In a breathless end-to-end game, Pep Guardiola’s defending champions thought we had a winner in the 86th minute when a Rodrigo strike was deflected in.
However, an added time penalty from former City man Cole Palmer earned the hosts a 4-4 draw on a highly entertaining afternoon in west London.
Erling Haaland had opened the scoring from the spot in the 25th minute before Thiago Silva equalised for Chelsea just four minutes later.
The hosts took the lead thanks to Raheem Sterling soon afterwards but Manuel Akanji’s header had the sides on level terms at half-time.
Our third came very early in the second period, with Haaland sliding the ball home for his 49th Premier League goal in just 47 appearances.
Nicolas Jackson scored Chelsea’s third before the very late drama at both ends of the pitch.
Our first draw of the season leaves us one point ahead of Arsenal and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table.
After an impeccably observed sounding of the Last Post on this Remembrance Sunday in the UK, it was a relatively quiet start to the game compared to the action that would follow.
We had our first major chance of the day midway through the half after a sweeping move down the left ended with Erling Haaland knocked to the floor by Marc Cucurella while trying to meet Bernardo Silva’s cross.
Referee Anthony Taylor awarded a penalty and a lengthy VAR check ensued before the Norwegian had his chance to convert.
The delay and Palmer’s attempt to scuff the spot didn’t affect our striker, who duly sent Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez the wrong way.
The lead only lasted four minutes however, with Thiago Silva glancing a header from a Chelsea corner to equalise for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
Haaland came within inches of restoring City’s advantage shortly afterwards when a mazy Phil Foden run and floated right-footed cross dropped just beyond the backpost.
Haaland reached for it with his left boot but the angle was just too tight for our man to squeeze it home.
Foden was at the heart of things for City and thought he had scored our second himself in the 34th minute.
Our Academy graduate received the ball in the inside right position and set it outside of the far post but it didn't have quite enough bend to come back inside the post.
Instead it was Chelsea who scored next, when James pounced on a slack Gvardiol touch to cross for a simple Sterling tap in.
Ruben Dias had to be aware soon afterwards when an Enzo Fernandez strike looked set for the bottom corner without an intervention from the Portuguese defender.
Haaland had another huge opportunity before our eventual second, latching on to Bernardo Silva’s through ball and firing low and hard only for a strong Sanchez hand to palm the ball away.
Instead it was Manuel Akanji who provided the equaliser, nodding a dinked Bernardo cross into the top corner a few minutes ahead of half-time. After only one goal in his first campaign at City, the Swiss defender has now scored three goals in his last five games.
City took the lead for the second time just a couple of minutes into the second half thanks to an incisive breakaway involving Julian Alvarez, Foden and scorer Haaland.
Alvarez supplied Foden before the England international waited for the overlap to return the ball to the Argentinian. Alvarez drilled the ball across the box and a sliding Haaland bundled the ball over the line and ended up in the net with it.
The goal didn’t change the tempo of the game, with both sides attacking in numbers.
Doku could have doubled the advantage just before the hour mark but Sanchez closed his legs on the winger’s low shot.
Ederson was forced into a brilliant smother soon after when Palmer weaved his way through the defence and poked towards goal. The Brazilian goalkeeper was lightning quick to come off his line and narrow the angle for the former City man.
The next shot came within two minutes and this time it was Foden who was denied by Sanchez, forcing the Spaniard to dive low to his left.
Chelsea had their third at the midway point of the second half when Nicolas Jackson reacted quickest to an Ederson save to poke the rebound under our No.31.
Chelsea substitute Malo Gusto would have expected to put his side back in the lead around 10 minutes later but he scooped his left footed shot over the bar.
It seemed we had a winner in the 86th minute when Rodrigo fired at goal from 25 yards.
Thiago Silva dangled a leg in the way of the midfielder’s effort but only succeeded in directing it to the opposite side of the goal it was originally destined for.
However, a coolly taken 94th minute Palmer penalty sealed the draw for the hosts after Ruben Dias had fouled substitute Armando Broja.
Source: Online
BDST: 0830 HRS, NOV 13, 2023
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