Malo Gusto who skied an outstanding chance. 

Then, Haaland and Foden were involved in the build up before Rodri thumped a shot goalwards and Thiago stuck out a leg to divert it past a helpless Sanchez.

Yet, of course, the drama wasn’t over as Gvardiol cleaned out sub Armando Broja with a reckless challenge, Taylor pointed to the spot and Palmer rammed the penalty past Ederson.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk