Erik ten Hag stood solemnly in the rain, droplets running off his bald head. Mauricio Pochettino grabbed any member of Chelsea’s staff he could find and threw his arms around them. Up in the stands here at Stamford Bridge, Sir Jim Ratcliffe sat looking as bewildered as the rest of us.
How had Chelsea won this game? How had Manchester United lost it? How had Cole Palmer scored twice deep into eight minutes of stoppage time – that became 13 minutes – to celebrate a sensational hat-trick and turn this game incredible game on its head?
By the time it was all over, Ten Hag’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League were fading fast and, who knows, maybe his chances of staying in a job too. This was all great fun but Ratcliffe didn’t spend £1.3billion to preside over football’s answer to the Harlem Globetrotters.
Amazingly, it was the fifth 4-3 game United have been involved in this season, losing three and winning two. It came five days after they led deep into injury-time down the road at Brentford and contrived to drop points there as well.
This time they were still 3-2 ahead after 99 minutes and 17 seconds before Palmer equalised with the second of his two penalties, awarded for Diogo Dalot’s foul on substitute Noni Madueke. No team has led that late in a Premier League game and gone on to lose.
Cole Palmer kept his composure to score twice after 90 minutes and seal a stunning turnaround, the first of which came from 12 yards
Palmer’s late double sparked pandemonium on the Chelsea bench, with 82 seconds between his stoppage time goals
He celebrated a stunning hat-trick to notch his 15th goal of the season at the death
But the coup de grace came in the 101st minute when Palmer’s rather speculative effort took a heavy deflection off Scott McTominay past Andre Onana and Stamford Bridge erupted.
This is what happens when you give teams so many shots on goal. Having faced a total of 81 attempts in their previous three Premier League games against Manchester City, Everton and Brentford, United allowed Chelsea a staggering 47 here.
Ten Hag can talk about making progress but his words will sound utterly empty while United continue to come up short like this.
They played well, mind. Far better than at Brentford on Saturday. Alejandro Garnacho scored twice and Antony justified the manager’s decision to play him ahead of Marcus Rashford.
But this team is leakier than the Old Trafford roof. Score one goal against them and you’ve got every chance of scoring another. Just ask Palmer.
In this strangest of seasons, United have swung between shambolic and sensational, and everything else in between. Rarely, though, have they managed it all on the same night.
And what of Chelsea, who have been just as unpredictable this season? Two dysfunctional clubs punching well below their weight who could yet up meeting again in the FA Cup final next month. What an occasion that would be.
Chelsea’s comeback wouldn’t have been necessary had they taken more care of a two-goal advantage established inside the opening 18 minutes.
They punished Kobbie Mainoo’s misplaced pass after less than four minutes when Enzo Fernandez fed Malo Gusto whose low cross deflected off Raphael Varane to Conor Gallagher, who swept home first time.
Alejandro Garnacho was the star for Manchester United despite their 4-3 loss at Chelsea
The youngster was twice among the goals in an impressive display as United showed great character to fight back, before they crumbled at the end
Conor Gallagher gave Chelsea a flying start after getting on the scoresheet in just four minutes
Gallagher popped up in the middle of the box to finish well after a blistering start by the hosts
Palmer then doubled the lead from the spot with a penalty coolly converted on 19 minutes
The spot-kick was the 14th of the England international’s season as he pushes for an England spot
It soon got even worse for Ten Hag. Marc Cucurella’s duel with Antony was one of the highlights of the game, but the Brazilian allowed Cucurella to get the wrong side of him when he received a return pass from Mykhaila Mudryk and brought the Spaniard down with a clumsy challenge.
Referee Jarred Gillett pointed to the spot and Palmer doesn’t miss. His two efforts last night means he has scored eight from eight attempts now.
At that stage, United couldn’t do anything right. Garnacho’s volley was so wide it went out for a throw-in and Dalot sent a pass straight into the stands.
But somehow, out of nowhere, they were level before half-time. The first goal was almost comical, starting with Bruno Fernandes’ wayward pass that looked to be going out of play in the 34th minute.
Credit to Antony for keeping it in, but even he thought Moises Caicedo had the situation under control. However, Caicedo played a horrible pass straight into the path of Garnacho and he raced away from Benoit Badiashile to prod home.
Yet Garnacho pulled one back for the visitors to spark a five-minute double flurry
Bruno Fernandes then made it 2-2 and levelled the terms from an acute angle on 39 minutes
Garnacho headed home for a second goal to make it 3-2 and flip the game on its head
The Argentine’s second goal came after one of the assists of the season from Antony
After netting a penalty in the 100th minute of the game, Palmer then hit a winner in the 101st
United’s hearts were crushed in 82 seconds as they conceded twice in stoppage time
Fernandes equaliser in the 39th minute, guiding a header back across Djordje Petrovic into the far corner when Dalot’s cross to the far post found him unmarked.
Gallagher rattled the post before half-time but in a see-saw second half that was even crazier than the first, it was United who seemed to have taken a decisive advantage in the 67th minute.
This time Badiashile was the guilty man, gifting possession to Antony close to halfway. The Brazilian guided the ball with the outside of his right foot to Garnacho on the edge of the box. Petrovic came out but it was the wrong move, giving Garnacho the simple task of nodding past him.
United were already in trouble though. Varane had gone off at half-time and so had his replacement Jonny Evans. This team can’t defend at the best of times, let alone with five senior defenders out of action.
Chelsea sensed their moment and threw caution to the wind. It paid off handsomely – and quite incredibly.
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