Chelsea 4-3 Man Utd: Player ratings as Palmer scores in 100th and 101st minutes

Cole Palmer scored twice deep into stoppage time to earn Chelsea a stunning and improbable 4-3 win at home to Manchester United on Thursday night.

The Blues squandered a two-goal lead and appeared to be heading to defeat until their mercurial youngster came up with goals in the 100th and 101st minutes.

Pressure will be considerably piled on Erik ten Hag, who was being monitored from the Stamford Bridge stands by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, after another inconceivable collapse.

How the game unfolded

Chelsea went ahead with only four minutes on the clock. Space was vacated down United's left and Enzo Fernandez was able to pick out Malo Gusto, whose deflected cut-back fell kindly to Conor Gallagher on the edge of the box, and his shot squirmed under the arms of Andre Onana.

With 18 minutes gone, the Blues were awarded a penalty when Marc Cucurella was hauled down by Antony. Palmer stepped up and sent Onana the wrong way to double the lead.

The hosts went close to adding a third shortly after when Axel Disasi peeled away from Aaron Wan-Bissaka when attacking a free-kick, only to send his header narrowly over.

And United were gifted a route back into the game just after the half-hour mark. Moises Caicedo's poor pass past Benoit Badiashile was intercepted by Alejandro Garnacho, who ran through to goal and finished past Djordje Petrovic.

With their next attack, United were level. Garnacho cut the ball back for Diogo Dalot to cross, and his deep delivery was nodded in at the back post by Bruno Fernandes.

Chelsea should have gone back in front in stoppage time at the end of the first half when Palmer rolled the ball into Gallagher, who this time struck the post from close range.

A manic start to the second half saw both sides counter the other on several occasions - United went closest to nipping ahead through Harry Maguire and then Fernandes, but both of their efforts sailed over.

United completed the turnaround on 67 minutes on another counter. Antony registered his first assist of the season in some style, wrapping a cross around the defence with the outside of his left foot, finding Garnacho to head in.

Deep into eight minutes of added time, Chelsea were handed another penalty when Dalot slipped and caught Noni Madueke, with the decision confirmed after a lengthy VAR review. Palmer again scored to bring the hosts level.

But that's not where the action ended. Chelsea pushed everyone forward in search of a winner from kick-off, and they found it from a corner when Palmer's deflected strike wrong-footed Onana to send Stamford Bridge into bedlam.

Chelsea player ratings (4-2-3-1)

GK: Djordje Petrovic - 5/10 - Not too much he could have done about the goals, in fairness. Kicking was a weakness again.

RB: Malo Gusto - 6/10 - One of Chelsea's better performers in spite of the chaos going on around him. A tad lucky to have set up the opening goal but United didn't really know how to deal with his endeavour.

CB: Axel Disasi - 5/10 - Never looked totally comfortable either on the ball or when retreating. On one occasion celebrated a tackle on Hojlund even though his poor pass gave him the chance to score.

CB: Benoit Badiashile - 4/10 - Like Disasi was nervy throughout, though he cost Chelsea with a turnover high up the pitch which led to Garnacho's second goal.

LB: Marc Cucurella - 4/10 - Seemed to have had Antony's number when he won a penalty off him, but the roles were completely reversed come full-time. Allowed the underwhelming Brazilian his best performance of the year.

CM: Moises Caicedo - 3/10 - Chelsea were in complete control and not in any danger at all until his inexplicable pass across the vacant backline. Never recovered mentally after that.

CM: Enzo Fernandez - 6/10 - Helped create Gallagher's opener with a smart pass out to Gusto but often went missing in a non-existent midfield.

RW: Cole Palmer - 10/10 - What's even more brilliant about Palmer's astounding individual season is his ability to block out all the noise and nonsense. A hat-trick to save the Blues' skins for the umpteenth time.

AM: Conor Gallagher - 7/10 - Got Chelsea going with the fourth-minute goal and continued to prove a menace in and around the box.

LW: Mykhailo Mudryk - 5/10 - Started the game brightly and sought to get at United using his searing pace but was soon stifled out of meaningful areas.

CF: Nicolas Jackson - 5/10 - Nullified by Maguire, who kept trying to wind the young striker up all night long.

Substitutes

SUB: Raheem Sterling (71' for Mudryk) - 7/10

SUB: Carney Chukwuemeka (71' for Caicedo) - 7/10

SUB: Alfie Gilchrist (75' for Gusto) - 6/10

SUB: Trevoh Chalobah (75' for Disasi) - 6/10

SUB: Noni Madueke (89' for Gallagher) - 7/10

Subs not used: Marcus Bettinelli (GK), Thiago Silva, Jimi Tauriainen, Cesare Casadei

Manager

Mauricio Pochettino - 6/10 - Chelsea showed character to not let their heads drop, but this was far from a coaching masterclass. The Blues remain naive and have a lot of issues, but he'll believe this is a turning point.

Man Utd player ratings (4-2-3-1)

GK: Andre Onana - 6/10 - Should definitely have done better with Gallagher's early opener but came up with some decent saves, while his kicking was crucial in the build up to Fernandes' leveller.

RB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka- 6/10 - Fought well to get the better of Chelsea's left-sided players over the course of the 90 minutes.

CB: Raphael Varane - 6/10 - Limped through the first half with a glaringly apparently injury. Brought off at the break after doing all he could to hold United's backline together.

CB: Harry Maguire - 6/10 - Used every trick in the book to get at and Jackson. Nearly scored a worldie with a mazing run right through the Chelsea box at the start of the second half.

LB: Diogo Dalot - 5/10 - Ten Hag's instructions for him to play narrow proved counter-productive and ended with the opening goal, but made amends with a fine assist for Fernandes. Slipped leading to a foul on Madueke, but hard to blame him too much for it.

CM: Casemiro - 3/10 - Showed little desire to break into a sprint at any point and clearly a long way past his best. A walking metaphor of United's problems over recent years.

CM: Kobbie Mainoo - 6/10 - Didn't always make great decisions but he was still the calmest head in a disgusting, putrid and unethical midfield battle.

RW: Antony - 7/10 - Bounced back from his early penalty gaffe to put in easily his best performance of a terrible season. Started the attack for Fernandes' equaliser and came up with a beautiful cross for Garnacho's go-ahead goal.

AM: Bruno Fernandes - 7/10 - Never let his head drop and fought for every inch. Clever bit of play to shout at Hojlund to leave Dalot's cross for the equaliser.

LW: Alejandro Garnacho - 9/10 - There was a raging debate through the international break over whether Garnacho is better than Cristiano Ronaldo was when he was 19. There's mounting evidence to suggest he is.

CF: Rasmus Hojlund - 5/10 - Couldn't find a way through Disasi or Badiashile despite their clear lack of stability.

Substitutes

SUB: Jonny Evans (46' for Varane) - 7/10 - Defended with integrity and confidence before succumbing to an injury of his own having replaced the hobbling Varane.

SUB: Willy Kambwala (66' for Evans) - 5/10

SUB: Marcus Rashford (66' for Hojlund) - 5/10

SUB: Scott McTominay (75' for Casemiro) - 5/10

SUB: Mason Mount (85' for Garnacho) - N/A

Subs not used: Tom Heaton (GK), Sofyan Amrabat, Christian Eriksen, Amad Diallo

Manager

Erik ten Hag - 4/10 - The game was won, but United's inability to keep their cool in these high-pressure moments again proved costly. Real questions for the new ownership to answer regarding the manager.

Player of the match - Cole Palmer (Chelsea)