sport news PLAYER RATINGS: Cole Palmer seals dramatic late win for Chelsea after Alejandro ... trends now
Chelsea pulled off a scarcely believable injury-time comeback to beat Manchester United 4-3 at Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening.
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 nerveless strike from the box 15 minutes later to double the scoreline.
But sloppy midfield play from the hosts allowed Alejandro Garnacho to give the travellers a foot-hold in the tie in the 34th minute, with Bruno Fernandes stepping up to provide the equaliser one minute before half-time.
Despite being hampered by injury, Man United clung on in the second-half and thought they had claimed victory through a second from Garnacho - until Palmer took just 82 seconds to score a penalty, and then the latest of winners.
Here, Kieran Gill runs the rule over the players on the pitch for both sides on a promising night for Erik ten Hag's side.
Cole Palmer's hat-trick provided Chelsea with a last gasp redemention deep into injury time
The former Manchester City forward's 82-second showstopping display sparked jubilation
Mauricio Pochettino watched his side go from being on the receiving end of a dismal loss to recording a historic win
Djordje Petrovic 5
Helpless for the first two goals he conceded as Chelsea’s defence failed in their protection of him, but hard not to think he could have been braver in stopping Garnacho’s header.
Malo Gusto 6
His sprinting forward down the right-hand side was key to Chelsea scoring after four minutes as his cross worked its way to Gallagher but defensively, nobody impressed here.
Axel Disasi 5
Loves a celebration whenever he does something good defensively, though he is prone to the odd moment of madness as Chelsea’s back line had another bad day at the office.
Benoit Badiashile 4.5
The culprit who lost possession as United stormed upfield to score their third goal and make it 3-2, having tried and failed to control a lumped ball. Nowhere near good enough.
Djorde Petrovic wasn't given much help by his defenders but could have been a braver figure
Benoit Badiashile had an unimpressive showing and was at fault in the face of United's third
Moises Caicedo had a night to forget and will thank his team-mates for sparing his blushes
Marc Cucurella 6
Great block to deny Fernandes and good work in winning the penalty after his one-two with Mudryk saw Antony bring him down from behind, as soft as it was.
Moises Caicedo 3
An absolute gift to get the visitors back into this game – an aimless pass to leave Garnacho with only Petrovic to beat to make it 2-1. Costly as that kickstarted the comeback.
Enzo Fernandez 6.5
After a game in which he largely struggled to dominate the midfield, Fernandez made amends in stoppage time with a quickly-taken corner for Palmer to grab his winner.
Cole Palmer 8.5
Sent Onana the wrong way to make it seven penalties scored out of seven for the season and then made it eight out of eight in stoppage time, before that winner sparked bedlam at Stamford Bridge.
Conor Gallagher opened the scoring after just four minutes but Chelsea came close to squandering their lead
Palmer's hat-trick started off with his early penalty as Chelsea doubled the scoreline early on
Conor Gallagher 7
Captaining the team again, he produced a fine sweeping finish to score before striking the post in first-half stoppage time. Needs that new contract. Never stops working.
