Palmer haunts former club as City and Chelsea draw eight-goal thriller

Danny Lewis

Palmer puts away a penalty in injury time to level the matchAFP

A stoppage-time penalty from ex-Manchester City player Cole Palmer snatched a well-deserved point for Chelsea against the Citizens in an enthralling 4-4 Premier League (PL) draw, with the flurry of goals providing a contrast to the 1-0 scoreline from each of the previous four league H2Hs.

Buoyed by their memorable win against Tottenham Hotspur last time out, Chelsea showed plenty of intent in a blistering opening against the Citizens.

Their positive start was stunted however, when Marc Cucurella grabbed Erling Haaland as the Norwegian went to attack Bernardo Silva’s cross.

Haaland had to endure a lengthy wait to take the penalty but wasn’t impacted, sending Robert Sánchez the wrong way to calmly dispatch his 12th PL goal this season.

Undeterred, Chelsea struck twice in eight minutes having previously not scored in six H2Hs since the 2021 UEFA Champions League final.

Thiago Silva swiftly equalised when he met Conor Gallagher’s corner delivery with a superb header for his first goal since January 2022.

Then, Reece James got the better of Joško Gvardiol and teed up Raheem Sterling to score against his former club.

Sánchez came up with heroics of his own at the other end to deny Haaland, but he was left helpless by Manuel Akanji’s pinpoint header as the defender got a fourth goal in his last five matches for club and country.

There was absolutely no chance of things slowing down in the second half, as Julián Álvarez squared the ball for Haaland to bundle it over the line within 90 seconds of the restart.

Sánchez made two important saves to keep the deficit to one, denying Álvarez’s instinctive effort and Jérémy Doku’s strike at the end of a typically mazy run.

The Blues made the most of that impact, as Nicolas Jackson was quickest to react when Ederson parried Gallagher’s strike from range to convert his fourth goal in two games, having scored just twice in the PL before that.

Rodri’s strike from the edge of the box took a flick off Silva’s outstretched boot to wrong-foot Sánchez for what seemed to be the winner.

There was one more twist, though, as Rúben Dias brought Armando Broja down in the 92nd minute for a penalty to be taken by Palmer in his first match since leaving the Citizens.

The 21-year-old clinically converted despite the pressure, meaning Chelsea have lost just one of their last eight across all competitions with more positive signs coming for Mauricio Pochettino.

Man City are still unbeaten in six competitive fixtures and top of the PL table.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Erling Haaland (Manchester City)