Match Report: Chelsea 4 - 4 Manchester City

What. A. Game.

Chelsea and Manchester City played out an all time Premier League classic with a pulsating 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge. And it was former Man City players Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer who played crucial roles in breaking City hearts.

Chelsea started the game well but it was City who struck the first blow. Referee Anthony Taylor continued his one man quest to become the least popular person in Fulham when he awarded a controversial 25th minute penalty. Marc Cucurella was adjudged to have held back City striker Erling Haaland, who duly dispatched his spot kick.

It took Chelsea just three minutes to respond. Thiago Silva glanced in Conor Gallagher's corner at the near post to bring the Blues level.

The 37th minute and Chelsea completed the turn around. Reece James squared the ball across the box from the right for Raheem Sterling to tap in at the back post.

The euphoria of leading the European Champions couldn't last though. Manuel Akanji found himself unmarked in the penalty area to head in City's equaliser from a corner.

The second half started at the same breakneck speed and it took City just two minutes to get themselves ahead. A goal similar to Chelsea's second, this time it was Haaland rolling the ball in at the back post.

Chelsea weren't done though and got their second equaliser on 67 minutes. City keeper Ederson could only palm Gallagher's effort into the path of Nicolas Jackson who scored from the rebound, his fourth goal in a week.

In the final few minutes, the game seemed to be just petering out for the first time until Rodri's effort from outside the box took a massive deflection off Thiago Silva to put the Manchester club 4-3 ahead.

A loss would have been harsh on Chelsea, who had put so much into the game and were determined not to let it happen. So in injury time, substitute Armando Broja collected the ball in the box but was brought down with a reckless challenge by Ruben Diaz to give Chelsea a penalty of their own.

So it was that Cole Palmer (a City player just a few short months ago and could have already scored in the game but for a great save from Ederson), stepped up to score his fourth penalty for Chelsea and rescue the point. How Pep Guardiola must regret letting him go now.

It was a game neither side deserved to lose so a draw was probably a fair result. Chelsea hadn't scored against City since Kai Havertz goal in the 2021 Champions League final so four in one game was quite unexpected.

With eight goals in their last two games, is it too early to hope Chelsea's goal scoring troubles are over? Chelsea seem to prefer playing the big teams, its the smaller sides who sit deep that seem to be Chelsea's real problem to break down.

But that's a problem for another day, for now we can enjoy having been treated to an absolute classic.

Line-up: Sanchez, James (Gusto 64'), Disasi, Silva, Cucurella, Caicedo (Broja 90'), Fernandez (Mudryk 64'), Palmer, Gallagher, Sterling, Jackson (Ugochukwu 96')

Unused Subs: Badiashile, Madueke, Petrovic, Maatsen, Matos

Match Report: Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 4 Chelsea

 

Five goals scored, four disallowed, three for Nicolas Jackson and two red cards all added up to one hell of a London derby.

The craziness started in just the 6th minute when Dejan Kulusevski's deflected effort put Spurs ahead. And that was as good as it got for Tottenham on the night.

A few minutes later, Brennan Johnson thought he had put Spurs 2-0 up but he was ruled just offside by VAR. A few minutes later, Raheem Sterling thought he had equalised for Chelsea but VAR again intervened and disallowed for handball.

30 minutes in and Chelsea again thought they had equalised when Moises Caicedo put the ball in from the edge of the box but this time it was Nicolas Jackson who was adjudged to have been offside. However, Chelsea did gain a penalty for a foul by Christian Romero in the build-up on Enzo Fernandez. Romero was red carded for the challenge but there can be no sympathy as he could have been sent off a few minutes earlier for a kick-out on Levi Colwill and his challenge on Fernandez was high.

Cole Palmer eventually stepped up to equalise for Chelsea from the spot.

Second half started much as the first had ended with Chelsea dominating the play and Spurs insisting on keeping a high defensive line. Then on 55 minutes more bad news for Tottenham when Destiny Udogie was sent off for a second yellow offence and Spurs would have to play the rest of the game with just nine men.

Credit to Tottenham then who held out until the 75th minute. Sterling eventually beating their offside trap and playing the ball across the box to Jackson to finally give Chelsea the lead.

That wasn't quite it though, Tottenham nearly got back in to the game. Erik Dier had an effort disallowed for offside, Rodrigo Bentancur had a good chance he should probably have equalised from.

