Premier League

MASON MOUNT endured a nightmare return to Chelsea – and the home supporters were quick to let him have it.The Blues defeated Manchester United 4-3 in a thrilling clash at Stamford Bridge on Thursday to all-but end the away side’s top four hopes.Mason Mount returned to Chelsea for the first time as a Man Utd player last nightCredit: ReutersA Blues fan was spotted holding up a ‘Judas 19’ shirt as he received a hot welcomeCredit: TNT SportsEngland international Mount, 25, used to be a huge favourite with the Chelsea faithful having come through the club’s academy.He won the Champions League, Uefa Super Cup and Fifa Club World Cup during his time there but left under a cloud last summer.Having snubbed several new long-term contract extensions, Mount was eventually sold to United in a £60m move.He has so far struggled at United and been sidelined for most of the campaign through injury.READ MORE ON MAN UTDBut after scoring his first goal for the club against Brentford at the weekend, Mount headed back to his old Chelsea stomping ground full of confidence yesterday.However, there would be no red carpet or warm welcome waiting for him from his once adoring public while he began the game on the bench.Conor Gallagher and Cole Palmer’s penalty fired Chelsea into a two-goal early lead, leading to a chorus of “Mason, what’s the score?”Things soon looked like they had gone completely wrong for Mauricio Pochettino’s side as they threw away their lead before the break as Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes made it 2-2.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERGarnacho grabbed his second to make it 3-2 on 69 minutes and that is how it remained until the dying stages.With 86 minutes on the clock, it was time for Mount to be introduced to the action in place of United’s two-goal hero.Mason Mount reveals his favourite Man Utd chant and nobody is surprised His arrival was met by a huge chorus of boos, followed by a chant of: “You left cause you’re s***.”Then a shirt was spotted being held aloft by a fan as the Blues took a corner that had his old number 19 on the back along with the name “Judas”.And, unfortunately for Mount, it would soon turn into a nightmare as the match entered the eight minutes of additional time.Noni Madueke was fouled by United’s Diogo Dalot in the area and Palmer stepped up to level from the spot.Then, just seconds later, Palmer received a short corner and drilled a deflected shot past Andre Onana to spark wild celebrations in West London.During his time on the pitch Mount made 12 passes and produced two tackles, but his manager was fuming that his team lost a lead again in added time after their 1-1 draw at Brentford.Erik ten Hag said: “You have to do your job, you have to make the right decisions, and we didn’t react quick enough to avoid this situation.“We dominated the game, especially our wide players were a danger: Garnacho, Antony.“We have to make better decisions. You saw how we score from counters. We can be such a massive threat and we’ve seen again today an example.“But we have to read when to keep the ball, especially when you are winning. Keep the ball, pass and move and switch the play instead of giving it way.”Discussing Mount’s exit for United before the game, the Dutchman had said: “I don’t think they wanted to sell him.“They wanted to keep him and offered him a new contract many times. But he wanted to make this step.READ MORE SUN STORIES“We are very pleased he is a Manchester United player because he has great abilities and will contribute and become a big player for Manchester United.”Mount’s injury issues at Old Trafford also meant that he was unable to feature in the reverse fixture in December when the Red Devils beat Chelsea 2-1. More

THE entire Manchester United team were slammed as “asleep” when Cole Palmer scored his dramatic last-gasp winner.The boyhood Red Devils fan equalised for 3-3 from the penalty spot in the 100th minute at Stamford Bridge.None of the Manchester United players took responsibility at the corner, with Bruno Fernandes spotted pointing, Marcus Rashford looking the wrong way and Kobbie Mainoo had his hands on his hipsCole Palmer had the freedom of West London to receive Enzo Fernandez’s passCredit: TNT SportsPalmer was mobbed by his team-mates after the record-breaking goalCredit: AFPThen 82 seconds later, he snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, letting fly with a speculative effort from a short corner that deflected off Scott McTominay and into the back of the net. It sparked scenes of utter jubilation among the home players, staff and fans.But it left everyone connected with Manchester United totally shellshocked. And plenty of fans let rip at the crumbling flops for switching off before the latest winner in Premier League history.READ MORE ON MAN UTDEnzo Fernandez passed the 101st-minute corner short with Palmer collecting in acres of space in the corner of the box.There was no man in red within ten yards.Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount were both spotted pointing at Palmer before the kick but did not take responsibility to deal with him themselves.Then Kobbie Mainoo had his hands on hips while Marcus Rashford was facing the wrong way. Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKEREx-Chelsea academy man Mount did run across to try and close Palmer down but it was too little, too late as the ex-City star got his shot away with devastating consequences.McTominay leaned into the path of the ball but could only knock it beyond Andre Onana while the rest of the team stood around helplessly.Who could be Man Utd’s next manager after Ten Hag?Former Red Devils centre-back Rio Ferdinand blasted on TNT: “Palmer shouldn’t be able to get there and turn if you’re concentrating, if you’re professional.”You can’t afford to have those moments.””That tells you concentration is a problem, an issue.”And it also prompted a series of furious comments from supporters on X.One said: “Falling asleep from a corner. Yeah get in the bin. Threw this game away like that. Unforgivable!!!!”Another wrote: “And that Chelsea winner sums it up. Corner to the edge of the area to Chelsea’s biggest danger, United completely asleep as an entire team. Embarrassing.”A third added: “Half the team pointing at Palmer and nobody going to him is very funny.”A fourth raged: “Seasoned pros don’t defend a corner. Shocking absolutely shocking.”‘MADNESS AND IRRESPONSIBLE’A fifth moaned: “I’m not being funny but who is organising the defence for that corner? Onana, Maguire it’s on the GK and CB to ensure you don’t get done by a simple short corner!”And a final fan simply fumed: “The marking for short corner, madness and irresponsible.”The spectacular collapse all unfolded in front of new United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe who was in the posh seats in West London.Antony and Alejandro Garnacho, though, did themselves no harm with their performances at the other end of the pitch.The former put in one of his best performances for the club – including a superb outside-of-the-boot cross for Garnacho to head in for his second of the night to make it 3-2. READ MORE SUN STORIESMainoo also received praise early on for ‘bullying’ Fernandez to the floor.But it was the Argentine World Cup winner who had the last laugh, sliding in celebration in front of the dugouts after Palmer’s magic moment right at the end. Only Mason Mount made any attempt to close down the shotCredit: TNT SportsThe ball bounced off Scott McTominay into the back of the netCredit: GettySir Jim Ratcliffe was in the stands at Stamford BridgeCredit: GettyErik ten Hag could not believe what he witnessedCredit: GettyMason Mount looked totally shellshocked on his nightmare return to ChelseaCredit: GettyRio Ferdinand let rip for their lack of concentrationCredit: Getty More

DENNIS BERGKAMP only signed for Arsenal because a move to London rivals Chelsea fell through at the last minute.The Dutch legend was keen to move to the Premier League following a difficult spell at Inter Milan in the mid-1990s.Dennis Bergkamp’s proposed move to Chelsea fell through at the final hourCredit: PA:Press AssociationHe went on to become an Arsenal legendCredit: News Group Newspapers LtdAnd when he learned of Chelsea’s interest he tried to make the transfer happen as he wanted to work with childhood hero Glenn Hoddle.A deal was put in place and Bergkamp travelled to London to complete the paperwork – only for Chelsea to pull out.Agent Jerome Anderson, who brokered the deal, quickly thought on his feet and came up with a back-up option – Arsenal.He recalled the story on talkSPORT, saying: “Dennis’ hero as a young man growing up was Glenn Hoddle. As a young man he loved wearing the no.10 shirt, finally, having suffered a difficult time in Italy, he decided that he’d like to come and play in England. READ MORE IN FOOTBALL“Dennis’ situation was this. He had agreed, and we had all agreed that he would sign for Chelsea and literally on the day of coming over with his wife, he wouldn’t fly anymore so he was driving, I got a call from the then managing director Colin Hutchinson.“He said we still want to sign Dennis but we don’t have the money. That was a real shock as we’d worked on the deal for a long time.“I put my thinking cap on and thought ‘right, we’ve got Dennis coming over from abroad with his wife, he’s driving, it’s going to take several hours’.“I phoned his personal Dutch agent and explained what happened and said I’ve got an idea, would you give me permission to speak to an institutional club which is Arsenal and he said of course.”Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERIt was then up to Anderson to put the pieces together and get the green light from the bosses in North London.Anderson added: “I put the phone down and called David Dein, I said, ‘Something’s happened today and you might have an incredible opportunity to sign a player who’s yet to reach his prime and is well known as a wonderful international player who had a difficult time in Italy. It’s Dennis Bergkamp.I slide tackled Arsene Wenger and Thierry Henry on my Arsenal trial – I couldn’t believe manager’s reaction“He said, ‘We could be interested but the first thing you need to do is talk to the manager’. So I jumped in my car and drove round to Bruce Rioch and said, ‘Would you like to sign Dennis Bergkamp?. He said, ‘Jerome, if we can sign Dennis Bergkamp I’d sign him tomorrow’.