Chelsea pulled off a barely believable stoppage-time comeback to beat Manchester United 4-3 at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night.
Conor Gallagher wasted no time opening the scoring with his effort after just four minutes played, and errant play from Antony saw Cole Palmer send in a typically nervy shot from the area 15 minutes later to double the score.
But sloppy play in the hosts’ midfield allowed Alejandro Garnacho to give the travelers a foothold in the equalizer in the 34th minute, with Bruno Fernandes stepping up to equalize a minute before the break.
Despite being hampered by injury, Man United held on in the second half and thought they had secured victory thanks to a second from Garnacho, until it took Palmer just 82 seconds to score a penalty, and then the last of the winners.
Here, Kieran Gill directs players from both teams onto the field on a promising night for Erik ten Hag’s side.
Cole Palmer’s hat-trick gave Chelsea a last gasp of redemption in injury time
Former Manchester City striker’s spectacular 82-second display sparked jubilation
Mauricio Pochettino saw his team go from suffering a terrible defeat to registering a historic victory.
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CHELSEA (4-2-3-1)
Djordje Petrovic 5
Helpless during the first two goals he conceded when the Chelsea defense failed to protect him, but it’s hard not to think he could have been braver in stopping Garnacho’s header.
Bad Taste 6
His forward run down the right side was key to Chelsea scoring after four minutes when his cross reached Gallagher, but defensively no one impressed here.
Axel Disasi 5
He loves to celebrate every time he does something good defensively, although he is prone to the occasional moment of madness when the Chelsea defense had another bad day at the office.
Benoit Badiashile 4.5
The culprit who lost possession when United stormed upfield to score their third goal and make it 3-2, after having tried unsuccessfully to control a stuck ball. It’s not good enough.
Djorde Petrovic did not receive much help from his defenders but could have been a braver figure.
Benoit Badiashile had a mediocre performance and was at fault for United’s third goal.
Moisés Caicedo had a night to forget and he will thank his teammates for saving him blushes
Marc Cucurella 6
Great block to deny Fernandes and good work to win the penalty after his one-two with Mudryk, where Antony took him down from behind, gentle as it was.
Moisés Caicedo 3
An absolute gift for the visitors to get back into this match: an aimless pass to leave Garnacho with only Petrovic to beat to make it 2-1. Expensive since that prompted the return.
Enzo Fernandez 5
Good pass behind for Gusto so he could cross into the Gallagher goal, but otherwise he made too many wrong passes and wasn’t dominant enough in midfield.
Cole Palmer 8.5
He sent Onana the wrong way to claim seven penalties from seven scored on the season and then scored eight from eight in stoppage time, before that winner unleashed chaos at Stamford Bridge.
Conor Gallagher opened the scoring after four minutes, but Chelsea almost blew their lead.
Palmer’s hat-trick began with his early penalty and Chelsea doubled the score early on.
Conor Gallagher 7
Captaining the team again, he produced an excellent shot to score before hitting the post in first-half stoppage time. He needs that new contract. He never stops working.
Mykhailo Mudryk 6
Confidence runs through Mudryk since his goal for Ukraine took them to Euro 2024. He started ahead of Sterling and exchanged a one-two with Cucurella to win the penalty.
Nicholas Jackson 6
Stinging Onana’s palms was the closest he came to scoring, but he had a front-row seat to an extraordinary match, although he wasn’t as involved as he would have liked.
Nicolas Jackson showed off a new hairstyle for the occasion, which he might now consider making perm.
SUBSTITUTES
Raheem Sterling 71 (by Mudryk) – 6
Carney Chukwuemeka (71 (by Caicedo) – 6
Trevoh Chalobah 75 (for Disasi) – 6
Alfie Gilchrist 75 (for Gusto) – 6
Noni Madueke 89 (by Gallagher) – N/A
MANAGER
Mauricio Pochettino 6
Chelsea have a terrible habit of making a mess when they appear to be safe. Once again, this was a surrender from a winning position. At least they won, thanks to Palmer’s latest heroics.
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1)
André Onana 5
Quite helpless for Chelsea’s first two goals and had to endure a barrage towards the end when Palmer caught him twice in stoppage time.
Diogo Dalot 4
There were moments when Palmer made a fool of Dalot, but it was his cross that found Fernandes to make it 2-2. Then, at the death, he fouled Madueke to give Chelsea that penalty, 3-3.
Rafael Varane 6
The deflection accidentally helped Chelsea take the lead when the ball fell kindly to Gallagher before he was replaced at the break by Evans, who was later substituted.
Alejandro Garnacho scored two of Manchester United’s three goals at Stamford Bridge
Diogo Dalot’s late second penalty led to Chelsea’s incredible comeback and United’s demise.
Harry Maguire 6
United’s defense was all over the place in the first half and Maguire was never shy about showing his anger towards his team-mates before they got their act together. Until that crazy finale in injury time.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka 6.5
Tasked with tying up Mudryk, they forced him to work. He performed well on the left of United’s back four as he tried to deal with that threat, while adding his own.
Casemiro 6
On the receiving end of Gallagher’s bizarre challenge and was disappointed not to get on the scoresheet with a header he should have buried.
Kobbie Mainoo 7
He gave the ball away cheaply in the seconds before Chelsea’s first goal, but soon shook off that annoyance to impress against a multimillion-dollar midfield.
Anthony 7.5
He touched Cucurella to give away a penalty, no matter how harsh it seemed at second glance, but his most impressive contribution was that cross with the outside of his boot for Garnacho’s goal.
Antony made up for errant play in the first half when he brought down Marc Cucurella for Chelsea’s first penalty.
The Brazilian international looked devastated on the pitch after Jarred Gillett’s final whistle
Captain Bruno Fernandes also scored, but the visitors were unable to take the win away from home.
Bruno Fernandez 6.5
He showed some of his trademark moaning when Chelsea were leading 2-0, but his header made it 2-2 and United were back in this game and then some.
Alejandro Garnacho 8
He made no mistake in the one-on-one after accepting Caicedo’s gift and then was brave when he headed the ball to make it 3-2.
Rasmus Hojlund 6
Smart to leave the Dalot center because he knew Fernandes was behind him, waiting to return home. One of his calmest evenings with United.
SUBSTITUTES
Jonny Evans 46 (by Maguire) – 6
Marcus Rashford 66 (by Hojlund) – 6
Willy Kambwala (by Evans) – 6
Scott McTominay 75 (by Casemiro) – 6
Mason Mount 85 (for Grenache) – N/A
Mason Mount’s return to Stamford Bridge was accompanied by boos from the home fans.
Erik ten Hag thought his team was close to a promising victory, but came away with no points.
MANAGER
Erik ten Hag – 5
We all thought they were down and out when Chelsea were leading 2-0, but then their team showed their courage by coming back to make it 3-2. But they showed their softer side by conceding those two goals in stoppage time.
REFEREE
Jarred Gillett – 6