In stoppage time, Son Heung-min had an effort from the edge of the box that brought a fine save from Robert Sanchez. The miss would prove crucial as just 30 seconds later, Conor Gallagher took on the Sterling role to square the ball for Jackson for a carbon copy of Chelsea's second goal and the three points were safe for the Blues.

Finally, the pulsating action of the night was finished two minutes later when Jackson found himself clear of Spurs high-line and rounded Tottenham keeper Vicario (who it must be said had been excellent) to complete his hat-trick.

Another classic entry to the Chelsea-Tottenham rivalry. Spurs fans will claim it was the red cards that changed the game though in truth, after Johnson's disallowed goal Chelsea were dominating the play.

A big boost ahead of Chelsea's fixture with Manchester City at the weekend and a chance to see if this is a result Chelsea will build on.

Line-Up: Sanchez, James (Gusto 77'), Disasi, Silva, Colwill (Cucurella 45'), Caicedo, Fernandez (Mudryk 57'), Gallagher, Sterling (Ugochukwu 90'), Palmer, Jackson

Subs: Badiashile, Madueke, Petrovic, Maatsen, Washington

Match Report: Chelsea 2-0 Blackburn Rovers

Routine would be the word to describe this game.

Chelsea took the lead early on, Blackburn failing to clear their lines from a corner and Benoit Badiashile stroked the ball into the net on his return from injury.

In the second half, Rovers made a mess of getting the ball away from their penalty area and Raheem Sterling took advantage to curl in from near the edge of the box.

Blackburn rarely threatened the Chelsea goal though Robert Sanchez made a truly excellent save, stopping an effort from the edge of the 6-yard box to maintain Chelsea's clean sheet.

Next up in the League Cup is a Quarter Final at home to Newcastle United. A tough draw but with Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and the two Manchester clubs having already fallen by the way side it could be a good opportunity for Chelsea to win some silverware.

Line-Up: Sanchez, James (Gusto 61'), Disasi, Badiashile (Colwill 61'), Cucurella, Ugochukwu, Fernandez (Matos 87'), Palmer (Madueke 87'), Gallagher, Sterling, Jackson (Caicedo 75')

Subs: Petrovic, Maatsen, Washington, Castledine

Match Report: Chelsea 0-2 Brentford

Right back to square one for Chelsea.

All the recent optimism that Chelsea had finally turned a corner was crushed by a terrible Chelsea performance as Brentford scored their third consecutive victory at Stamford Bridge.

The first half was all too familiar for Chelsea fans. Brentford set up a deep defensive block, Chelsea were completely incapable of getting through. Though in fairness, Noni Madueke did come close to scoring when he curled an effort on to the bar.

Whatever Mauricio Pochettino said to his players at half-time clearly went in one ear and out the other: Chelsea were abysmal in the second half.

When Ethan Pinnock headed Brentford ahead in the 58th minute, Chelsea fans knew they might as well go home then and there. This is not a team that has any guts to come back when they go behind.

Chelsea never looked like scoring and it was easy for Brentford in the second half. Chelsea have nobody they can rely on to make a difference in a game so the defeat became inevitable.

Brentford added a second in injury time, Mbuemo rolling into an open goal after Robert Sanchez had gone forward for a corner but it made no real difference, Chelsea had already been beaten 30 minutes earlier.

Starting Line-Up: Sanchez, Cucurella (Ugochukwu 80'), Disasi (James 66'), Silva, Colwill, Gallagher, Caicedo (Washington 80'), Sterling, Palmer, Jackson, Madueke (Maatsen 66')

Subs: Badiashjle, Petrovic, Gusto, Beach, Matos

Match Report: Chelsea 2 - 2 Arsenal

A definite case of two points lost for Chelsea in the London derby.

On the face of it, a draw with high-flying Arsenal isn't too bad a result but the Blues fans know it could and should have been more.

Chelsea started the better side and got their reward in the 14th minute. Mykhailo Mudrk's header struck the arm of William Saliba and Chelsea were awarded a penalty following a VAR check. Cole Palmer stepped up to calmly score his spot kick, sending Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya the wrong way. 

The second half started and was it a shot? Was it a cross? Who cares, Mudryk hit the ball in from the left and it went over Raya into the Arsenal goal to make it 2-0 to Chelsea.

Calamity struck in the 77th minute, Robert Sanchez played the ball straight to Declan Rice who had the whole goal to stroke the ball into.