“I went back to my office and made a few phone calls with Dennis still driving, unaware of what was happening.“David knew because I had such a strong affiliation with Arsenal that I was genuine in my belief so David organised a board meeting that went on for several hours at his house. It was £7.5million, a fixed fee, Inter Milan would not change that price.”Finally, all that was left was the small matter of persuading Bergkamp, which turned out to be easier than he thought.Anderson continued: “The board agreed to try and make it happen, so I phoned up Dennis’ agent.“Dennis arrived and he was upset in the first instance because Glenn was his hero and he was looking forward to working with him.READ MORE SUN STORIES“I said, ‘Look, if nothing else, please speak to Bruce, go to Highbury and have a look around the marbled walls and try to understand the history of what is a great, great club.“He agreed to that and thankfully he got on famously well with Mr Rioch, and the rest is history.” More

CHELSEA put in a Jekyll & Hyde performance against Manchester United as they blew a 2-0 lead before coming back to win.The Blues ran their opponents ragged inside the opening 20 minutes and were soon two goals to the good.Cole Palmer took his Chelsea tally to 20 goals for the seasonCredit: PAThe Chelsea superstar scored a late hat-trick to turn the game on its headCredit: PAConor Gallagher opened the scoringCredit: PAMarc Cucurella won the penalty for the second goalCredit: GettyCole Palmer was at his skilfully best and scored again from the penalty spot, after Conor Gallagher had smashed in the opener.Enzo Fernandez got forward well and even Marc Cucurella looked invigorated – the Spaniard winning the penalty for the second goal.But in the 34th minute Chelsea shot themselves in the foot yet again as Moises Caicedo gifted Alejandro Garnacho possession to score.Prior to that the visitors were not in the game but the goal appeared to inspire Erik ten Hag’s side, who were level moments later through Bruno Fernandes’ back post header.The score was level at the break and the game could have swung in either direction.As it was, a rare moment of magic from Antony as his cross with the outside of his boot was met by Garnacho, who nodded the ball past Djordje Petrovic to put United in front.But there would be a final twist as Palmer struck twice in stoppage time to seal his hat-trick and a dramatic 4-3 victory.Here is how SunSport’s Andy Dillon rated the Chelsea display in an exhilarating match.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERDjordje Petrovic – 5Stranded for Man United’s equaliser. Came out too far and was caught cold for United’s third goal. A rare but costly rush of blood.Malo Gusto – 6Steadily improving member of an erratic squad. Was out of position when the visitors pulled level though. But still growing in influence and proved it with the cut back for goal number one.Could Jose Mourinho return to Chelsea?Axel Disasi – 5Solid but sometimes prone to an error as shown with Hojlund in the second half. But also capable of titanic tackles as shown against Hojlund in the second half.Benoit Badiashile – 4Committed himself to step forward and claim the ball from a throw but was clumsy and gave it away, leading to Man United’s third goal. Awful control.Marc Cucurella – 6Sent one shot into the top tier of The Shed but then won the penalty that should have put Chelsea well on top.Enzo Fernandez – 5Cute pass with the outside his right boot set up Chelsea’s first. A moment of class but he should be producing them more regularly.Moises Caicedo – 5Head in hands moment when his sloppy sideways pass to Benoit Badiashile fell way short, allowing Man United to equalise and fight their way back.Cole Palmer – 9The leading light in this Chelsea team. Nimble and tricky. A Man United fan as a kid and answered the taunts from visiting fans with a hat trick that will be immortalised. Balls of steel.Conor Gallagher – 6From the back foot to the front. Answered the online trolls in the best way with a goal after four minutes and leads by example as captain.Mykhailo Mudryk – 6Another slowly but surely growing in confidence. A neat ball down the left channel forced Antony into giving away a penalty.Nicolas Jackson – 5If the shock of dyed blue hair was supposed to intimidate it didn’t work. It looked like it had gone wrong on a hot wash. Ran his legs off but could not make much headway.SubsRaheem Sterling (Mudryk, 70 mins) – 6Up against it coming on with Chelsea trailing and at a low ebb.Carney Chukwuemeka (Caicedo 70 mins) – 6Adds drive from midfield but has missed far too many games to be in any sort of rhythm.Alfie Gilchrist (Gusto 75 mins) – 6Added pace to Chelsea on the counter attack but should have done better from one corner with his head.READ MORE SUN STORIESTrevoh Chalobah (Disasi 75 mins) – 6As replacement for heavyweight Disasi he was more pressing going forwards at least.Noi Madueke (Gallagher 87 mins) – 7Not much such a raw kid can do with three minutes of normal time remaining. Still managed to win a penalty though. More