No one expected this London-Manchester clash to explode like this, but we’re all glad it did! Eight goals were shared equally among the two teams in the game of the season!
Following a huge 4-1 win over ex-undefeated team, Spurs and Chelsea were oozing with confidence heading into their heavyweight clash with last season’s treble winners, Manchester City. Many pundits and fans were predicting the game to be tight, and even for Chelsea to come out on top.
Heading into the game, Chelsea were still missing key players due to injury, like star attacker, Christopher Nkunku, and key defender, Levi Colwill. These injuries would prove to not be a problem as Chelsea were still able to present a very strong starting 11, with players like Reece James, Raheem Sterling, and Moises Caicedo.
Right as the ball kicked off, Chelsea put the pressure on early, and it was paying off! Chelsea were pressing very effectively and holding a heavy field tilt over Man City, which was not expected.
Unfortunately for Chelsea though, in the 22nd minute, a very dodgy and soft penalty was awarded to Man City, which was criticized by many fans and reporters around the game. Erling Haaland would convert the penalty and put Man City ahead.
This didn’t stop Chelsea though, as they would continue to press hard and hold onto the ball, and it would pay off just four minutes later as 39-year-old Thiago Silva would head the ball into the back of the net, erupting the Bridge into a roar of celebrations!
The celebrations wouldn’t stop there either as just eight minutes after the equalizer, Chelsea’s captain, Reece James, would slide the ball across City’s box and former Manchester City player, Raheem Sterling, would tap the ball in for a go ahead 2-1 goal!
The Bridge hasn’t seen many good performances for several seasons, but seeing their team winning against the best team in the world had them shaking the grounds with their chants.
Just before the 1st half would come to an end, the worst scenario took place for Chelsea, as an unmarked Akanji would head the ball to equalize the game again for 2-2. Now, City would have the momentum heading into the 2nd half!
That same momentum would lead to an early goal for Man City, as it would be Haaland again to put City ahead to make the game 3-2!
Luckily for Chelsea, Just after the goal, City’s goalkeeper would fumble the ball after a long range effort from Connor Gallagher, and Nicolas Jackson would rebound the ball for the second equalizer for Chelsea! It’s 3-3 in the 67th minute!
The game would remain to be very tight for the remainder of the game until the 85th minute, when a shot would deflect off the heel of Thiago Silva and fall into Chelsea’s goal! It looked like the game would be sealed as a win for Man City at that moment!
In a last ditch effort, Raheem Sterling lobbed the ball into City’s box and found Armando Broja, and he is taken out beneath his legs and the referee calls a penalty in the 90+4th minute of the game!
Former City player, Cole Palmer, who is only 21, took the ball and placed it on the penalty spot. All the pressure in the world is on his shoulders, but he calmly converts it to equalize the game for a third time! The game would end 4-4 and was an instant classic!