Sanchez is yet to convince the Stamford Bridge faithful he is good enough to be their number one and this latest blunder will not have helped.

Then a few minutes later, Leandro Trossard arrived unmarked at the back post to equalise for Arsenal from Bukayo Saka's cross.

The really disappointing thing for Chelsea is that right up until the Rice goal, Chelsea had controlled the game and looked relatively comfortable. There had been no real indication of Arsenal being capable of getting themselves back into the match. Indeed, until that point, Arsenal had not managed a single effort on target.

So, a slight disappointment for Chelsea but having outplayed the Gunners for so long in the game, they should take heart from that.

Still a need to cut out the stupid errors but overall Chelsea are on an upward trajectory.

Line-Up: Sanchez, Gusto, Silva, Colwill, Cucurella, Gallagher, Caicedo, Fernandez, Palmer (James 85'), Sterling (Madueke 85'), Mudryk (Jackson 64')

Subs: Disasi, Badiashile, Madueke, Ugochukwu, James, Petrovic, Maatsen, Washington

Match Report: Burnley 1 - 4 Chelsea

Say it quietly but Mauricio Pocchettino's plan might just be starting to come together.

Three wins in a row in all competitions and most importantly, a team starting to actually score some goals.

It wasn't all plain sailing forthe Blues and Chelsea fans may have had that all too familiar feeling when Wilson Odobert shot across the goal following a Burnley break to give the Clarets the lead on 15 minutes.

But Chelsea slowly pulled themselves back in to the game but still needed a bit of luck when Ameen Al Dikhal deflected Raheem Sterling's cross into his own goal for the Blues equaliser.

In the second half, Chelsea put on the afterburners.

Firstly, just a few minutes into the new half Sterling ran at the Burnley defence and was brought down just inside the penalty area. Cole Palmer stepped up to score the penalty, sending Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford the wrong way for his first Chelsea goal.

On 65 minutes, man of the match Sterling burst into the Burnley box and drilled home his effort. A well deserved goal for the man now finding himself on the outside of Gareth Southgate's England plans.

Sterling was involved yet again in Chelsea's fourth, his cross from the left went all the way across the box to Cole Palmer who laid the ball off to Nicolas Jackson and the big striker produced a cool, calm finish to extinguish Burnley's hopes.

Blues supporters will be hoping its not a false dawn and there will certainly be tougher tests to come but for the first time in a long time, it felt like Chelsea were finally getting the reward their dominant performances deserved.

Line-Up: Sanchez, Cucurella, Disasi, Silva, Colwill, Gallagher, Caicedo, Fernandez, Palmer (Maatsen 85'), Broja (Jackson 45'), Sterling (Mudryk 83')

Subs: Madueke, Ugochukwu, Chukwuemeka, Petrovic, Gilchrist, Matos

Match Report: Fulham 0 - 2 Chelsea

Chelsea finally get to celebrate a win in the Premier League and it felt well deserved too.

Two goals in two minutes gave Chelsea the lead they deserved early in the first half.

Firstly, Mykhailo Mudryk chested down Levi Colwill's cross before putting the ball in the Fulham net for his first Chelsea goal in the 18th minute. 

A minute later and Chelsea fans must have thought they were hallucinating, Chelsea got a second. A slice of luck as Tim Ream attempted to cut out Cole Palmer's through ball but it deflected in off Blues striker Armando Broja and into the goal.

The second half was great game management as Fulham rarely looked like scoring bar one effort from Sasa Lukic that was well saved by Robert Sanchez.

Chelsea could have extended their lead on the hour mark but Ian Maatsen's effort from the edge of the box hit the post.

A nice moment for Alex Matos, who made his debut (albeit for 30 seconds) coming on as a sub for Enzo Fernandez in the 95th minute.

The only dark spot for Chelsea was possible addition of Mudryk and Moises Caicedo to Chelsea's already lengthy injury list.

But that is for tomorrow, for tonight Chelsea finally get to enjoy that winning feeling in the league again.

Line-Up: Sanchez, Disasi, Silva, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo (Madueke 90+5'), Gallagher, Palmer (Ugochukwu 77'), Enzo (Matos 90+5'), Mudryk (Maatsen 45'), Broja (Sterling 65')

Subs: Petrovic, Brooking, Gilchrist, Washington