Premier, show between Chelsea and Manchester City: ends 4-4

Crazy things. Chelsea-Manchester City at Stamford Bridge is an incredible spectacle, a 4-4 in the best match of the year decided in the 95th minute by a penalty from former player Cole Palmer. Guardiola thus regains the lead of the table, with one point more than Arsenal and Liverpool who he will face immediately after the break. But Pochettino leaves the pitch, soaked from the downpour, with the confirmation that his Chelsea is making giant strides to transform itself from the ugly duckling that spends and spreads on the market to a swan that is not yet wonderful but capable of holding its own against the “strongest team”. of the world”. The equal show is the fairest result between two teams who attacked much better than they defended, in a match full of twists and turns that not even the brace from the usual Erling Haaland (49 goals in 47 career Premier League games) helped to decide.

the keys

—

Chelsea came out better because they played on par with the champions of everything and not even the most optimistic of Stamford Bridge fans expected them to be ready to do so. It is a confirmation after Monday’s 4-1 against Tottenham that the Pochettino treatment is working, that the returns from injuries in the last few games are helping to provide that long-missed stability. The best was Raheem Sterling, author of the momentary 2-1 Blues and irrepressible on the left, but Pochettino had confirmation that the former Palmer, cold as ice for the decisive penalty, is a talent with the potential to be great and that Reece James still needs some training to get back to being devastating on the right lane. The negative notes still come from midfield, where both Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, the pair worth over 250 million euros, were anonymous: in the central role Connor Gallagher was much better, having dropped back after Mudryk’s entry onto the pitch. Haaland with his goals is Guardiola’s usual certainty, like the talent of Phil Foden, for once more inspired than Julian Álvarez. But City suffered greatly from the absence of the injured John Stones: Manuel Akanji, author of the momentary 2-2, suffered from having to double as defender and midfielder, contributing to Rodri’s problems and the entire defense suffering. However, in the 86th minute, Rodri, with the complicity of a deflection from Thiago Silva, scored the 4-3 goal with which City seemed to be able to definitively take control of this sensational match. It didn’t happen because, like all champions, Chelsea showed they had the desire and ability to react.

the match

—

The match changes in the 21st minute, when Taylor pinches a shot from Cucurella in the area to Haaland and decides for the penalty which, after VAR checks and protests (questionable decision), the Norwegian converts impeccably for the 1-0 City. The champions’ joy lasts 4 minutes, because in the 29th minute Thiago Silva equalizes with a header from a Gallagher corner. Chelsea overtook in the 37th minute with Sterling, who collected a nice cross from James after a bad mistake from Gvardiol, but Akanji made it 2-2 with a header in the first of 7 minutes of injury time. The second half began less than two minutes ago when Haaland returned to celebrate, scoring the 3-2 with a slide, collecting a cross from Álvarez at the far post. The match remains a spectacle with many other twists: like Jackson’s 3-3 in the 67th minute, with the Blues center forward doing well to pounce on a difficult save by Ederson from a shot from 20 meters by Gallagher; or the 4-3 that Rodri scores in the 86th minute with the complicity of Thiago Silva. As in the best dramas, however, a grand finale is needed: it arrives in the 92nd minute, when the referee points to the spot after an intervention by Dias in the area on Broja: the penalty in the 95th minute is taken by the former Palmer, putting Ederson in front of the Chelsea curve for the 4-4 goal which closes the best match of the year.