Are Chelsea exclusively serving up chaos now? Just six days after their insane 4-1 Premier Leaue victory over Tottenham, Mauricio Pochettino’s side were involved in another stone-cold classic, this time, an absorbing 4-4 draw with treble-winning Manchester City.
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The Blues looked impressive going forward throughout, but went behind against the run of play when referee Anthony Taylor controversially penalised Marc Cucurella for fouling Erling Haaland in the box – with the Man City sensation converting the resulting spot-kick.
A rapid and well-deserved double from Thiago Silva and Raheem Sterling put the Blues 2-1 up before Manuel Akanji tied things up on the stroke of half-time. Haaland then doubled his tally early in the second period, but Nicolas Jackson added another tap-in to his collection not long after to make it 3-3.
City thought they’d won it in the 86th minute when Rodri’s shot ricocheted off Thiago Silva and into the net, only for Armando Broja to be crunched in the area by Ruben Dias. Up stepped former City man Cole Palmer to earn a point for his new side, who received a lot of criticism when they spent big to sign him this summer. What a bloody game!
GOAL rates Chelsea’s players from Stamford Bridge…
Goalkeeper & Defence
Robert Sanchez (5/10):
Fantastic stop to deny Haaland just before the break, but might have done better to deny the Norwegian in the second half.
Reece James (8/10):
A great assist and did extremely well in one-on-one defensive situations. Withdrawn on the hour, likely to preserve his fitness.
Axel Disasi (6/10):
Probably should have done better to prevent Haaland’s second. Rarely misplaced a pass.
Thiago Silva (5/10):
His bullet header nearly blew the roof off Stamford Bridge. Misjudged a headed clearance for Akanji’s goal, and then unfortunately deflected Rodri’s shot past Sanchez.
Marc Cucurella (6/10):
Extremely unlucky for the penalty. Stretched a few times defensively and did not offer loads in the final third.
Midfield
Conor Gallagher (7/10):
His energy is such an asset in midfield. Created Jackson’s goal with a fierce strike.
Enzo Fernandez (6/10):
Started strongly, crashing into tackles and using the ball effectively. Faded after that.
Moises Caicedo (4/10):
A bit of a passenger in the first half. Overcommitted in the build-up to Haaland’s second and was then booked for a wild tackle.
Attack
Cole Palmer (8/10):
Some lovely neat touches and very lively. His link-up with the marauding James was particularly impressive and he showed nerves of steel to score the penalty.
Nicolas Jackson (5/10):
His decision-making wasn’t great and he lacked composure. Found himself on the scoresheet again, though. Booked needlessly at the end for arguing with Jack Grealish.
Raheem Sterling (8/10):
Did you see that, Gareth Southgate? The perfect response to another bizarre England snub. Sterling was unplayable at times.
Subs & Manager
Malo Gusto (5/10):
Missed an absolute sitter to make it 4-3.
Mykhailo Mudryk (5/10):
Not massively involved after coming on.
Armando Broja (7/10):
Won the penalty almost immediately after coming on.
Lesley Ugochukwu (N/A):
Only on for a few minutes.
Mauricio Pochettino (7/10):
He exploded at various points at his team today, but it’s clear progress is being made. Not many teams will score four against the champions and he deserves credit for giving his side an attacking structure in a relatively short space of time.
