Premier League

RAHEEM STERLING came back to haunt his former club as he showed why he deserves a place in the England squad.Chelsea’s wait for a home win continues but they showed great heart and desire to fight back to equalise on three occasions.
Raheem Sterling terrorised his former club and showed why he should be in the England squadCredit: Getty
Robert Sanchez produced several impressive stops to keep his side in the gameCredit: Reuters
Moises Caicedo struggled to cope with City’s midfieldCredit: Getty
Cole Palmer showed brilliant composure to score a last-gasp penaltyCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Sterling was at his scintillating best as he terrorised Kyle Walker and the City defence, while also chipping in with a goal to give his side a first half lead.
His omission from Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad raised a few eyebrows this week, and today proved why.
He posed a threat every time he picked up the ball and he now has five goals this season.
Nicolas Jackson added to his hat-trick against Tottenham on Monday with a great poacher’s goal, while Conor Gallagher also impressed with a hand in two of Chelsea’s four goals.

The England international was the pick of Chelsea’s midfielders as Moises Caicedo failed to impact the match.
Robert Sanchez kept Blues in it with several smart saves and could do little about three of City’s four goals.
Here is how SunSport’s Kealan Hughes rated the Chelsea display in a thrilling 4-4 draw.
Robert Sanchez – 7
Pulled off a brilliant save low down to his left to deny Haaland who had a clear shot at goal.
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Could do nothing about City’s first two goals or Rodri’s deflected strike but will be unhappy that he could not palm away Julian Alvarez’s cross as Haaland bundled in City’s third.
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Reece James – 7
The Chelsea captain was up against the in-form and lightning quick Jeremy Doku and kept the Belgian quiet.
Came very close to scoring when his free-kick was tipped over by Ederson.
Alex Disasi – 6
Poor anticipation meant he failed to cut out Alvarez’s low cross which Haaland scored from.
Also did not cover himself in glory for City’s equaliser, though his centre-back partner was perhaps more at fault.
Thiago Silva – 6
Scored Chelsea’s first equaliser with a brilliant glancing header so gets an extra mark for that.
Got caught out of position as he left Akanji in acres of space to head in City’s equaliser and it was his cruel deflection that gave City their late winner from Rodri’s strike.
Marc Cucurella – 6
Came in for the injured Levi Colwill and looked assured at left-back up against Phil Foden.
However he loses a mark for pulling down Haaland in the box, with the striker netting the resulting penalty.
Enzo Fernandez – 6
Was neat and tidy on the ball but failed to give his side control of the game as the visitors dictated the tempo.
Taken off just after the hour mark which was a surprise given he was more involved than Caicedo.
Conor Gallagher – 7
Covered a lot of ground in midfield and was tidy in possession despite City’s pressing.
Whipped in a brilliant corner that Silva scored from and it was his long-range effort that resulted in Jackson’s goal.
Moises Caicedo – 5
Quiet and did not know how to deal with Manuel Akanji’s runs from deep, which often meant the Chelsea midfield was overrun.
Chelsea needed him to win the ball back in midfield but he found that difficult up against Bernardo Silva and Alvarez.
Cole Palmer – 7
His clever pass teed up James to cross for Sterling’s goal but he should have had a goal of his own after he missed from point-blank range following a dazzling run into the box.
His decision-making let him down on occasions and for a player of his quality he did not have enough of an influence on the match.
But he showed amazing compsure for his young age as he buried a last-minute penalty to win a point for the Blues.
Raheem Sterling – 9
Looked threatening every time he got the ball as City players backed off in fear.
Put Chelsea in front with a deserved goal and was at the heart of everything Chelsea did well going forward.
Nicolas Jackson – 6
Was anonymous for large spells but came up with the goods for the second game running as he reacted quickest to fire home a rebound following Gallagher’s strike.
He was energetic in attack but his final touch or pass let him down when he got the ball in the box more often than not.
Subs
Mykhailo Mudryk (for Fernandez, 64mins) – 5
Poor touch let him down again and he was barely involved.
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Malo Gusto (for James, 64mins) – 6
Had a big impact with his pace and energy but he lacked composure in the box when he fired over with a chance he ought to have buried.
Armando Broja (for Caicedo, 90mins) – 7
Was not on for long but he made the desired impact as he won the penalty for Chelsea’s last-minute equaliser. More

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. 
Cole Palmer scored a stoppage-time equaliser for Chelsea from the penalty spotCredit: PA
Palmer’s late spot kick ensured the points were sharedCredit: Reuters
Erling Haaland opened the scoring from the spotCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Thiago Silva equalised with a superb headerCredit: AFP
Raheem Sterling put Chelsea in front with a close-range finishCredit: Reuters
Manuel Akanji made it 2-2 before half-timeCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Haaland scored his second of the afternoon when he slid the ball over the lineCredit: Getty

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. 
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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. 
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The momentum swung back and forth throughout the astonishing game
Palmer produced an impressive display against his former club
Nicolas Jackson was first to react after Ederson’s save from Conor Gallagher to make it 3-3Credit: Getty
Rodri looked to have won the game for Man City in the 86th minuteCredit: EPA
Rodri celebrated in front of the travelling Man City fansCredit: Reuters
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.
Haaland added another two goals to his tally for the season and also registered an assist
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. 
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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. More

PEP GUARDIOLA has revealed why he decided to drop Jack Grealish ahead of Manchester City’s Premier League clash with Chelsea.The Spaniard opted to start summer signing Jeremy Doku over Grealish for the second successive weekend amid his scintillating form.
Pep Guardiola decided to start Doku ahead of Grealish on SundayCredit: Getty
Jeremy Doku scored one goal and assisted four last weekendCredit: Reuters
Jack Grealish was named on the benchCredit: Getty
Doku scored once and provided four assists during City’s 6-1 win over Bournemouth last weekend.
And Guardiola believed his impressive performance warranted another start on Sunday.
Speaking ahead of the match at Stamford Bridge, the Man City boss explained his decision to pick Doku, saying: “I wake up today and say Jeremy. I rely a lot on Jack (Grealish), Phil (Foden), Jeremy, Bernardo (Silva) on the outside.
“I don’t have any doubts about what they offer. Jeremy is special in the final third. We see how he behaves…”
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Fans were quick to react to Guardiola’s statement, with one person writing: “Jeremy Doku has confined Jack Grealish to the bench. As he should. He’s much better IMO.”
Another added: “Doku sending Grealish to the stands.”
While a third said: “Doku benching Grealish now, I like that Pep values merit and form a lot.”
However, some supporters expressed concern that Grealish’s lack of game time could lead to him becoming frustrated and requesting a move away.
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One commented: “Pep woke up and decided to start Doku ahead of Grealish. Grealish about to lose his starting position. Hope he doesn’t start complaining that he wants to leave for lack of game time.”
While another wrote: “Jack Grealish might as well go on loan somewhere or go back to Villa because Doku isn’t getting dropped.”
Doku joined Man City in a £55million transfer from Rennes in August.
He has since scored three goals and provided six assists in 13 appearances across all competitions.
However, Grealish got a chance to prove Pep wrong after he replaced Doku just before the hour mark. More